From what you say here I think you're working with a different definition of addiction to me. You seem to mean "something that someone finds it hard to stop doing". To me an addiction is something that, once started, alters the balance of chemicals in your brain such that it is then distressing to attempt to stop. You mentioned smoking tobacco and that is a case in point. Your brain adapts to the level of nicotine it is receiving. If you withdraw that nicotine it is now out of balance and objects, i.e. you get withdrawal symptoms. But, given time, the brain will adapt back again and thus abstinence can work.
The desire to cum regularly is not like smoking tobacco though because is doesn't come from putting a drug into your body from the outside. Instead it is caused by testosterone acting on your brain. That is something that happens in any male who has reached puberty and doesn't have deficient testosterone production and is very much a case of things working as they should.
As I said earlier, I believe that if masturbation is taking the place of other activities it is better to address why the person is avoiding those other activities and filling the time with masturbation, rather than blaming masturbation as the problem.
I am not saying people are not free to abstain from cumming if that's what they want to do. That's one area where I believe people should have the freedom to do exactly what they want, but that doesn't mean it is responsible to promote abstinence as something the population at large would find helpful.
No, I'm working with the same definition as you. The problem is a lack of understanding of what happens in the brain when you satisfy a need like that.
When I smoked a cigarette it triggered a release of dopamine. When you have an orgasm it triggers a release of dopamine. When a heroin addict injects heroin it triggers a release of dopamine. When a food addict eats it triggers a release of dopamine.
It isn't in the same amount for all of these activities, and it isn't the only thing that is happening, but the release of dopamine is the cause of addiction, its how our brains give us a sense of reward. It's why you can see people addicted to something that seems repulsive to most people, its because their brain has been trained to release dopamine in that scenario. In the case of cigarettes, the addiction is not to the nicotine itself but the release of dopamine that the nicotine triggers.
Also, I'm not saying everyone involved in no fap is addicted to masturbation. All I am saying is that if you are addicted to a behavior, or its very difficult to stop and having a negative impact on your life, then telling yourself that not partaking in that activity benefits you in some way that it probably doesn't is less harmful than the addiction itself.
What I think actually is harmful is deriding people who are trying to overcome an addiction just because you don't like some aspect of it. Again, the heroin and magic example. If your friend was addicted to heroin but was able to trick themselves out of addiction through a belief that they would eventually develop magical powers, wouldn't it be less harmful to let them have that belief than it would be to shame them out of a belief and back into their addiction just because you think that belief is silly or that it wouldn't work for you?
If you think that people aren't addicted to masturbation and don't experience withdrawal then I would suggest that you read the OPs original post.
I had to abstain from jacking off and sex for over two months after I got circumcised as an adult. The only thing in my life that changed is how irritable I was during those two months.
I don't think he is addicted, but he describes the characteristics of someone going through withdrawal in his example. When I quit smoking I was irritable during the process as a result of the change, just like the OP.
My whole point is posting here is that the OP is being pretty calloused towards people who might have an addiction, and his only solution is for them to give up what is working for them and start taking medication. He doesn't recognize that while he might not be addicted to something, or might be less susceptible to addiction, that others don't experience something different. And dismissing the benefits that people experience from a supportive group is irresponsible.
I do not see anything stating that people involved in no fap are trying to promote this to the population in general. They may offer assistance to other people in situations similar to theirs, but I don't see any attempt to proselytize.
Here is an article from AddictionResource specifically regarding masturbation:
Masturbation Addiction: Psychology, Effects, Statistics and Treatment
You don't have to agree that masturbation addiction is a real thing, but the professionals do. Dismissing and insulting people who are trying to cope with an addiction to a behavior that is harmful to them is cruel, unnecessary, and doesn't really benefit anyone.
Then again, some people get their dopamine release from being cruel to others when it really isn't called for, and from the original post and the topic of this thread it is clear that this was just meant as an insult to people trying to cope with their problems.
