♥ - Fasting [1]

I think everyone going through recovery should experiment with fasting. Here's why aside from the health benefits of resting, cleaning the body, and losing some weight. The parallels between PMO and food are astounding. Of course we need some food and need no PMO, except for many of us PMO is just a substitute for human connectivity that we do need. Isolated humans for the most part are unhealthy. Also, we can openly talk about fasting without any shame. Breaking the silence is healing. Be prepared for some strange reactions, but cherish that it would be a whole lot weirder if you were talking about what we're doing here. Is it stranger not to orgasm for two months or not to eat for a three days?

I have experience with fasting, but that was limited to about 25 hours. If you've never done any fasting, perhaps do a few one day fasts first. I had never water fasted before this and it was a little different. First I had to get used to drinking and then remember to drink enough. I went into it cold with no major ramp up. I planned to do three days and eat on the morning after the third day. I ended up extending my fast to try going to a party while fasting. Talk about sober. In the end I fasted about 4.5 days (roughly 106 hours). I went about my life normally. I felt fine energy-wise. I could have gone longer, but decided there was value in watching the ramp back to food. I was active. I did notice libido wane in the first two days, but it came back quite strongly after that. Perhaps that cycle had nothing to do with the fast. The ED crowd can make their own observations. I only experienced hunger in my stomach or head, neither of which are true hunger. True hunger is in your mouth like extreme thirst. It was mild anyway, but again I'm used to fasting. I was mindful of the cravings. The first day I walked past some candy and if my stomach had arms that would have been the end of the fast right there and then. I did notice several things I have not previously experienced. My nervous system seemed faster and more stable. My skin felt more like the organ it is with depth and separation from my inner body. My skeleton and organs felt more independent. My own touch and other’s touch was more electrical, penetrative, and non-local. It felt like I could almost feel my own bone marrow. My breath was naturally deeper. I'm not sure I've ever breathed so deeply.

The party was interesting. I wasn’t too social, but I had several mental realizations that are important for my progress. I had to make sure I drank enough water. I should have shown up with a camelback and a catheter as it would have made life easier. I was pretty good at reading the females and had some internal laughs when I could read non-interest in anyone and some guy would make a fool of himself. I wasn’t quite sure how to use my heightened awareness. I also noticed how different it felt to be bumped or jostled. I felt very stable and could process the data much faster than in typical normal life. It just wasn’t the right event to try myself out with too many females.

Starting to eat again feels worse than the stopping. To be fair I do have a cold now so maybe I can't base much on this fast's transition back to food. I also think I didn't ramp up gently enough. That said, I noticed some recovery points here too. For example, I could see how my eating was novelty seeking. A little of that, this, and some more of that...perhaps there is a Coolidge effect for food. I noticed some interesting things at a food store. How I viewed food post fast was sort of how I might view porn. As I'm sick it is hard to say, but the systemic benefits seem to be fading. Maybe with more fasting I can train myself to keep those around.

Overall it was great and I will try again. We should have national fast weeks. . .mental notes for my future benevolent dictatorship. I plan to get to 10 days at some point. I’m not sure how long is best to wait between fasts. I think I'll make this a regular part of life once I get it down better. It is hard to avoid social food as food is at every event. It takes resolve to pass up the food and drink water. It can be a hassle to carry enough water around.

I think I'm narrowing my female base even more because I think it would be cool to try karezza at the end of a three day fast. The brain/nervous system sensitivity would make that super. If any couples out there want to try and report back, please do. It now makes more sense to me that some religions have the couple fast on their wedding day although people break the fast before sex.