Masturbation is a healthy and normal part of growing up for both men and women, but how can you tell when it becomes too much? Is it possible to have an addiction to it and if so, can you do serious harm to yourself by masturbating too much? Here’s what you want to know about masturbating and when and where to draw the line.
Question: I am 16 year old man and I masturbate once a day. I began masturbating when I was 12 – is that unhealthy or I will have problems in future? Thanks for your help!
–YouTube Viewer
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYliNavlCnM[/youtube]
Masturbation Is Perfectly Healthy And Natural
Masturbation is a perfectly healthy and natural part of everyone’s sex life. Both men and women masturbate, although male masturbation is quite a bit more common than the female counterpart. However, learning how to pleasure yourself is an important part of going through puberty and can help you translate your sexual desires and preferences to your partners as you become sexually active. There are lots of benefits to self-love, including:
- It helps relieve sexual frustration and pent up sexual feelings
- It helps reduce unwanted erections
- When done properly, it can help reduce or prevent premature ejaculation
- Even daily masturbation can be helpful if you’re not addicted to it
How To Tell If You’re Addicted To Masturbation
There are many ways to tell if you’re addicted to masturbating, and they’re similar to the signs people exhibit when they’re addicted to anything, including sex, drugs, food and alcohol. If you think you might be addicted to pleasuring yourself, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you think about it often? Is it the primary thing you’re thinking about throughout the day?
- Do you find it difficult to focus on other things because you’re looking forward to it?
- Do you plan your activities around the times you know you’re going to masturbate?
- Are you masturbating so much that you’re causing your penis to become raw or painful?
- Would you rather masturbate than have sex with your partner?
Even if you self pleasure often, that doesn’t automatically mean that you are addicted to it and need to stop. If you start noticing that all you really want to do is get it on with yourself, you’ve probably crossed the line. Masturbation should not rule your life!
What To Do If You’re Addicted To Masturbating
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions and you think you may be addicted to it, it’s okay to seek help. Addiction comes in many forms (it’s not just drugs and alcohol) and can seriously wreak havoc on your life if you don’t check out some resources that can help you tone down your addiction to masturbating.
If you’re not sure where to go to get help for a masturbation addiction, start by talking to your doctor. Don’t be embarrassed – your doctor has heard it all before and then some. Your doctor can do a thorough examination to determine whether you’re really doing harm to yourself by masturbating too much.
This will most likely only include a series of questions similar to those above rather than a physical examination unless you’ve got something going on down there (such as raw sores or bumps on the penis) that might be caused by excessive masturbation. Your doctor can refer you to someone that can help you talk through whatever issues you have that may be causing you to want to masturbate so often. Just remember that there is nothing wrong with seeking help for a problem and working towards bettering yourself!
Tips For Healthy Masturbation
If you’re masturbating once a day (or less, or more) and you’re not addicted to it, just enjoy it and enjoy the benefits that masturbating has to offer. If you’re leading an otherwise healthy and active life outside of your masturbatory activities, try not to worry too much about it. It’s a perfectly normal and healthy part of life for both men and women. There are, however, a few ways you can make it even better:
- Use lube!
- Oil, lotion, saliva or water are not good for pleasuring yourself. Lube is inexpensive, it’s readily available at just about any drug store or supermarket and it will make it feel so much better!
- To use masturbation to prevent unwanted erections, stroke yourself until you’re at the brink of orgasm, then take a break. This technique will help you learn how to last longer and control your climax.
- Try mutual masturbation with your partner so you can both get an idea of how best to pleasure the other.