- Symptoms of addiction to masturbation
- How do I stop masturbating?
- Treatment of addiction to masturbation
- Consequences of masturbation addiction
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Addiction to masturbation is a disorder, the effects of which can negatively affect both the sexual, family and professional life zone. Compulsive masturbation manifests itself with a very difficult to control necessity to stimulate one's own genitals, even several times a day. Addiction to masturbation usually requires the help of a sexologist-psychologist.
Addiction to masturbationis a shameful topic that is difficult to talk about not only to people who suspect this disorder. Its symptoms are difficult to diagnose, but the effects can be very destructive to the addict's life.
58 percent of women and 27 percent of men say that they have never masturbated, according to prof. Zbigniew Izdebski from 2013.
Many myths have arisen around masturbation itself: according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, it is a sin, and according to the common opinion, it happens more often among men than among women. In Poland, it is still a taboo subject - in the report of prof. Zbigniew Izdebski, "Forms of sexual activity", we find information that only 16 percent of Polish women admit to masturbation. Meanwhile, sexologists emphasize that as long as masturbation does not interfere with everyday functioning in private life and at work, there is nothing wrong with it. The situation is different when "inducing sexual arousal in oneself by stimulating one's genitals," as masturbation is defined, becomes an addiction. Then we are dealing with a disorder that is not easy to deal with.
How to recognize addiction to masturbation, its effects and treatment?
Symptoms of addiction to masturbation
An addiction to masturbation may be suspected if the following symptoms are present:
- masturbation becomes the preferred sexual behavior: a person in a relationship prefers to masturbate rather than have sex with a partner / partner;
- masturbation becomes a compulsion - when the urge is not satisfied, there is a feeling of anxiety and discomfort;
- masturbation is frequent and regular: several or several times a day;
Contrary to the stereotype, addictive masturbation canconcern both men and women, as well as teenagers and the elderly.
- masturbation hinders everyday functioning, e.g. a person masturbates at work, staying with friends, shopping;
- the desire to masturbate becomes a compulsive behavior - difficult to suppress - and the thought of masturbating is with the person all the time;
- masturbation becomes a regular part of the day, taking a lot of time for a self-exhausting person;
- other spheres of life are subordinated to addiction (e.g. resignation from social and professional life);
- a person addicted to masturbation cannot focus on professional and family duties - there is no motivation to work on a relationship, perform assigned tasks, their level of satisfaction with life decreases
- there are general symptoms such as fatigue, loss of energy and motivation, depression.
How do I stop masturbating?
Addiction to masturbation is not easy to deal with on your own. What can help is to change your lifestyle to be more active. It's easiest to start with small steps. Examples of activities are: more frequent meetings with friends, participation in cultural events, walks, devoting time to a new hobby. Sport is especially recommended as an alternative form of relieving tension. A good idea is, for example, strength training or running. It's best to fill your free time with specific activities so that you don't have time to think about your addiction.
It is also worth looking for the cause of addiction to masturbation, which may be a surrogate behavior, a cover for another emotional problem. It will help to analyze your current situation at work, school, and relationship. Often, onanism is the result of low self-esteem, as well as doubts about one's sexual abilities. In such a case, therapy is necessary, the aim of which will be to change your attitude towards yourself and strengthen your faith in your own worth.
It can be good to ask the person with whom you are in a relationship for help. Hiding your addiction from her - or being caught in the midst of masturbation - will only worsen the relationship. It is very likely that the closest person is aware of our problem anyway. What's more, it affects her as well, because it is the partner who experiences the most not only the beloved's less desire to have sex, but also the weakening of the emotional bond - a compulsive masturbating person pays the most attention to masturbation. Therefore, the partner will want to solve the problem and, for example, contact a specialist. As addiction to masturbation is the samea deep problem such as addiction to drugs or sex, it is worth seeking help from a sexologist on your own initiative.
According to an expertDominika Ambroziewicz-Wnuk - psychologist, BUSOLA Personal Development CenterI am 14 years old and I am afraid that I am addicted to masturbation. I do it on average once a day or once every 2 days. The problem is I hardly watch any pictures or videos and I have to masturbate anyway. It's enough that, for example, at school, I see the teacher's buttocks in tight pants and then I have it all the time in my head and when I come home, I have to masturbate thinking about it. I know it's weird, but if I was watching pictures or videos, for example, I'd understand more that I have to masturbate, but I hardly ever watch stuff like that. I've had a dozen or so days from the beginning of the school year. Is it normal? Am I addicted to masturbation?
Adolescence in boys is characterized by the sexual tension you relieve through masturbation, and it is a developmental behavior, ie sexual behavior appropriate to your age (not "abnormal"). Masturbation is a natural way to get to know your body and meet your sexual needs. There are no rules about stimuli that create sexual tension, it doesn't have to be photos or videos, so don't worry. This tension will decrease over time.
Your statement does not indicate that you are addicted to masturbation, but if you have doubts, you can call the helpline or read about puberty, e.g. ponton.org.pl - this is the website of sex educators. Think, maybe there is someone you trust and know with whom you can talk about puberty.
Treatment of addiction to masturbation
The hardest part is making the decision to treat your masturbation addiction. Onanism is an embarrassing problem, and the vision of confiding in a stranger what is embarrassing does not encourage seeking help from a specialist. However, it is worth taking this risk to free yourself from the problem. Sexologists help people with various problems, they are just here to listen to similar stories and have already heard a lot of them. A doctor or psychologist will try to find the cause of addiction to masturbation - whether it serves as a substitute for sex life, a way to deal with complexes / low self-esteem or with stress. Treating addiction to masturbation can take a long time, so be patient while waiting for the results.
What you can do on your own is try to completely eliminate the addiction through rehab - e.g.the goal that I will not masturbate for the next 30 days. You also have to give up pornography. It is worth controlling your well-being during this time - in the first days a "dimness" may appear, but after some time your well-being should improve significantly. The libido and the desire for traditional sex should also increase.
Consequences of masturbation addiction
Each orgasm achieved through masturbation causes a rapid burst of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that stimulates the brain's reward system, resulting in a feeling of pleasure. However, when orgasm occurs several times a day, the brain becomes "immune" to the effects of dopamine, so in order to feel pleasure all the time, new, stronger stimuli are needed. For this reason, people addicted to masturbation often turn to increasingly fancy variants of pornography to maintain the same state of arousal. In some cases, masturbation alone is not enough for them and they engage in risky sexual behavior, such as accidental sex or using prostitutes. These types of behavior increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. A similar mechanism is observed in drug addicts who need ever greater doses of a psychoactive substance to achieve the same state of euphoria.
Reduced sensitivity to dopamine also results in a drop in energy and a constant feeling of fatigue, because this transmitter is responsible for the feeling of motivation to act. Therefore, addiction to masturbation can cause depression and anhedonia.
About the author
Anna SierantEditor in charge of the Psychology and Beauty sections, as well as the main page of Poradnikzdrowie.pl. As a journalist, she cooperated, among others. with "Wysokie Obcasy", the websites: dwutygodnik.com and entertheroom.com, the quarterly "G'RLS Room". She also co-founded the online magazine "PudOWY Róż". He runs a blog jakdzżyna.wordpress.com.
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