mack123

As a concept I would welcome a safe affordable male contraceptive and would use it if appropriate.

I would say that I would definitely evaluate the option very carefully. Especially in a committed relationship. Sometimes female birth control can bring benefits beyond just birth control, along with its drawbacks. My partner suffered from severe period cramps at a point in her life, where the birth control she used suppressed that. That said, it would actually be positive to have the option of a male contraceptive in a relationship. We share the pleasure and the responsibility. In the end, the safest option with the least side effects will probably win out. If that is a male contraceptive, so be it.

Outside of a committed relationship, condoms just makes more sense. I cannot imagine taking the risks associated with sex and not taking any precautions for it. Then again, my early 20s was spent in a country and area with a high prevalence of HIV, so not taking chances is ingrained due to that. It would also depend on just active a sex life we are dealing with.

No point in attacking you for something that works for you. Neither of us learns anything under those conditions. Philosophies teaching abstinence in physical pleasures have been around forever. In my mental map of the world, the NoFap community falls under those.

It is something you believe helps you be the person you want to be, more power to you. I would only consider it harmful if it attempts to impose its ideas on people who don’t agree. Or deliberately spreads misinformation internally that may be harmful to its adherents.

I think we can agree that your experience was valid and changed your life. The emphasis here is on your life for good reason. Porn and masturbation, like any other escape mechanism, is exactly that. I suspect something underlying as the cause for your need to escape that much. The nofap community there helped you reinforce that change. It does not make the community entirely wholesome.

What I wonder is if you would have had the same results with changes in your life without specifically focussing on porn and masturbation. I have observed this a few times in other areas, where changes to routine and outlook was the actual source of the improvement and not the thing the improvement was attributed to.

Just a thought. It is always good to try and understand yourself. It takes nothing away from your achievement in turning your life around.