I'm in a flatline and it's terrifying.

29 years old, and 28 days in. This is just frightening. I know it's part of the process, I know it's to be expected. But I just feel like I'm in such a dark and unrecoverable spot. I'm not a depressive type, but this is certainly a trip. I know that this is going to take me months and months to come out of, and what absolutely blows my mind is just how sudden I started developing severe PIED symptoms.

I have no desire of any kind of sexual release whatsoever. I see women that are attractive, and I have slight flashes of what *should* be sexual appetite, but they're fleeting. And the worst part is I've been hanging with a new girl the past few months, and we simply can't have sex despite several attempts.

She knows whats up. I told her. And she's understanding about it, for now. Who knows what'll happen. But I don't wish this on anybody. It's utterly fascinating and also utterly maddening.

 

During your flatline, is it only your sexual desire that's down, or is it all kind of desire?

 

Just sexual. I have zero libido whatsoever, and feel totally sexually disconnected. Everything else is normal. Mood is generally fine.

 

I'm there right now. Its hell. It just feels like you're dead down there. Totally kills your confidence. I see women who i know I want, but I just feel nothing.

 

I'm in flatline as well, except that I can get an erection with my gf. But I have no desire for sex or masterbation.. I don't know how can erection happens when libido and brain responses don't occur.. And no sensitivity to very little,, in other words

 

I've been getting erect, but it just goes away after maybe a minute or two. It's driving me nuts.

 

Party in the flat line thread!

So are there resources and information on flatline? Any posts/links? Is there a chance that the formula is:

1) Quite all external sexual stimulation
2) Go into flatline
3) Start from zero with a person and build up erectile response slowly, but surely?

#3 sounds iffy to me, so unnatural and abnormal. This is something so primitive and basic, no one ever had to instruct anyone how to get wood and have sex. Why is this happening?

 

I totally agree. It seems so backwards given how hardwired our instincts tend to be. An example that I'd like to think is comparable is desensitization to, say, violence. Despite how many whackos like to yell that violent video games and movies turn people into murderers, there is no real evidence pointing towards that direction. I've spent lots of time playing violent video games and watching violent movies, but if I ever accidentally see something like that happen in real life, or accidentally view an ONLINE picture of a real dead person/gore, I have an immediate instinctual response, and basically have an adrenaline rush which is provoking a fight or flight mechanism.

I can dive into fake worlds with excessive violence for hours at a time, but the real thing would provide a completely different response as I've experienced.

So why is it the complete opposite with porn and sex? I'm not doubting rebooting, and all the evidence is definitely pointing in a singular direction, but it's honestly baffling. It's extremely baffling how much worse you get before getting better, and how you essentially lose a hardwired instinct to REPRODUCE!

 

You don't lose the instinct to reproduce... You hijack it with porn. Not the same thing

 

But plenty of people watch porn and maintain a perfectly reasonable sex life. I love the analogy to violence and video games I am completely the same. I love blowing crap up and watching gore. If I see blood in real life then I freak out like a giant pussy and run away. Sad, but true.

So how is watching something "fake" (porn) impacting our ability to get hard. Can't get hard, can't penetrate. Can't penetrate, can't reproduce. So literally watching someone else do the nasty disables our ability to do the most BASIC HUMAN FUNCTION? I get all the dopamine and plasticity stuff, but this is absurd. I haven't watched P in almost 2 years and have not so much touched myself for 2.5 - yet I am, for all intents and purposes, impotent right now. That is some scary shit.

 

It would be rad if Gary replied here, because it's a genuine curiosity -- outside of actual physical substances like drugs or alcohol, why is it that porn specifically is able to alter your physiology so drastically compared to other artificial stimuli? How is it able to rewire your instincts so much more dramatically than other artificial over-stimulation (video games, for example). I'm not losing the ability to process the world/react to real-life stresses and violence from playing video games, whereas I am losing the ability to be sexual from porn.

 

He can't respond to everything so I never have hope for his wisdom.

How is your flat line going? I had another pathetic display of "manliness" last night. Responded pretty well to hand stimulation, which means I was 80% hard while being touch with - then she went down on me and it was dead down there. Felt great, but one would never have guessed. Amazing. Even oral does nothing - what in the world? This is a new low.

 

Same as last week. Zero libido, feel totally asexual. I told the girl I'm seeing everything I've said on this site, and she's been understanding about it, for the most part. Obviously not ideal, but I didn't even attempt anything over the weekend when she slept over.

 

I at least understand zero libido and zero erection. I am hankering for it badly, but can't do anything about it. Trapped inside my own body.

 

Talking about all of this has been really helpful, both here online and with my close friends plus the girl. I'm just becoming more and more accepting of the fact that this is, for whatever fucked up reason, a completely normal part of the process. And I'm trying to have a positive outlook on the fact that at least I'm operating with a clear mind devoid of intrusive sexual thoughts, for the time being.

I just don't want to be in this state forever, and hope time will truly fix it.

 

Keep me posted bud.

 

I'm all up in this piece too. It really is a nightmare situation I never even dreamed would happen.

Most ironic thing is that the very first porno I saw was 'Cafe Flesh', back in 1987. It's a post-apocalyptic porno about people who can't have sex who visit this club and watch the remaining few who can have sex on a stage. The non-sexuals sit frustrated and drooling in the audience, unable to be fully sexual. Ironic ironic ironic!

 

I've generally been noticing more "tired" erections, if that makes sense.

I remember back in high school/early college, when I'd be sitting in morning classes and bored and tired, I'd get wood that would just linger. I never even noticed those going away, but they did completely (like morning wood did).

But the other day, I took a nap on my couch in the apartment, woke up groggy, and just kept laying around. I had what I like to call "tired" wood that just stuck around for what seemed like a solid twenty minutes.

Still, I spent yesterday night with the lady, and we were spooning on the couch. No wood response at all.

 

I am having flat line for the last 4 days which is damn depressive

I entered that flat line after being super horny for few days then masturbated to touch and minimal fantasy. The whole situation is messy, and it makes me feel down.

My flat line has been always so weird, cause my mind get affected way more than my organ. So I have proper morning woods for dirty dreams, but no appetite for watching p, masturbating, or even visiting escorts. It feels really weird that I lose my interest in even dirty stuff.

Feel with something going wrong in my heart itself, thats really hard :'(

I am always worried about myself, and about losing the girl who I love !

Hope to get better soon and able to enjoy my life, specially cause I have seen people here rebooting for years with minimal progress

 

I have question to those who have fears about flatline. What exactly are you fearing about? Not able to have sex anymore?

I think I might be in a flatline now but I can't sense any fear yet.