Problems with masterbation
Masturbation side effects: Myths and facts
Masturbation is a normal and healthy sexual activity with few side effects. Many bizarre claims surround masturbation, such as going blind, and most of these claims are untrue.
Masturbation is when an individual stimulates their genitals for sexual pleasure, which may or may not lead to orgasm. Masturbation is common among men and women of all ages and plays a role in healthy sexual development.
Research has found that among adolescents aged 14–17 years in the United States, around 74 percent of males and 48 percent of females masturbate.
Among older adults, roughly 63 percent of men and 32 percent of women between 57 and 64 years of age masturbate.
People masturbate for many reasons. These include pleasure, enjoyment, fun, and tension release. Some individuals masturbate alone, while others masturbate with a partner.
This article looks at the potential side effects of masturbation and sorts the facts from the fiction regarding masturbation myths. It also identifies some of the health benefits of masturbation.
Many myths exist about the risks of masturbation, however none of these have been proven.
There are many myths about masturbation. Even though many of these have been debunked several times, they seem to resurface time and time again.
Most claims about masturbation are not backed up by science. There is often no scientific evidence to show that masturbation causes any of the adverse effects suggested. Masturbation will not cause:
- blindness
- hairy palms
- impotence later in life
- erectile dysfunction
- penis shrinkage
- penis curvature
- low sperm count
- infertility
- mental illness
- physical weakness
Some couples worry that their relationship must be unsatisfying if either one of them masturbates; this, too, is a myth.
Most men and women continue to masturbate either alone or together when they are in a relationship or married, and many find it an enjoyable part of their relationship.
One study found that women who masturbated had happier marriages compared to those who did not masturbate.
Masturbation is harmless. Some people may experience chafing or tender skin if they are too rough, but this will usually heal in a few days.
If men frequently masturbate within a short space of time, they may experience a slight swelling of the penis called an edema. This swelling usually disappears within a couple of days.
Other potential side effects include:
Guilt
Some people who worry that masturbation conflicts with their religious, spiritual, or cultural beliefs may experience feelings of guilt. However, masturbation is not immoral or wrong, and self-pleasure is not shameful.
Discussing feelings of guilt with a friend, healthcare professional, or therapist that specializes in sexual health might help a person to move past feelings of guilt or shame that they connect with masturbation.
Decreased sexual sensitivity
Aggressive or excessive masturbation techniques may lead to reduced sexual sensitivity.
If men have an aggressive masturbation method that involves too tight a grip on their penis, they can experience decreased sensation. A man can resolve this over time with a change of technique.
Enhanced stimulation, such as using a vibrator, may increase arousal and overall sexual function in both men and women.
Women who use a vibrator have reported improved sexual function and lubrication, while men experienced an improvement in erectile function.
Prostate cancer
The jury is out as to whether masturbation increases or decreases the risk of prostate cancer. Researchers need to conduct more studies before they can reach a conclusion.
A 2003 study demonstrated that men who ejaculated more than five times each week during their 20s were one third less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer than those who ejaculated less often.
Researchers speculate that the reduced risk was because frequent ejaculation may prevent the build-up of cancer-causing agents in the prostate gland.
A similar link between frequent ejaculation and a lower risk of prostate cancer was discovered in a 2016 study. Researchers found that men who ejaculated 21 times per month or more had a reduced risk of developing prostate cancer.
In contrast, a 2008 study found that frequent sexual activity during a man’s 20s and 30s increased his risk of prostate cancer, especially if he masturbated regularly.
Disrupting daily life
In rare cases, some individuals may masturbate more than they desire, which may:
- cause them to miss work, school, or important social events
- interrupt a person’s daily functioning
- affect their responsibilities and relationships
- serve as an escape from relationship issues or substitute for real-life experiences
Someone who thinks they might be adversely impacted by their masturbation practice should speak with a healthcare professional.
A doctor or counselor may suggest talk therapy to determine ways that they could manage their sexual behavior.
Consulting a sex therapist may also help with coping strategies for excessive masturbation. To locate a local sex therapist, a person can visit the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT).
Masturbation may reduce stress and relieve tension.
Masturbation has many physical and mental health benefits.
Few studies focus specifically on the benefits of masturbation, but research suggests that sexual stimulation, including stimulation through masturbation, can:
- reduce stress
- release tension
- enhance sleep quality
- boost concentration
- elevate mood
- relieve menstrual cramps
- alleviate pain
- improve sex
Masturbation has also been identified as a strategy to improve sexual health by promoting intimacy, exploring self-pleasure, desires, and needs, reducing unwanted pregnancies, and preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV transmission.
Individuals who choose to abstain from sex or who do not currently have a sexual partner may often masturbate as a sexual outlet.
Masturbation also has sexual health benefits specifically for older women, such as less vaginal dryness and decreased pain during sex.
Some people may feel embarrassed, guilty, or ashamed when talking about masturbation. But masturbation is normal, healthy, and not something to feel guilty about.
Masturbation will not lead to blindness or cause physical and mental health problems. In many cases, masturbation has more health benefits than adverse effects.
Masturbation is usually only a problem if it begins to interfere with daily life and relationships with friends, family, coworkers, and romantic partners.
In those circumstances, it may be helpful to speak to a healthcare professional, especially a sex therapist.
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Masturbation before a workout: Is there any effect?
Masturbation is a healthy and safe sexual activity that has links to numerous health benefits, such as pain relief and stress reduction.
Opinions on how masturbation affects exercise vary, but there is not enough evidence to support one view over the other.
Some members of the health and fitness community are in a debate about the potential risks and benefits of masturbation before a workout.
Some people believe that masturbation can influence levels of testosterone, which plays a crucial role in promoting overall physical fitness. They also think that masturbation and other sexual activities can lead to improvements in mood and lower stress, which can indirectly improve physical performance.
However, other people think that masturbation adversely influences physical performance due to excess energy expenditure. Continue reading to learn about the possible benefits and side effects associated with masturbating before a workout.
Share on PinterestResearch has shown that masturbation does not affect testosterone levels.The debate about whether masturbation is beneficial before exercise seems to focus on how masturbation influences testosterone.
Testosterone is the primary male reproductive hormone, but females also produce it. It plays a crucial role in promoting physical fitness among both males and females. According to one animal study, it plays a vital role in muscle protein synthesis.
Another review that included studies on humans suggests that testosterone also plays a role in bone formation.
With that said, the question remains whether masturbation significantly affects testosterone levels.
What do the studies say?
Testosterone levels naturally increase during sexual arousal and decrease after orgasm, but it appears that masturbation does not significantly impact a person’s level of testosterone.
The findings of a 2001 study showed that orgasm due to masturbation did not affect plasma testosterone levels. However, the authors observed higher concentrations of testosterone in men who abstained from sexual activity for 3 weeks. This was a small study with only 10 participants.
In another early study from 2003, researchers observed that testosterone levels fluctuated minimally during the first 5 days of sexual abstinence, peaked at 7 days, and then remained constant.
The findings of this study suggest that short periods of abstinence may result in temporary fluctuations in testosterone levels.
Although masturbation has little to no effect on testosterone levels, it may still benefit a person’s workout performance.
However, there is not enough scientific research to support a direct link between masturbation and better physical performance.
Current scientific research does suggest, however, that sexual activity may enhance people’s overall health.
A recent study on adults who had experienced a heart attack suggests that those who frequently engaged in sexual activity had better long term survival rates.
Hormones, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin, increase during and following sexual climax. These hormones positively affect mood and could influence the mental aspect of exercise by improving a person’s frame of mind and motivation during a workout.
Masturbation is a safe sexual activity that has few, if any, long term side effects.
One 2016 review looking at sexual activity and competitive sports concludes that there is not any evidence to suggest that masturbation has a direct adverse effect on overall physical fitness or sports performance in males or females. Anecdotal evidence also indicates that having sexual intercourse about 10 hours before taking part in a sports competition may have a positive effect on performance.
Masturbating too frequently can lead to temporary side effects, including:
- overly sensitive or tender skin near the genitals
- swelling or edema of the penis
- decreased sensitivity
- fatigue
Share on PinterestIf someone engages in sexual activity, it may increase testosterone levels, reduce stress, and relieve pain.
It appears that masturbation induces similar effects in both males and females. Engaging in sexual activity increases testosterone levels, reduces stress, and relieves pain.
Male and female bodies respond differently to testosterone.
Males naturally have higher levels of testosterone than females, which leads to the development of some typical male characteristics, such as body and facial hair.
These characteristics do not usually occur in females producing normal levels of the hormone. Testosterone also plays an essential role in sperm production and egg development.
Currently, scientific research has not revealed a direct relationship between masturbation and exercise performance in males or females.
However, the findings of one recent study suggest that regular sexual activity may improve levels of life satisfaction and enjoyment among older adults.
Masturbation has little to no direct effect on people’s workout performance. Although testosterone levels fluctuate immediately after orgasm, the change is temporary and unlikely to affect a person’s physical fitness.
Masturbation may stimulate the release of endorphins and other feel-good hormones. These hormonal changes can help reduce stress and improve mood.
People should structure their routines accordingly. If masturbating makes someone extremely tired, they may want to avoid it before a workout. Masturbating has few, if any, side effects.
Chapter 12 THE PROBLEM OF MASTURBATION. Esoteric philosophy of love and marriage
Chapter 12 THE PROBLEM OF MASTURBATION
Self-satisfaction can be defined as an artificially induced reaction of the sexual organs. Therefore, in order to correctly understand and solve the presented problem, it is necessary to look at it calmly and without prejudice.
Some believe that masturbation is a mortal danger, others believe that it is completely harmless. Based on extensive experience in research on cases of masturbation, I come to the conclusion that none of the statements is unequivocally correct.
The amount of harm caused by masturbation depends on the intensity of masturbation. But, despite the fact that everyone subject to this debilitating vice cannot be considered completely healthy mentally and physically, I am not aware of cases of prolonged physiological reactions to self-satisfaction.
After the cessation of masturbation, recovery occurs fairly quickly. Given the understanding of the psychological background, it is not at all difficult to get rid of this habit.
My experience of dealing with those who are addicted to masturbation - and I had to meet them very often - invariably shows that the absent pleasure partner is replaced by the products of one's own fantasy - mental images.
The key to understanding the problem of self-satisfaction is precisely the fact of the existence of such a fantasy, because in the absence of the latter, the act itself brings purely negative satisfaction and physical relief, and therefore soon loses its attractiveness, and the habit tends to stop.
Actually physiological reactions that occur in the process of self-satisfaction are completely identical to those observed during normal sexual intercourse. The difference is in the mental and emotional aspects and is explained by the fact that in such activities the higher purpose of sex is lost due to the exclusive cultivation of its lower aspects.
If we talk about the physical consequences of masturbation, then they, firstly, consist in the premature onset of sexual activity with the ensuing cessation of general growth and development.
Secondly, the harm from masturbation lies in overdoing it (similar to the side effects of too frequent normal intercourse).
And, finally, since in this case the means of satisfying lust are always at hand and cost nothing, when a habit develops, the likelihood of sexual anxiety rises sharply.
A person who has a solid bank account can afford significant expenses without fear of costs. But the one whose income is small will only squander his savings by reckless spending.
The energy that we spend on sexual intercourse is drawn from the general energy resources of the body. If we spend too much, we will suffer from exhaustion, become unfit for work, and become easy prey for various diseases. This applies to married life no less than to temporary unions or self-satisfaction.
On the other hand, when sexual excesses stop, the body's systems quickly recover - it is for this reason that in case of sexual problems, some doctors do not hesitate to suggest masturbation as a "medicine".
But one has to admit that there are certain consequences in the case of masturbation in adulthood, namely, the formation of rigid reactive patterns, which makes other forms of sexual expression impossible, and the person is incapable of marriage.
This danger is not so serious for a woman (since she, being a passive partner, may gradually acquire new reactive habits over the course of several months of normal married life), but if the active partner, a man, acquires a pathological pattern, the latter will soon show an inability to respond to normal stimuli, which means it will not be able to perform its functions. It will be impossible for a man to acquire a new reactive habit through experience, since it is impossible for him to start all over again.
Therefore, I believe that male masturbation is a much more serious problem than female masturbation.
In addition, frequent self-gratification makes it impossible for both sexes to receive normal sexual pleasure, which in turn can lead to the practice of perversions.
Almost every infant plays with his genitals, but there is an incredibly great difference between a child - who experiments with an indefinite and undeveloped sensation, the meaning of which is not yet available to him - and a convinced adult, for whom this form of self-gratification has become a stable habit that makes normal sexual activity impossible. relations.
Bad habits of this kind are unusually common among older children and adolescents, and despite this it is obvious that after stopping their practice, all this does not leave any consequences (provided that they do not turn into excesses and do not continue into adulthood ).
The greatest mistake would be to try to scare the child with a story about the terrible diseases that may follow as a result of this bad habit in order for him to give it up.
First of all, it is incorrect, and besides, it fixes thoughts on a problem that needs to be solved and which is better solved by thinking about something else and changing the circle of interests.
In the chapter on sex education, I have already talked about the preferred course of action in this case. Combined with sensible attention to hygiene and daily routines and the stories about methods of controlling sexual impulses given in the previous chapters, this problem can be solved.
But never, for any reason, threaten a child with a lifelong disability as a result of his actions (even if it seems to you that such a thing can actually happen), because the resulting self-hypnosis of fear has much more destructive consequences and can even lead to hypochondria and sexual impotence.
I cannot advise anyone to use masturbation as a therapeutic tool, although I know that even qualified doctors sometimes recommend it as a transitional remedy on the difficult path from depravity to restraint (in cases where a change in internal status causes serious sexual problems).
There are medicines that reduce sexual tension, and I think that their use is preferable to the acquisition of a bad habit, because in the latter case, what is happening is described by the proverb "Out of the fire and into the frying pan."
This is about the same as using addictive drugs - during an acute attack of illness, they can help overcome the crisis, but if taken regularly, they themselves can cause illness.
Another frequently suggested solution - to use the services of professional prostitutes, these victims of society - is a course of treatment that is risky from the point of view of health and reputation and unacceptable from the standpoint of human dignity.
The method of thought control recommended in this book will work nine times out of ten (regardless of whether it is a normal sexual attraction or a habit of masturbation) if used persistently and intelligently.
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Side effects of masturbation: is self-gratification harmful?
Masturbation is a completely natural sexual activity. It's a healthy way to reduce stress and have fun, explore your body, and release built-up tension. However, some people do not experience relief after masturbation, on the contrary, they catch themselves feeling increased anxiety, while others cannot give it up.
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The benefits of masturbation
Do not self-medicate! In our articles, we collect the latest scientific data and the opinions of authoritative health experts.
But remember: only a doctor can diagnose and prescribe treatment.
Generally, people masturbate to relieve tension and anxiety. Unfortunately, at the moment there are quite a few studies on the relationship between self-satisfaction and anxiety, for example.
And yet we are aware of the many benefits of masturbation:
- relaxation;
- release of sexual tension;
- stress reduction;
- uplifting;
- improved sleep;
- relief of convulsions;
- getting to know your preferences.
But we talked about the benefits of masturbation more than once, it's not so interesting anymore. But do masturbation have negative consequences?
Side effects of masturbation
The answer to this question is not so simple, because masturbation as a physical activity does not really have side effects, but when we talk about psychological problems, everything is much less clear.
Basically, there are three side effects of masturbation: anxiety or guilt, addiction, and compulsive masturbation.
Some people do experience anxiety when it comes to sexual desire and sex. One 2016 study of 4,211 men found that young men were the most likely to masturbate. Those who masturbated the most often experienced the highest levels of anxiety and guilt. 8.4% reported feeling guilty after masturbating, they also experienced less partner orgasm frequency and more trouble getting an erection during sex.
But masturbation itself can give rise to feelings of guilt associated with a person's spiritual, cultural or religious beliefs. Anxiety can be related to a specific type of masturbation or in general, depending on what the person views as taboo. If you feel guilty about masturbating, talk to someone you trust, preferably a therapist.
Addiction is another possible side effect of masturbation.
The main thing to remember here is that “masturbation too often” in itself is not a symptom of addiction. How to understand that you are addicted to masturbation? The symptoms of this addiction are the same as those of alcoholism. If because of masturbation you...
- ...not doing household chores;
- ...cancel meetings with friends;
- ...you don't go to work or school;
- ...missing important social events,
yes, Houston, we have a problem. If masturbation does not make you refuse a business meeting, then you can exhale and relax. To develop an addiction to masturbation is, frankly, not that easy.
As for men, only 3-5% of them have a passion for this activity that goes beyond the bounds of reason, it becomes the same bad habit as smoking or alcohol.
In rare cases, masturbation becomes a compulsion , although compulsive sexual behavior includes not only masturbation, but also pornography and constant infidelity, which a person cannot control, just as an alcoholic cannot refuse vodka.
