Is hard mode worth it?

32 days into hard mode. Experiencing tons of benefits. Smooth sailing staying away from porn and MO. But more and more, as I've started emerging full-throttle from flatline, I find myself wanting to get back in the game with women.

I've sought out all the advice out there - lots of people saying normal mode is fine or even therapeutic, with the main risk being chaser effect; others saying there are unique benefits from hard mode, generally benefits may come faster, and that it may be necessary for full recovery if you grew up on internet porn. Not a lot of real evidence presented on either side.

Can anyone help me out here? Is hard mode worth it? I don't want to go back to square one when I'm already 1/3 of the way to a hard mode reboot. But beautiful women are everywhere and it's driving me a little crazy. If it matters, what finally got me on this path was intermittent but not really severe PIED.