When it pertains to the Nofap lifestyle, edging means looking at adult content(peeking) or touching yourself but not to completion.
Edging is one of the many traps you must avoid when you decide to adopt the Nofap philosophy into your life. Edging is attempts of your addiction to continue to elicit control over your brain, while you try to break the wiring and make new connections that do not involve adult content or self-touching.
Self-touching and adult content can take over your life. You can observe if you are affected by abstaining from adult-content and self-touching for a period of 30-90 days. Most men cannot go a week, or worse, a day without adult-content or self-touching. You could be addicted and not know. The only way to tell is by abstaining from a period of time.
We are not arguing for morality of self-touching and adult content; we are arguing that many individuals believe their lives are better without self-touching and adult content and believe that all individuals should abstain for a period and determine if their lives improve. If you cannot go 30 days without adult-content, you’re probably addicted to the dopamine response that comes with the activity.
Many believe that sexual energy is not just for sex, but energy you use to create the world you want to live in. Looking at adult content and self-touching saps this energy, leaving you less drive to get what you want and become the greatest version of yourself; whomever that may be to you.
The problem with Adult content and self-touching
The problem with adult content and self-touching is the massive amount of dopamine released into your brain. If you want to live a natural life, you must understand that no natural environment allows you to see an infinite number of potential mates, mating with everyone except you.
Did you know little wins you get in life also release dopamine? Shooting a three-pointer, getting a good grade, holding hands, watching movies, all release dopamine. If you’re chronically flooding your brain with unnatural dopamine from adult content and self-touching, you may not feel the dopamine life provides to you naturally. This means making a three-pointer no longer motivates you to keep playing basketball; it’s just too little of dopamine compared to adult content or self-touching, so there is no incentive to follow the path.
A famous study in the 1970’s called The Rat Park by Dr. Bruce Alexander show that when rats are put into cages all alone–without a community of other rats–they will consumer heroin or cocaine until they die. If you don’t have purpose–which is often found via interaction–you will be drawn to pleasure, even at the cost of your health and longevity.
“In 2002, a study on cocaine addiction demonstrated measurable volume loss in several areas of the brain, including the frontal lobes.[9] The study technique was an MRI-based protocol, voxel-based morphometry (VBM), where 1 mm cubes of brain are quantified and compared. Another VBM study was published in 2004 on methamphetamine, with very similar findings.[27] “
“Even more instructive are similar findings seen with the abuse of a normal biological behavior, eating, leading to addiction and obesity. In 2006, a VBM study was published looking specifically at obesity, and the results were very similar to the cocaine and methamphetamine studies.[20] The obesity study demonstrated multiple areas of volume loss, particularly in the frontal lobes, areas associated with judgment and control.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3050060/
This brain scan shows that adult content affects your brain the same way that a drug addiction does.
Where do you want your dopamine to come from?
Do you want your brain to reward you for pursuing mastery, or pursuing the perfect scene?
If you’re edging, you won’t feel the dopamine release from your wins. You will constantly reinforce a behavior of edging; you will think about adult content and self-touching all the time; while you are trying to relax, and while you are trying to pursue mastery. The pursuit of mastery and meaning is already difficult on its own; adult-content and self-touching makes you numb to the small rewards of mastery that push you farther down the path.
This will hold you back.
Understand that not every individual will be addicted to this. But you will never know unless you test by abstaining for a period of time. You may realize that adult-content and self-touching has no place in your life anymore, and you’re better off without it.
The problem with Nofap edging
Nofap edging is the equivalent to a drug user holding a needle and tying off their arm while believing they are in control and will not inject. An alcoholic who is trying to quit drinking and decides to hold a drink in their hand, but not drink it. An addict who continues to hang out with his dealer and his addict “friends”.
Approaching a treacherous and slippery cliff will almost guarantee you fall. 95% of the time edging makes you fall.
The problem with edging in any addiction capacity is the reinforcement of the ritual. Reinforcing the habit. When breaking an addiction, your objective is to destroy the habit and replace it with something else.
Edging is dual-edged suffering. You don’t get your drug, you don’t get recovery; you tease yourself with your addiction. This reinforces the addiction and makes you want it more. Edging makes you return to the cliff of no return over and over again until you fall.
Edging is dangerous because it brings you back to the ritual of your addiction. With each repetition of your ritual addiction, the more deeply-ingrained they become. Addiction can be useful if you become addicted to the right pathways. Addiction to adult content and self-touching is following a shadow path that provides no fulfillment, no light.
What to do instead of Edging
Don’t edge when you feel an urge. Instead, understand you are in a Nofap Emergency; an overwhelming urge to relapse.
If you feel an urge, break it by disrupting the ritual. Go on a walk. Go sprint as hard as you can. Meditate. You have to find the life-rings that you can grab when a dark-ritual begins to summon for you. As a unique individual, you must find the rituals unique to you that will keep you from the Shadow paths.
By not self-touching or viewing adult-content, you are refusing to engage with a exploitative industry that preys on the vulnerable. You also get to spend more efficient time on the path.
More walking, more fulfillment.