Article Contents
Masturbation is very common these days particularly in younger people, which can sometimes result in addiction. Previously, we’ve covered some of the myths that surround it, but I think it would be better covering the addiction separately as it is completely a different point of view of masturbation.
In its basic form, masturbation is an act of self-stimulation of the genitals for sexual pleasure to the point of reaching sexual climax better known as orgasm. Masturbation can be done through massaging, stroking or touching the penis for men or clitoris for women.
The self-stimulation is done until orgasm is achieved and a sense of sexual tension is released. Sometimes, women used sex toys like a vibrator to help self-stimulate more intensely than just using the fingers.
With or Without A Partner
Masturbation is a very common behavior either on individuals with or without a partner, yet not many people talk about it. In one study conducted by Gloria Brame, PhD., 95% of men and 89% of women admitted having masturbated. For the majority, this act of self-sexual stimulation is the first encounter to experiencing sexual pleasure in both men and women.
Moreover, it is normal for young children to masturbate as part of exploring his or her body, and even others continue to perform masturbation in adulthood or even throughout their lifetime.
Probably, one biggest reason why people masturbate aside from it feels good, it allows the released of sexual tension that can build up over time. This is true especially for those individuals who do not have sexual partners, or perhaps have partners but cannot perform due to certain reasons.
Others choose to masturbate because it is the safest way to avoid risks of STI(sexually transmitted disease) and even avoid pregnancy.
In some medical requirements, men are required to masturbate in order to obtain a sample of semen for testing purposes like fertility tests or sperm donation.
Interestingly, masturbation can be prescribed by a sex therapist to both men and women. Typically, sex therapists ask women to masturbate in order to experience orgasm in women as some women have a hard time achieving sexual climax.
On men, a sex therapist may recommend masturbation to delay ejaculation especially in men who have an issue controlling their ejaculation resulting in releasing semen earlier than desired. Of course, there is a certain masturbation technique that needs to do, and not simply performing masturbation to reach orgasm.
Is Masturbation Normal Or Harmful
Historically, there are lots of drawings of male masturbation found in prehistoric rock paintings. It seems to be our early ancestors have been connected to human sexuality with nature’s abundance. The masturbation trend can also be traced back to ancient Egyptians and Greeks to the late 17th century until today.
As mentioned, this self-sex stimulation is very common. Now, is this normal and benign? There are cultures and religions that prohibit the act of masturbation, and in this case, this is might not be normal for them and doing so can result to feeling guilty or shame about the behavior that can later cause other negative effects on one’s overall self-esteem.
On the other hand, while masturbation was regarded as a sign or perversion of mental problems, today it is considered normal, acceptable, fulfilling, healthy and safe practice to experience sexual pleasure without partner involved.
In fact, the medical community considered masturbation as a harmless and natural way to express sexuality in both sexes. There is no evidence it can cause injury or harm to the body as being part of a normal sexual behavior and when done in moderation.
Signs Of Abnormal or Harmful Masturbation Behavior
- Done publicly
- Causes distress
- Prevents normal sexual activity with a partner
- Can develop premature ejaculation in the long run
- Done compulsively that it interferes with one’s daily regular activities or lifestyle, in general.
All these are symptoms of masturbation addiction. Unfortunately, there are individuals who are addicted to this pleasurable self-sexual stimulation making them act weirdly sometimes. In some cases, if not most of the time, it makes a person problematic without him or her being aware of it.
Certainly, this addiction can be stopped for good. This requires willpower, patience, and persistence in order to overcome the addiction. Just like with other addiction, it mainly involves the brain controlling the behavior.
At this point, it is vital that one is conscious of what he or she wants to achieve, in this case, overcome the addiction to masturbation and bring it to a normal level.
It might not be advisable to quit at all especially for those who do not have partners. At some point on one’s lifetime, experiencing sexual pleasure can be helpful in that it releases the build over time. Hence, overcoming masturbation addiction and bringing it to normal or moderation can be a good and healthy option.
How To Stop Masturbation Addiction
As I’ve mentioned, it may not be advisable to completely ditch the idea of masturbation especially for those who do not have a partner. Personally, the idea is to keep masturbation activity to minimal or should I say at a normal level. Perhaps doing it once or a few times a week would not hurt one’s personality and behavior.
Just as with any problem-solving process, the first thing to do to overcome masturbation addiction is to recognize the issue exist. Check yourself if you experienced certain masturbation behavior abnormalities as mentioned.
It is very common for teenagers to masturbate at least once a day, although others do it a few times a day. Once a day seems normal to some person as long as there are no signs of disturbances interfere on once overall behavior, or else masturbation addiction is very obvious.
The next thing one can do in order to overcome is using willpower. Willpower simply means having the self-discipline, self-control, or grit to resist on something the brain wants you to do, and in this case, masturbation.
This sounds simple, right? Everyone has his/her own willpower, yet for some, it is very difficult to develop and take advantage of this useful faculty of the mind.
Fortunately, psychologist and author Kelly McGonigal got some tips for everyone on how to develop willpower and tap into its unlimited power for achieving anything including the addiction to masturbation. She has 4 tips about how to harness this somewhat neglected capability within us as human.
Watch this video excerpt from her talk at Google.
Helpful Tips To Overcoming The Addiction
Now you know and have the idea how willpower can help to get started on winning the addiction to masturbation. Simply recognizing the existence of the problem and deciding to overcome the addiction are very helpful.
However, there are certain individuals who have difficulty achieving either or both. If this is the case, feel free to consult a professional counselor as he/she can help you achieve recognize the issue and decide to overcome it for good.
Also, refer to these tips that are outlined below in order to be successful on winning and breaking free from your addiction to masturbation.
8. 1. Set Small and Realistic Goals
If you’ve been masturbating once a day for every day for a long time, start with abstaining masturbation for a day. At this point, it is essential to be conscious and resist the urge for a single day without masturbation. At the end of the day, when you achieve a masturbation-free day, thank and praise yourself.
It is in these small successes that you get encouraged and motivated. Do not feel bad if you cannot do it the first time. Simply keep on trying until you do it for at least a day without masturbation.
Once you achieved it(certainly you can achieve it if you keep trying), make that one masturbation-free day to 2 days. Follow the same process as you did when you tried to achieve that one masturbation-free day. Then, increment one more day, and so on until you feel you’ve achieved 7 or 10 days without masturbation.
Now, you can increase your chances of succeeding if you set a certain time when to achieve such a goal. In other words, set a deadline when to achieve it fully. For instance, set 30 days as a maximum to achieving 10 days without masturbation.
Again, be firm about the deadline. In fact, you could better achieve this by marking your calendar and writing a journal about what you have just done.
Do not be discouraged if you fail the first time because you or anyone is not a failure until it is accepted as a failure. Keep trying and every time you try to keep your motivation stronger than before. Eventually, this will develop faith, and you’ll be able to visualize you are successful about what you are doing to stopping the addiction.
i understand that masturbation benefits health and mind and body, but i should also take note to limit it to prevent addiction.