Is masturbation addiction really a thing? Many people find masturbation enjoyable and a quick way to feel good. However, sometimes excessive masturbation stops being fun, and it feels compulsive due to pornography addiction.
If porn and masturbation start to take over someone’s life and mental energy, it can lead to job loss, debt and anxiety, depression, and broken trust in your marriage.
The question facing many individuals is, how much is too much masturbation? How will this negatively affect you? And how can I gain greater control over my actions? And there are some really good resources for information and tools available to help you gain control.
What is Compulsive Sexual Behavior?
Compulsive sexual behavior is any type of sexual behavior that becomes harder and harder to control, whether that’s watching porn, having sex, fantasizing, masturbating, or other illegal activities such as prostitution.
Compulsive masturbation is when someone is unable to control the urge to masturbate and it negatively affects other areas of their life because of these urges.
Many people have different ideas about how often it’s acceptable to masturbate. If you feel like it takes up more and more time, thought and energy, you might consider addressing the issue to discover what might be causing it so your life doesn’t become negatively impacted.
Signs of Masturbation Addiction?
Having an orgasm can help you relax, sleep, and feel better if you’re anxious. But when does masturbation start to become unhealthy?
Men between the ages of 18 to 59 masturbated weekly to monthly. A few males (about 20%) masturbated four times a week or more. Women reported once a week or less.
Too much masturbation isn’t a sign of illness. The frequency of self-gratification varies from person to person.
However, some people masturbate excessively, causing issues. Therefore, look out for indicators of excessive masturbation.
Signs of masturbation addiction are:
- Masturbating regularly to where it interferes with other elements of your personal or professional life
- Difficulty waiting till he gets home to masturbate, resulting in self-pleasuring in inconvenient or unsuitable locations
- Masturbation as a coping mechanism for tough conditions or emotional distress
- Genital irritation or other damage symptoms
- Because of a decrease in genital sensitivity, it’s difficult to reach orgasm with a partner.
- After masturbating, you may experience tremendous remorse or humiliation.
- Unable to limit or stop masturbating despite your best efforts
- If you masturbate excessively or obsessively, it may be time to consult a sexual health specialist.
Other reasons that may contribute to compulsive masturbation, aside from health issues, using illicit drugs, and prescription medications, include:
- A history of physical or sexual abuse
- A history of behavioral addictions in the family
- Living up to cultural or religious standards
- The ease with which you can access pornography
Is Compulsive Masturbation Harmful?
Overwhelming medically reviewed evidence from academic research institutions suggests masturbation has no real adverse side effects for most people. However, it is when it becomes excessive, it can cause problems:
- Distress on an emotional and psychological level
- Inflamed skin around the genitals or on the genitals
- In sexual relationships with a partner, there are performance issues.
- Relationship problems with a partner
- Self-stimulation can create embarrassment and low self-esteem for some morally or religiously opposed to masturbation.
Masturbation in teenagers is a part of growing up and experiencing their sexual urges. It’s a time of experimentation as their bodies are undergoing changes. When in moderation, masturbation can be help relieve sexual urges.
Does Masturbation Addiction and Sex Addiction Go Together?
These two types of addictions are different in the way that they manifest, but the root cause of them are the same. If people are unable to control sexual behavior, it’s because there is an underlying problem that isn’t being addressed.
Sexually compulsive behaviors, frequent masturbation, or other compulsive sexual behaviors often is a result of someone trying to cope with emotional pain, such as loneliness, insecurities, inadequacies, or disconnection from real relationships.
Uncontrollable sexual activity in someone’s personal life can be addressed by resolving the underlying feelings they are trying to escape from. Addiction is simply a symptom of this deeper problem.
How To Reduce Masturbation?
If you think you might have a masturbation compulsion or addiction, the first thing you should do is talk to a healthcare provider, sex therapist, or other mental health professional.
Treatment options for masturbation compulsion or addiction include psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, to find out what caused the person to do this. You and your therapist can then work together to develop coping strategies and ways to reduce or stop masturbation.
Things you can do to reduce time spent masturbating include:
- Avoiding potential triggers like pornography
- Other pursuits, such as exercise or new hobbies, should be pursued.
- In social situations, spend more time with people
- Examine your coping mechanisms for stress and emotional distress and try out some new ones.
- By tackling one urge at a time, you may break it down into an achievable objective.
- Join support groups, either in person or online, to discuss your worries and discover new strategies to regulate your sexual activities.
Because masturbation addiction isn’t a condition detailed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and can’t be diagnosed by a doctor, it doesn’t mean it’s not real for the people who have it.
If you’re worried that your masturbation frequency or urges are becoming too much, know that you’re not the only one, and there are ways to help you get over it.
The World Health Organization added another change to the International Classification of Disease in the last few months. For example, compulsive masturbation disorder was added to their new list of patient mental health condition because it is a category for problematic sexual behavior.
Any time someone thinks they have a compulsive sexual disorder; they need to get treatment for sex addiction. In treatment for someone with this condition to live a healthy, happy life, they need to get the right help.
All compulsive behavior has in common that they don’t know how to stop themselves from doing things. People also think about sexual acts repeatedly, which makes them want to act out.
Any other addiction needs the same treatment that this one does, so it needs the same help. Getting the right tools can be especially important in the healing addiction treatment and in the treatment of compulsive masturbation disorder.
Why Stop a Masturbation Addiction?
Masturbation can sometimes make people feel bad or change their lives. It’s not considered a mental health disorder, but there are negative consequences to not getting the behavior under control.
Here are a list of symptoms of compulsive masturbation:
Indulging More than Usual
Masturbation addiction is clear when an individual spends more time masturbating. Excessive masturbation occurs when a person masturbates 4-7 times per day and may need to use sex toys to achieve sexual pleasure.
Risky Masturbation
A masturbation addiction occurs when a person cannot wait until a secluded place before engaging in the act. Masturbating in public is a sign of compulsive masturbation.
Managing Mood with Masturbation
Masturbation addicts may try to cope with stress, worry, depression, and other negative feelings by masturbating. Masturbation is used as a coping mechanism to escape certain feelings.
Sex isn’t Enjoyable
Such a compulsive sexual behavior can make sex feel less pleasurable, which then leads to relationship problems.
Lack of Social Life
If you spend more time with your compulsive sexual behavior, and masturbating in isolation, you spend less time with friends.
All these are negative effects that arise because of excessive masturbation. Such behavior is anti-social and can stem from mental health problems.
How Can I Control the Urge to Masturbate?
There are ways and techniques that can help you stop masturbating like:
1: Avoid Pornography
Exposure to pornography may trigger the desire to masturbate.
People who want to stop masturbating should avoid pornographic movies, images, and websites. If a person can place a barrier between themselves and pornography, it can help them break the habit and stop access to pornographic material.
2: Stay active
Having something to do can help with self-addiction treatment. They won’t want to masturbate. Finding a particular interest or other ways to release energy can replace time spent masturbating.
The person can then figure out when the need to masturbate is the strongest, or when they have sexual fantasies and then organize activities around that.
3: Seek Professional Help
For those struggling with masturbation, seeking counseling to be medically reviewed by a mental health specialist trained in human sexuality may be beneficial.
Possible underlying concerns for sex addiction include obsessive-compulsive disorder or negative emotions. Talking to a therapist or psychologist can help you work through your issues and learn new ways to quit masturbating.
Getting additional tools and strategies through books or podcasts designed to help with sexual behaviors and strengthening relationships is crucial.
4: Spend Time With Others
For some people, porn addiction is a means to relieve stress or loneliness. Less alone time alone means less opportunity to masturbate. Spending time with others may both occupy and focus a person.
5: Exercise
When a person engages in or sporting activities, they can find it a way to lower tension and focus energy.
Exercising can strengthen the body and release endorphins that make you feel good rather than go to response actions of masturbation. Happier and more relaxed feelings may diminish the urge of your unwanted behavior and to masturbate.
6: Find Support Group
Compulsive masturbation is related to guilt and humiliation and can lead to lots of emotional pain. Masturbation can be obsessive for several reasons and caused by:
- Untreated mental health conditions
- Relationship issues
- Restrictive views on sexuality
- Poor sexual communication or conflict resolution skills
- Cultural differences in sexual expression
Having help from a trusted group of people in a support group, rather than being medically reviewed, can be a fantastic addiction resource to help kick the habit.
Compulsive masturbation can be treated with selective serotonin uptake inhibitors, although this is the extreme and should be a last resort.
