Masturbation - yay or nay

I have read quite a bit around the debate on masturbation. Some ferociously recommend it for the 'health benefits' and other studies show it might be bad for your sexual health.

During exam season, I used to indulge myself every night. However, now that I am out of that stress period, I still do it quite a bit. I feel like I should not. I would love to hear about people's experiences. Has anyone given up on masturbation and reaped from the benefits of abstinence?

Please remain civil in the thread. I know this topic makes us all a little hot-headed. I wont even apologise for that pun.

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

I’ve never seen it as a problem. I do as and when I need to and it’s never had any negative effects on me. I have a sexual disorder and so masturbation has actually helped.
However I suppose it can cause issues if you do it to excess. Someone I was with said he did it about 9 or 10 times a day and constantly watched p0rn. Sometimes he would cause himself chafe blisters. He also used to grip it really tightly so when it came to us having sex, he just could not finish no matter what I tried (we had open communication so it wasn’t like I was just clueless and hadn’t asked him what he liked) which was dissapointing and used to make me feel bad.

So there’s something from both sides. I guess too much can be bad and have detrimental effects but doing it can also improve problems one may have.

I’ve not really reaped any benefits from abstinence of masurbation or sex but I’m sure there are people out there who have.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Yeah, I mean I don't really do it as frequently as your guy did. Thank you for sharing. I am hoping someone with a little more experience with abstinence could give me much-needed advice. It is all good reading articles and stuff but I would just really love an actual person's experience with stopping masturbation and seeing how their life changed. Do you know what I mean?

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

So yeah, keep it coming guys.

Spoiler

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

I’m wondering what is it you’re trying to gain from abstinence exactly?

Reply 5

JTfoxlove

Choosing to masturbate or not is really up to the individual. Anyone who is 'ferociously' advocating or criticising masturbating isn't worth listening to. The internet is full of information about masturbation but you need to be very critical of your sources (sites that are only set up to support one side of the debate, sites with political/ideological/religious/commercial bias, forums and sites that focus on anecdotal evidence, sites that reference reports and statistics without a link rather than linking to peer reviewed studies.

There are no notable risks with masturbating or not masturbating, it's really a personal choice thing.

For most people who choose to: masturbation and/or sex is a positive thing in their life.

This said, a small minority of people can find that masturbate and/or sex becomes a negative thing; interfering with normal functions (not leaving the house, eating, missing deadlines, etc)(taking the place of sex with a partner in a relationship), making them feel shame or separately, anxious or depressed. These people should try to address the situation themselves, replacing the activity with something else and removing catalysts and supporting circumstances around the activity (porn, boredom, being alone, etc); if things are really bad or after a period of time things are not improving they should pop along to their doctor.

To get the most out of masturbation try to frame it as a positive in your life:
i) Know that its a positive normal activity and is nothing to be ashamed of.
ii) Do it when you're horny or when you deserve a reward. Don't do it because you are bored or to avoid doing a task that needs to get done.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/masturbation-faqs/
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/sexual-health/am-i-masturbating-too-much-and-can-it-be-bad-for-me/

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post by JTfoxlove

This ^

You’re not gonna get a better, well put together reply than this one

Pppppp

Masturbation is a very personal choice to make. Most people do say that masturbation helps to deal with stress, and I guess I can say that from personal experience too, and you have lots of articles on the internet saying the same. Not masturbating at all doesn't have any disadvantages as far as I'm aware, and I've never heard of anyone having to face problems because of the same.
However, I am aware that too much masturbation can be bad for your health in the terms that - it can cause infertility, sex addiction and overall body cramps. Then again, this is just what I've read in books and the internet.
Lots of people (both men and women) tend to masturbate 2-3 times a week and are perfectly well. So, just try to keep a tab on yourself that you don't masturbate every single day because that could possibly lead to sex addiction, if not anything else.

Reply 9

Anonymous #1

I jus thought that if I can control this aspect of my life, I might have better discipline. People talk about how stopping masturbation also improves their sex life. lol I think what makes me really want to stop is the fear -as some has said - that masturbation leads to poorer sex life. I don't think I do too much anyways, only once a day and sometimes I skip days. What makes me not want to give up is that I am not really ashamed of it if I am honest and I am scared that if I give up, I will lose my sex drive.