Thanks for writing this out! I consider myself pretty “straight edge” too, in that I’ve never done drugs or gotten drunk for many of the same reasons you’ve stated, and I’ve never considered other forms of mind-alteration such as intimacy to fall under the same category, but it makes sense to. One exception to that, however, is that lust is very clearly a result of mind-altering chemicals, and the solution (for guys at least, not sure how it works for women) is very effective. I’ve actually advised young men quite often to masturbate before making romantic decisions to see if it affects their judgement… basically if you still want to go on a date with someone even after recent release, you probably like them for more than just horniness.
Glad you enjoyed it, and it’s good to meet another straight-edge here (although you don’t seem to fully identify with the term, which is ok! I’m not sure I do either).
I heard of the strategy of masturbating before going on a date before, but I mostly heard it as an advice to be less nervous (somehow). Your advice seems sensible, although I’m not sure how effective it would be, in that it would release a ton of hormones that make you happy right before meeting someone, and could alter your vision of them. I really don’t know haha, just saying there are probably a lot of unknowns unknowns here (and I’m not sure how much they’re worth figuring out).
Thanks for writing this out! I consider myself pretty “straight edge” too, in that I’ve never done drugs or gotten drunk for many of the same reasons you’ve stated, and I’ve never considered other forms of mind-alteration such as intimacy to fall under the same category, but it makes sense to. One exception to that, however, is that lust is very clearly a result of mind-altering chemicals, and the solution (for guys at least, not sure how it works for women) is very effective. I’ve actually advised young men quite often to masturbate before making romantic decisions to see if it affects their judgement… basically if you still want to go on a date with someone even after recent release, you probably like them for more than just horniness.
Glad you enjoyed it, and it’s good to meet another straight-edge here (although you don’t seem to fully identify with the term, which is ok! I’m not sure I do either).
I heard of the strategy of masturbating before going on a date before, but I mostly heard it as an advice to be less nervous (somehow). Your advice seems sensible, although I’m not sure how effective it would be, in that it would release a ton of hormones that make you happy right before meeting someone, and could alter your vision of them. I really don’t know haha, just saying there are probably a lot of unknowns unknowns here (and I’m not sure how much they’re worth figuring out).
Lol you are a very wise man