Masturbation is healthy. What do you guys think.

Just as bad as porn IMO, in fact, even worse.

Porn is bad, but without M you don't get the lowered testosterone levels. M alone is slightly better than with P because it won't be quite as easy to form an addiction, but still has almost all the bad side effects.

 

When you jack off you lose a lot of minerals that would otherwise boost you up. Read up on semen retention.

 

Are there any actual scientific studies that prove regular masturbation is good for your body (and your mind, epecially your relationships)? It is really weird how often you will read that it's healthy. I heard it so often that it definitely was one of the aspects which made me justify my addiction in front of myself in the past, so I'm curious...

 

I, personally don't think masturbation is unhealthy*. It's masturbation to pornography that's unhealthy.
Take away the porn, take away the problem.

But the brain has got to reset. Otherwise you're masturbating to the memories, and fantasies of porn, which (again, my opinion only) is as bad as masturbating to porn.

I went a year without porn (before finding this site) but continued to masturbate.
What was I thinking about? Yep. Porn.
I was still having ED issues. I ended up slipping back into porn use.

Now I've given up both.
Personally, for me it's working. I'm not doing hard mode, as I'm married and I am rebooting a loving, sexual relationship with my wife.
If I was single, I think I'd do hard mode for at least 90 days, then maybe occasionally masturbate.

*As long as it's not obsessively done, for example every day, or more than that.

 

This is a great question!

First off, I think masturbation may be harmful for porn addicts because it may reinforce all sorts of porn-induced fantasies. That's why I'm doing the 90-days-challenge and I hope by the end of it my brain will have broken the connection between masturbation and porn.

On this point I'd like to ask you @Jackhammer, have you been able to break this connection so that when you masturbate you don't have to 'play porn videos back in your mind' ?

In short, for the mental aspect of it, I'd say it depends on the person. As long as you have a 'healthy imagination' and have completely recovered from your porn use, moderate masturbation should be ok.

As for the physiological side of it, you might want to check this out: http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/m...verything-menstrual-cramps-common-cold-352250

It seems that frequent ejaculation may reduce the risk of prostate cancer and give a boost to your immune system. On the down side, using the same fapping technique all the time might lead to decreased arousal/performance during sex. And we all want to have the real thing, right? So I think ideally the ratio between sex and masturbation should be, say, 9 to 1.

 

This question continues to pop up here and there is no definitive correct answer. My opinion is MO is alright as long as it's not excessive. The trick is to figure out how much is too much? I've been trying to stop PMO for almost a year and always fail in the 2-3 week. This time I'm trying not to MO while I go for my goal of 30-days with no PMO. So far so good and I think not MO is helping me move along.
Good luck, stay strong.

 

I masturbated only for 30 years and it caused me terrible problems. I think it is very harmful. I wish I could stop it.

 

Good question. From personal experience I find that MO has a negative impact on my emotional well being. That includes with P, without P, isolated sessions, and binge sessions. The only thing I can't comment on is MO without any kind of fantasy.

Interestingly, I find that WDs have a similar yet dampened effect to MO. This may be due to the guilt factor of relapsing while awake.

 

I think the idea of abstaining has more to do with your mastery over whatever issue is triggering it in the first place whether it's porn or stress or something else.

I have abstained for long periods of time. I think it's true that I was more productive and focused. MO like PMO often involve visualization and memories of porn or porn that you manufacture in your mind just for that one episode or as a recurring theme.

It's really something that can not be debated. Either you have control of those issues (self mastery) or you do not. At some point, often at many points we will all fail that test (lord I know...). I think it's about achieving a certain ideal of how you want to live, what kind of person you want to be and working towards it.

In my estimation PMO or MO contribute nothing to it except in mastering it you have been tested and prevailed.

 

I think masturbation is comparable to wine or chocolate, it's healthy but only in a small quantity. If you do it too much or get addicted to it, it becomes unhealthy. Like you say, masturbation can help you realise your stress and can be good for the prostate.

 

"Everything in moderation". Everything is bad when it's used too much. I think masturbation without porn is perfectly healthy - in moderation, and done not for stress relief, but to.. accent your sexuality. Masturbating to de-stress is like drinking to de-stress. What are you gonna do in periods of high stress? Not good. Alcohol, when used responsibly, can be fun, so alcohol should be used solely for fun.

Same with Masturbation, or anything really.

 

I agree with this, as it's what I've always thought of in the past. Once you get your brain on overstimulating porn, it's best to abstain from it all together.

It is also something I've wondered for some time, and I know one must form their own opinion regarding the topic, as just about everywhere you can see "masturbation is good" versus "stop masturbating". I guess it's up to each one of us to find what works for us.

Some people may also wonder - how come masturbating is unhealthy while having sex is okay? After all, it's the same sensation isn't it? They're completely different things. When masturbating, you're not developing a loving relationship with anyone but your own hand... but of course, one only uses it as a last resort when you don't have anyone to help you out. If you do want to find someone to help you out, then don't do it - that way you'll have the motivation.

I think that doing it just on very special occasions is fine. It is still playing with fire though - even if you've completely rebooted and no longer think about porn when doing it, the sexual hunger will always be there, and fantasies will eventually pop up again, making you then reach out for more, and so on. It all comes down to, sexual activity is okay, but not in excess... just like everything else in life.

 

Here's why I think masturbation, in itself, is harmful.

Our sexual faculty is designed (or, if you prefer, evolved) and ordered to what? To procreation. That means the whole, complex system -- involving the genitals, the nervous system, the brain, hormones, emotions, all of it -- is all configured to bonding with the opposite sex. Not just for one time, but for an ongoing way, because human offspring not only need to be conceived, but also nurtured.

So when we engage our sexual function, what are we doing? We are setting that whole process into motion. Our body does what it's designed to do. It doesn't distinguish between a sex act that is procreative, and one that is not. All the reactions and effects are triggered -- including, please note, the bonding part!

But when we masturbate, to whom are we bonding? No one else is there. It seems to me we kind of mess up the system when we do that, but I think we can see some level of habituation happens. That is to say, we become more "tuned" to solitary sex each time we do it. Maybe in some way, we "bond" to ourselves. What is clear is that by satisfying ourselves in a solitary way, we are to some degree less interested in seeking the other.

Now, if a person's goal is self love, then masturbation is sufficient. But if ones goal is a relationship, then he or she does better to orient his/her sexual desire and bonding to that spouse. And there is no disputing that a spouse who is off with another person, or with the computer, is being unfaithful. But I would argue, if you're off seeking solace with your hand, that's a kind of infidelity too. And, importantly, people who have any of these habits will have trouble being fully focused on their spouses.

When people say masturbation is healthy, they are tapping into the way it does relax us, and create a better mood. But these, again, are effects that evolution included in the sex act in order to strengthen the bond between the spouses.

 

Can't agree more with this. Each tidbit of information I get here explains a lot that is happening with my behavior.

 

I completely Disagree with you. M has ruined my life. It made me,
-Weak, metally and ruined my emotions
-It made
-Shy and nervous
-Anxuous anf full of fear
-Wiered
-Have a terrible brain fog and so much.more.
M is a Demon.

 

Porn causes objectification of women and had an impact on my marriage. Masturbation has been normal in the Western World for some time but with high speed porn people have to give up masturbation as the addiction is too strong. Giving up masturbation is not easy but gives great results and self control.

 

Occaisionally I would use the same justification to attempt to alleviate shame to myself and continue PMO. There must've been some Kinsey (is that right?) - style sex studies performed examining the benefits or deficits of regular masturbation, but the idea that all men are so insatiably interested in sex permeates (certainly Western) culture that it is almost hard for we participants to perceive that there is any other choice. What did Jerry discuss in Seinfeld's the episode 'The Contest', "(masturbation) is a part of (male) our lifestyle
If , as Bill Hicks suggested, the world consists of individual consciousnesses experiencing the world subjectively, then, even with the benefit of such studies on masturbation-benefits, then the question of 'what is healthy?' and 'what is excessive?' can only be answered FOR any individual - BY the individual.
Personally: I was physically and emotionally SORE at the end of a 10 hour PMO session. I had lost most of a day, felt depressed (like all the happy brain chemicals were spent) and, although I May have benefitted from the release of a build-up of fluids, or whatever, I didn't Feel any better. Other people may have a different perspective, but we're all here on this forum for a reason. Surely other participants desire to attemtp NoFap isn't just a frivolous internet adventure in verbiage.
Sorry for Rambling. It's day 3 without PMO, and I' feeling jittery - and I responded to your post after reading all of the other posts.....so my wires may be a little crossed...