Masturbation is normal for both men and women, as well as teens and young adults. It’s a healthy part of any sex life! But how often can you masturbate without it being “too much?” How do you know if you’re masturbating is getting excessive? Here’s how to control your masturbation if you find that getting off starts taking over your life.

Question: I am 17 years old and i think i am masturbating too much, like 3 times a day – 18 times a week or less! Please help me, how can I control myself?

–YouTube Viewer

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJLl7OqEPbM[/youtube]

Is The Indicator Of A Masturbation Addiction Really Frequency?

Many people are under the assumption that the real indicator of a masturbation addiction is how often you masturbate, but there are many people who masturbate several times per day or more and don’t have an addiction to it at all. So what is the real indicator of a masturbation addiction? Start digging deeper and asking yourself some important questions. Do you find that masturbation is taking over your life? Do you masturbate instead of doing other things that you enjoy doing, or do you masturbate instead of taking care of your responsibilities to yourself and others? The true indicator of a sex addiction is not how often you do it, but how it is affecting the other aspects of your life and the lives of those around you.

Why Do You Masturbate So Often?

Saying that you masturbate often only because it feels good or because you’re bored probably isn’t the real reason you are masturbating a lot. There are often emotional reasons behind frequent masturbation, such as being lonely or stressed, or having ended a relationship that was important to you. Daily masturbation makes a very effective escape mechanism, but it can quickly become addicting as you look to escape your problems more and more often. Think about what is going on in your life emotionally that may be causing you to masturbate excessively. Finding the actual root of the problem is one of the first steps to breaking the bad habit.

Breaking The Habit

If masturbation begins taking over your life and you fear you may have a very real sex addiction, it’s time to break the habit. Try using the “rubber band trick,” which involves wearing a rubber band around your wrist and snapping it when you begin to think of masturbating and then immediately thinking of something else. If you find that you masturbate at certain times during the day, try making plans to do other things during that time of the day instead. It won’t be easy, and it will take some real effort on your part. But it’s not impossible. If you’ve tried breaking the masturbation addiction on your own, don’t be afraid to ask for help from a qualified therapist or counselor with whom you feel comfortable with. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s actually the opposite. It takes a lot of strength to admit you have a problem, but it’s one of the first steps to real recovery.