Nofap and Social Anxiety (A comprehensive guide)

In this brief guide, we will discuss nofap and social anxiety and explore the relationship between these two concepts.

Nofap and Social Anxiety

Nofap and social anxiety have recently been discovered as being connected in some ways, in that some people have found that they feel lesser social anxiety and are more able to talk to the opposite gender when they are attracted to them, and also that they experience a reduction in depression symptoms as well.

However, it is important to note that there is no definite relation between nofap and social anxiety, yet, and that most research has only focused on how social anxiety, or anxiety and depression in general, are associated with the experience of pleasure during masturbation or other secual practices.

While some studies have found that social anxiety is heightened during intimacy with other people, it seems to be relatively unaffected while playing with yourself, proving the psychological and behavioural correlates of social anxiety, and proving that the experience of pleasure during intimate activity, or the lack thereof, is not caused by the somatic symptoms of anxiety, but rather, the psychological ones.

Nofap is an organisation that seeks to help those with intense adult-content addiction, and this name is inspired by the slang for masturbation in men, known as “fap”, but it is important to know that this website and organization is not just aimed at men, and catres equally to women.

Nofap consists of groups and forums where the people who are suffering from anxiety issues can talk to each other and support each other through their issues, and they also often talk about how nofap has helped them overcome their social anxiety to a certain extent as well.

Nofap also has a panic button on their website, and clicking on it gives the individual the option to reach out to a supporter online much like a sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous.

Nofap social anxiety programs aren’t specifically meant for the disorder, the individuals may give up adult entertainment and masturbation for a reason and since so many of them have found an association between social anxiety and nofap, they also try to move forward with that idea.

Whether nofap helps with social anxiety or not, is another thing, but the fact that people are dealing with their adult-content addiction and anxiety experience at the same time, is great either way, and should definitely be promoted.

Nofap and Social Anxiety: A User’s Experience

Nofap and social anxiety has been theorized as being related, but since there are no psychological research studies yet, we can only depend on the reports from users, and one such experience of someone with social anxiety and dabbling in nofap is given below:

“I have been trying nofap for 2 years. First year was full of disappointments with longest streaks ranging between 4-8, and that occurred only occasionally.

2nd year I made a lot of progress with total abstinence during the months of April and August. In the last 9 months (270 days) I have fapped only 76 days.

I started Nofap only and only because I had severe social phobia, so severe that it made me quit my uni. I was mentally unable to introduce myself in the class, make group discussions or give a presentation before class.

My take on my social phobia is this that as I started fapping at a very young age, my brain got so weak (due to overuse of amygdala for PMO induced pleasure response) that even in certain social situation like introducing myself in the class, instead of my brain making me only little excited (which is normal), it flooded me with too much excitement (sweating, trembling, faster heart beat etc). My body then took the signal as a “fight or flight” response and due to this experience my brain associated every social situation with fear. This was very irrational fear but it was very prominent and making my life hell. Then I started nofap with hope.

I had only little hope. Since starting nofap, I always ran away from social situations because I could not bear any more embarrassment for trembling and sweating around people for no reason. However, yesterday my little hope on nofap made me happy. I went to a beginners yoga class with a friend of mine with hope to learn some yoga. But to my fear it was “introductory class” meaning we were needed to introduce ourselves to a large group of people. This was so sudden, it was my fear looking at my face with the smile of a devil. Before starting Nofap, I had given more than 15-20 introductions and always ended with a trembling voice, sweating palm, faster heart beats and EMBARRASSMENT. Now I was hoping to add one more defeat in my bucket. After a few people’s introduction, my turn came, and then…….(I gave my introduction)……… after 5 minutes I was telling myself “what happened to me? Why did my voice not tremble? Why did my heart not beat faster? Why was I not sweating?. Is my brain healing? I looked at my hands, they were solid still and dry. Yes, I was feeling a little nervous, I did miss out on a few words and got blanked in a few places of my introduction but that was normal and indeed a huge step for a guy like me. I felt so better afterwards. I feel that my social phobia is cured by 25%.

I know many of you will not understand my exaggeration for this phobia but I know that there are many people like me on board. I am sharing my experience for them. I want to give them hope. I am trying to make a point to them that PMO might be OK for some but for some guys like them and me it is the root cause of social phobia. Try nofap. It will take time. I made only little progress with nofap in the last two years but you can do much better. Be patient. If your social phobia is not due to some really serious mental condition, then I am sure that NoPMO will make you feel much better. For me, I am hoping to bring down social phobia by 100% with 90+ days.”

Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is also known as social phobia, and it may be defined as an intense and irrational fear of social circumstances or social interactions, that causes an individual to start avoiding said circumstances or interactions.

The diagnostic and statistical manual defines the symptoms of social anxiety as follows:

• “Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drink- ing), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech).

• Note: In children, the anxiety must occur in peer settings and not just during interactions with adults.

• The individual fears that he or she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated (i.e., will be humiliating or embarrassing; will lead to rejection or offend others).

• Social situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety.

• Note: In children, the fear or anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, clinging, shrinking, or failing to speak in social situations.

• The social situations are avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety.

• The fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the social situation and to the socio-cultural context.

• The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more.

• The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

• The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.

• The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder, such as panic disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, or autism spectrum disorder.

• If another medical condition (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, obesity, disfigurement from bums, or physical damage) is present, the fear, anxiety, or avoidance is clearly unrelated or is excessive.”

If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.

Benefits of Nofap

Here are some of the most well known benefits of the nofap movement:

• Increased happiness
• Heightened spirituality
• Self-acceptance
• Improved attitude and appreciation toward the opposite gender
• Improved confidence
• Increased motivation and willpower
• Lower levels of stress and anxiety

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we discussed nofap and social anxiety and explored the relationship between these two concepts.

Masturbatory practices are often associated with the experience of anxiety and depression, and often, one may find that their anxiety experience significantly changes with their masturbatory behavior.

Some people have been finding that nofap, or lack of masturbation has been helping them with social anxiety somehow, while some find that it affects them adversely.

There will obviously need to be psychological studies regarding this issue, and since there are not any right now, we can only go by the experience of people when it comes to nofap and social anxiety.

If you have any questions or comments about the concept of nofap or social anxiety, please feel free to reach out to us at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Nofap Social Anxiety