Ways To Tell If You Are Addicted To Masturbation
Addicted to masturbation??? Is that even possible? Perhaps youre already picturing me as a hundred-year-old Sunday School teacher or pastor, with corduroy pants so high rise they must be a cover for a long-term fitted chastity belt.
Or maybe youre seeing the Christian protester who has nothing better to do with their precious time on Earth than to yell about people fanning the flame or ringing Satans doorbell or choose your favorite euphemism.
What Are The Possible Causes
Excessive masturbation can sometimes occur in people with certain health conditions such as Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder .
Some drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and certain prescription medications for Parkinsons disease can also lead to an increase in self-stimulation.
Aside from health conditions, drugs, and prescription medications, other factors that might lead to compulsive masturbation include:
- a history of sexual or physical abuse
- a family history of behavioral addictions
- living with cultural or religious expectations
- ease of accessibility to pornography
One study found that the hormone oxytocin and altered DNA pathways in the brain might play a role in hypersexual disorder, a condition also characterized by compulsive sexual behavior. Further research is needed, but scientists suggest this discovery could lead to new treatment options.
Overwhelming evidence suggests masturbation has no real negative side effects for most people. Still, if it becomes excessive, it can cause:
- emotional and psychological distress
- irritated skin on or around the genitals
- problems with performance when engaging in sex with a partner
- intimate partner relationship difficulties
Signs Of Compulsive Masturbation
Compulsive masturbation disorder interferes with a persons social life and even their physical well being. When a person engages in compulsive masturbation, what they do is harmful. Because the act is done compulsively, the person will do it either frequently so that it interferes with intimacy and a normal relationship with a loved one. Or it may be done in spurts but to the point where the person physically harms themselves.
A person may go on a binge of masturbating and not stop even when physical signs indicate stopping is necessary. Other people simply do it as part of their routine and cant imagine going without it. The driving force behind each type of behavior is the compulsion surrounding the action.
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Sex Does Not Feel The Same For You
You may have gone off sex with your partner because youve already masturbated and just dont feel the urge anymore! Or you mey be finding that sex with a partner doesnt fulfil you in the same way. Basically, if its coming between you and your partner, then this is a major warning sign. Get help before its too late!
What You Can Do
Masturbation addiction can be treated by attending sex addict anonymous groups, accessing self-help or going to group therapy, which Peter believes is the most effective way of overcoming an addiction. It works by normalising the issue, supporting the individual and working together within the group until they have overcome the addiction.
If you need help or advice, you can find your nearest Relate centre here or chat online to one of their counsellors.
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Get To Know Why You Start And Why You Want To Stop
Before getting start to how to stop masturbation, you need to make the two things clear:
- Be honest with yourself about how your masturbation problem started and what is stemming your urge to continue. Most addictions stem from negative feelings that you may have about yourself. Getting to the root of these problems and working to solve them can help you limit your urge to masturbate. If you are having trouble getting through to the root cause of your addiction, work with a professional that can help you probe into the deeper issues surrounding your addiction.
- You also want to consider why you are hoping to stop masturbating. Whether you feel that you are masturbating too often or you belong to a religion that forbids the act of masturbation, you need a strong motivator for quitting. Masturbation is not harmful and in some cases it can be beneficial to the body. You should not be ashamed to occasionally partake in this activity. You should only work to quit masturbating if you have a strong personal motivation to do so. Trying to curb an addiction when you do not have strong motivation to change your behavior can be impossible.
Masturbation Addiction Tests Quizzes And Self
To assess whether one presents with masturbation addiction and to what severity, masturbation addiction tests, quizzes, and self-diagnosis tools are useful. Such assessments should be evidence-based in research and built upon the conditions signs and symptoms. In the case of this condition, assessments related to masturbation addiction and/or compulsive masturbation or other sexual addictions may prove useful.
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Are You Masturbating A Lot
How do you know that youre overdoing it? It can affect the way you think, act and feel in society. You will witness behavioural changes that can affect your surroundings. You wouldnt want to get into such a situation, would you? The first step is to stop it by accepting the fact that you have this problem and then move ahead to finding solutions to curtail it. Here are some pointers that could indicate the very fact that you are excessively masturbating.
- Skipping work, school and social gatherings to masturbate.
- An uncontrollable urge to do it.
- Plan to do it wherever needed.
NOTE: Everyone masturbates and it is a healthy phenomenon to do so. People who have a satisfied as well as unsatisfied sex life masturbate. All you need to keep in mind is that you do not overdo it.
Getting In The Right Mindset
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Etiology Of The Compulsive Masturbator
The person who masturbates to the point of injury presents some specific clinical challenges. The etiology of the compulsive masturbator is complex. As with other clients we see for sexually acting out behaviors, there was often a history of shame, abuse, and neglect in their family of origin. Many clients who engage in compulsive masturbation recall beginning the behavior at a very early age as their only form of respite and escape from an environment filled with fear, secrecy, and trauma.
For the compulsive masturbator who does so to the point of injury, the analytical aspects of self-harm are varied. Often, the person describes a sense of dissociation and depersonalization. Engaging in self-harm allows the person to simultaneously dissociate from their overwhelming anxiety and emotional pain, while at the same time feeling some sense of aliveness through their physical pain. Following the masturbatory self-harm episode, the person has a cathartic flood of endorphins that may provide a numbing effect.
Of particular interest in examining this form of self-harm behavior is to look at the associated neuropathways. The arousal neuropathway is about pleasure and intensity. One of the most common methods of stimulating arousal pathways are high-risk sex, which masturbating to the point of injury would be included in. The numbing neuropathway produces a calming, relaxing, soothing, or sedative process. Masturbation creates an analgesic experience in the brain.
Symptoms Of Masturbation Addiction
Because masturbation addiction is not a formally recognized diagnosable disorder, it is important to note that the term symptoms in this case more so refers to a classifying set of criteria for said condition. Symptoms will vary in number and intensity depending on the individual and severity of the addiction. Generally, the more severe the addiction, the more severe the symptoms. Such symptoms do impact the individual among all domains including physical, cognitive, emotional, and social.
Common symptoms of masturbation addiction include the following:
- Loss of sensitivity
- Overstimulation from excess masturbation
- Sexual dysfunction1
If any of these symptoms are experienced, it is important to take pause and speak to someone.
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Quizzes And Self Diagnosis
Although quizzes and self-diagnosis may be useful toward indicating a problem, an actual diagnosis needs to be made by a trained professional. These individuals have undergone years of study and experience to assess for relevant factors while excluding irrelevant ones.
Currently, there are various quizzes and self-diagnosis tools available for exploring various problematic sexual behaviors and compulsions. These include sex addiction, pornography addiction, love addiction, fetishes, aggressive sexual acts, et cetera. These may provide some insight as to whether one has an issue. If there is an indication of an issue upon completing a quiz or self-diagnosis tool, the next step is to schedule an appointment with a professional.
Difficulty In Communicating With Others
Do you also feel nervous while talking to new people? Well, youre not the only one, most of the people who masturbate face hard times while communicating with others. They lack words and use fillers more. It makes their personality look worsen.
Communication level can be elevated if you work on your self-confidence, but if you dont stop fapping daily, no self-improvement guide will work for you.
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Is Your Habit Harming You Or Those Around You
A characteristic of any addiction is continuing despite harm. Harm can come in many forms: emotional, relational, physical, spiritual or criminal to name a few.
If youre masturbating to the point of overuse or needing medical assistance, you may very well be addicted. This is nothing to be ashamed about. Doctors have seen it all.
Compulsive masturbation can lead to sexual dysfunction and less-than-ideal intimacy with your spouse. This is a very real harm that must be identified. More than physiological, this can affect your spouse emotionally. Are you masturbating to the detriment of your sex life?
Isolation is another harm to look out for. Such retreat can be rooted in shame, anxiety or the lost ability to interact non-sexually. Perhaps you would rather be at home masturbating than socializing. Having an orgasm is easier than building real relationships. But only the latter will bear good fruit in the long run.
Masturbation is a very personal and complicated topic. It can be a response to sexual or emotional trauma, it can be a struggle that begins in early childhood, it can be accompanied by porn or voyeurism or nothing at all, and the line between struggling with and addicted can get blurry. There is a battlefield of opinions out there and it is so easy to slip into judgment and shame in this conversation.
This article was originally published at XXXchurch.
It Can Help Enhance Your Sex Life
Masturbation can help boost your sex life because it can tell you what you want during sex. There is however some exception to this and this can be traced to the fact that some people soon become so addicted to the pleasure of masturbating that their partners seem not enough to satisfy them anymore.
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What Is The Symptoms Of Masturbation Addiction
Well, thats not difficult to figure out. If, you get sudden urges to Masturbation at awkward moments of loneliness if you are tempted to play with your genitals in those blissful quiet nights, and if you cannot control these but are controlled by these sudden rushes, thats when addiction has chipped in!
Although, its said that masturbation can help calm down the occasional sexual energy rush or help individuals easily identify their sexual orientations, yet, none of these justifies an addicts behavior.
You can find Physical Signs of Masturbation Addiction, Behavioral Signs of Masturbation Addiction, and Emotional Signs of Masturbation Addiction, Each one includes different symptoms, you need to figure out.
Physical Signs of Masturbation Addiction includes changes in eating habits, weight loss, over-activeness, an under-activeness nature, and a lack of maintaining personal hygiene.
Behavioral Signs of Masturbation Addiction includes missing school or meetings, relationship or marriage issues, isolation and financial crises even sometimes lead to this addiction.
Emotional Signs of Masturbation Addiction includes confusions, stress issues, mood changes frequently.
Keep Busy With Other Activities
You cant masturbate if you have a tennis racquet or baking pan in your hands. In other words, filling your time with other fun and fulfilling activities is a good way to cut down on the time youre devoting to masturbation, as well as battling feelings of depression and loneliness that can lead to obsessive behavior.
Find activities that you find self-soothing, engaging, and exciting, such as exercise, mindfulness, yoga, discovering a new hobby, making dates with friends for dinner, or exploring new museums or exhibits.
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Impact Of Too Much Masturbation
There are no particularly debilitating aspects of excessive masturbation. This does not mean that too much masturbation is without consequences.
Dangerous Impact of Excessive Masturbation on Ones Health Includes:
- Depression caused by negative feelings about moral values and spiritual beliefs
- It may lead to reduced sexual sensitivity
The individual in question might need a therapist to proffer the right treatment regimen or refer the addict to a support group.
Causes & Triggers Of Masturbation Addiction
Like symptoms, causes and triggers of masturbation addiction will vary by individual. Again, these may be impacted by personal predispositions and social influences.8 The more causes and triggers that are present in ones life, the greater ones potential susceptibility. With an awareness of these, more proactive measures may be taken to prevent onset.
Mayo Clinic has suggested the following causes and risk factors for compulsive sexual behavior in general:
Causes:8
- Family conflicts or family members with problems such as addiction
- A history of physical or sexual abuse
Note that such causes and risk factors need not be initially present for one to develop masturbation addiction. Said addiction may begin out of an intense enjoyment of self-gratification that progressively leads toward changes in brain pathways, an imbalance of brain chemicals, and other problems and conditions.
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What Is Compulsive Masturbation
One thing that characterizes all compulsive behavior is the lack of impulse control. In addition, there are repetitious thoughts that drive the person to perform sexual acts. Its similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder in that it begins with obsessive thoughts and leads to the compulsion to act on the thoughts. However, with compulsive masturbation, or any other compulsive sexual behavior, the thoughts involve sexual fantasies and urges.
How To Deal With Pmo Addiction
You should try to understand the problem first: while masturbation is natural and healthy, do you do it too much?
When it becomes unhealthy: If you choose to do it over social plans, you cant stop thinking about it, you seek increasingly graphic or violent pornography, you become frustrated or depressed when you cant do it.
How do you kick the addiction?
Find another outlet for your time and energy.
Write in a journal about your progress.
According to Kate McGonigal, author of Will Power, community is very important. Go public with your willpower challenges, if you believe others are rooting for your success and keeping an eye on your behavior, youll be more motivated to do the right thing.
It could mean a forum like NoFap.
Talk to experts/seek help if a need to masturbate is affecting your relationships.
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Make Some New Hobbies
Addictions of all sorts are generally an indication that people do not have enough emotional fulfillment or that they have too much free time. One of the best ways to find fulfillment is to start engaging in activities that you enjoy.
If you havenât found a hobby or activity that you enjoy, take some time to find one. Perhaps you could start practicing a musical instrument or join a new sport or group activity.
Finding a group activity also allows you to engage with other people. This is important and leads to our next suggestion for treatment.
Acknowledge Feelings Of Guilt Or Shame
For every doctor or therapist who tells you that masturbation is normal and healthy theres probably some religious, cultural, or spiritual influence that has framed self-pleasure as sinful, immoral, or even dangerous at some point in your life.
If youre going to get to the root cause of compulsive masturbation, you need to talk about how you feel about doing it, and why. This will take time, so a one-shot visit to a therapist probably wont be enough.
Establish and commit to a long-term relationship with a therapist you trust, and be patient with yourself as you go through the process of changing your behavior.
Many people try to just stop masturbating, but without addressing the underlying patterns in ones emotions and autonomic nervous system that lead to the behavior, they will undoubtedly relapse, which can lead to even greater feelings of shame, says Melancon.
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