#1 ·
I want to bring up a problem that’s been eating at me for a while now. It isn't exactly common knowledge, so I’m sharing my experience here in hopes that someone else gets it and will actually jump into the conversation.
A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Wikipedia and stumbled upon POIS (Post orgasmic illness syndrome). Everything I read matched my symptoms perfectly. POIS is a state of prolonged mental and physical exhaustion that kicks in after orgasm, lasting anywhere from a few days to two full weeks. This isn't that relaxed, pleasant feeling you get after sex that lasts an hour or two. POIS is overwhelming. It crushes you, leaving you physically and mentally drained, empty, and completely unable to function. It hits after nocturnal emissions, masturbation, or sex.
The mental side includes: feeling totally off, depression, dissatisfaction, lack of focus, loss of interest, brain fog, difficulty communicating, low self-esteem, crushed confidence, social withdrawal, anxiety, and trouble expressing oneself.
Physical symptoms include: eye irritation, weakness, diarrhea, muscle weakness, fever, fatigue, susceptibility to colds, and cold hands.
Once the symptoms clear up—usually after a couple of days—you feel like your old self again.
Reading about it was a shock. Almost everything lined up. For me, ejaculation means at least three days of feeling detached and absent; three days of fear regarding the future and failure instead of feeling love.
During those few days following an orgasm, I don't want to do anything. I have zero desire to be social. Even if I try, it feels fake. I can't be the person I actually want to be—confident, outgoing, calm, focused, attractive, or free. With POIS, I feel trapped, like I can't break out of this state no matter what.
Look, I know everyone deals with anxiety or depression occasionally. When I'm not dealing with POIS, I handle those moods easily. I just focus on something positive and move on. But when POIS hits, it takes over. It’s stronger than me. I can't fight it off. It’s the exact opposite of my normal state where I can manage my emotions. In POIS, paranoia sets in. I become terrified of the sensation itself—that feeling of total impossibility, of being unable to change my state. In my normal life, I accept bad moods because they are normal. In POIS, I lose all touch with reality. It’s nothing but paranoia, fear, and suffering.
Normally, I’m happy, satisfied, energetic, and creative. POIS is the pure antithesis of who I am. Lately, trying to fix this has been infuriating. It’s hitting me harder and more often. The days when I wake up feeling normal—without that disgusting POIS feeling—are becoming rare. They are precious. I have to fight this. I won't let a basic biological function that's almost impossible to avoid ruin my quality of life and destroy who I am. I deserve to live a normal life, and I'll do whatever it takes to beat POIS. So far, I haven't cracked it, but I'm working on it and hoping to find a way out.
Here are some links if you want to see what POIS actually is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postorg...lness_syndrome
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/fo...p?topic=6576.0
http://sites.google.com/site/poiswebsite/home
Check out this video. It does a solid job explaining POIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBxAUC9k1g
That’s it. Thanks to anyone who actually read this. If you've got something to say about it, join the conversation. Just remember, this isn't the whole story on POIS.
A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Wikipedia and stumbled upon POIS (Post orgasmic illness syndrome). Everything I read matched my symptoms perfectly. POIS is a state of prolonged mental and physical exhaustion that kicks in after orgasm, lasting anywhere from a few days to two full weeks. This isn't that relaxed, pleasant feeling you get after sex that lasts an hour or two. POIS is overwhelming. It crushes you, leaving you physically and mentally drained, empty, and completely unable to function. It hits after nocturnal emissions, masturbation, or sex.
The mental side includes: feeling totally off, depression, dissatisfaction, lack of focus, loss of interest, brain fog, difficulty communicating, low self-esteem, crushed confidence, social withdrawal, anxiety, and trouble expressing oneself.
Physical symptoms include: eye irritation, weakness, diarrhea, muscle weakness, fever, fatigue, susceptibility to colds, and cold hands.
Once the symptoms clear up—usually after a couple of days—you feel like your old self again.
Reading about it was a shock. Almost everything lined up. For me, ejaculation means at least three days of feeling detached and absent; three days of fear regarding the future and failure instead of feeling love.
During those few days following an orgasm, I don't want to do anything. I have zero desire to be social. Even if I try, it feels fake. I can't be the person I actually want to be—confident, outgoing, calm, focused, attractive, or free. With POIS, I feel trapped, like I can't break out of this state no matter what.
Look, I know everyone deals with anxiety or depression occasionally. When I'm not dealing with POIS, I handle those moods easily. I just focus on something positive and move on. But when POIS hits, it takes over. It’s stronger than me. I can't fight it off. It’s the exact opposite of my normal state where I can manage my emotions. In POIS, paranoia sets in. I become terrified of the sensation itself—that feeling of total impossibility, of being unable to change my state. In my normal life, I accept bad moods because they are normal. In POIS, I lose all touch with reality. It’s nothing but paranoia, fear, and suffering.
Normally, I’m happy, satisfied, energetic, and creative. POIS is the pure antithesis of who I am. Lately, trying to fix this has been infuriating. It’s hitting me harder and more often. The days when I wake up feeling normal—without that disgusting POIS feeling—are becoming rare. They are precious. I have to fight this. I won't let a basic biological function that's almost impossible to avoid ruin my quality of life and destroy who I am. I deserve to live a normal life, and I'll do whatever it takes to beat POIS. So far, I haven't cracked it, but I'm working on it and hoping to find a way out.
Here are some links if you want to see what POIS actually is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postorg...lness_syndrome
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/fo...p?topic=6576.0
http://sites.google.com/site/poiswebsite/home
Check out this video. It does a solid job explaining POIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBxAUC9k1g
That’s it. Thanks to anyone who actually read this. If you've got something to say about it, join the conversation. Just remember, this isn't the whole story on POIS.