Are You a Masturbation Addict? A Guide to Quitting.

Masturbation can become a chronic problem for many people. Masturbation can create a number of issues, including addiction to pornography and sexual behavior, decreased energy, and changes in relationships.

In this article, we’ll describe some of the best steps that you can take if you’re hoping to stop masturbating. By the time you’re done reading this article, you should have a solid understanding of how to approach this problem and stop masturbating for good!

Stop masturbating - a step by step guide

Many people think that masturbation is normal. For younger people who are learning about bodily anatomy, it can be. Even sexually mature individuals can use masturbation as a tool to help them discover their sexual preferences. However, masturbation can easily spiral out into a compulsive habit that can create problems in your life. 

Make sure to also check our guide to find out what is masturbation.‍

Problems caused by masturbation

There are a lot of problems that can be caused by excessive masturbation. While some of the problems associated with masturbation are actually nothing more than myths — such as the silly idea that you’ll sprout hair on your palms if you masturbate too much — there are a number of health problems that can emerge if you’re spending too much time masturbating.

Here are a few examples of issues that can result from too much masturbation.

Masturbation can cause pain

There are a few ways that masturbation can hurt you. If you’re masturbating too much, too frequently, or too aggressively, you may experience a number of different types of pain, discomfort, or even serious injuries.

• Too much masturbation can lead to chafing of the skin around the vagina or the penis. This is particularly problematic if you’re masturbating several times a day or if you’re doing so very aggressively.

• Masturbation can lead to Peyronie’s disease, a condition that occurs when plaque builds up in the tip of the penis.

• Excessive masturbation can cause edema. This is a condition that occurs when the penis begins to swell up and get uncomfortable. It’s generally the result of people gripping their penis too tightly when they’re masturbating. 

• Masturbation can lead to skin irritation and even infections. It’s possible to masturbate so vigorously or frequently that you rupture the skin of your genitals which can lead to bleeding.

Emotional issues

Masturbation can also lead to a number of different emotional issues. Here are a few examples of emotional issues that can result from people masturbating too frequently.

• Guilt and shame. For many, masturbation is normal. However, others believe that masturbation is a sin or that it’s simply a waste of time or energy. These people may experience guilt or shame following their masturbation sessions.

• A part of the brain known as the reptilian cortex fires up when people have an orgasm. This creates a wave of pleasure caused by a cascade of various neurotransmitters and hormones. The biological function of this process is to encourage us to continue reproducing.
  However, since you’re not actually fulfilling an important biological function when you’re masturbating, you may experience shame or guilt following this experience. Your brain is rewarding you for fulfilling an important, and potentially dangerous, mammalian function — having sex, which can cost mammals their lives in the wild — and when you realize that you haven’t risked or rewarded anything by masturbating, this can cause shame
  

• Religious difficulties. Many religions demonize the very act of masturbating. If you come from a religious family or if you’re in a relationship with someone who is strictly religious, this can lead to difficulties in your interpersonal relationships.
  

• Depression. Chronic masturbation can lead someone down a spiral of habit. This can get in the way of them enjoying their daily activities and forming healthy relationships with people. Over time, this can compound into depression.
  

• Addiction. Many people associate addiction with drugs and alcohol. However, any pleasurable behavior — whether it is gambling, having sex, or masturbating — can lead to addictive compulsions. Regardless of the behavior, these addictions can lead to biochemical changes in the brain. The brain fires up in response to pleasurable activity — this is the dopamine system at work. When you’re continually overloading your dopamine system, you become desensitized to other pleasures. This can impact the quality of your life and make it difficult to enjoy things like hobbies and activities.
  

• Stress. Masturbation can also compound to cause stress. If you’re choosing to eschew your social life in favor of masturbation, or if you’re choosing to spend your breaks at work or school masturbating, you may find yourself losing focus on the things that are important to you. This can lead to stress.

Sexual problems

Masturbation can also lead to a number of sexual problems. Chronic masturbation, especially when combined with pornography usage, can set unrealistic standards, lead to sexual impairment, and adversely affect your sexual health. There are many benefits of quiting porn.

Here are some examples of different ways that masturbation can impact your sex life.

• Creating unrealistic standards. If you frequently masturbate to pornography, then you may develop unrealistic standards. This can cause you to become unreasonably expectant during sexual situations which can place pressure on both yourself and your partner.
  

• Erectile dysfunction. Too much masturbation can impede your sexual function and make it difficult to get an erection.
  

• Premature ejaculation. One of the biggest causes of premature ejaculation is chronic masturbation. Generally, when men masturbate, their goal is to have an orgasm as quickly as possible. Over time, the body becomes trained to facilitate orgasms much quicker. Over time, this can cause people to experience premature ejaculation.
  

How to stop masturbating?

Here are some of the best ways that you can learn to stop masturbating.

Step 1. Avoid pornography

One of the first things that you’ll have to do on your journey to stop masturbating is to stop watching pornography. The whole porn industry caters to those who want to masturbate. As such, it is one of the biggest catalysts for masturbation addiction.

Any type of sexual imagery can be a trigger for people to masturbate. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly easy to separate yourself from all of the sexual imagery that we’re exposed to in society through advertisements, media, and the like.

What you can do, however, is stop yourself from looking at pornography. There are lots of different ways that you can do this, and most of them involve the use of different filters.

The most basic filters are called parental controls. These parental controls are generally designed to help parents prevent their children from engaging with certain material. Chances are, these filters aren’t going to be enough to keep you away from watching porn yourself.

However, there are other, more complicated, and effective ways that you can block pornography on your devices. 

The simplest way to do this is to download some sort of app that restricts website access. You can also adjust the DNS settings on your network or change your WiFi router protocol.

Ultimately, all of these changes can be reversed. However, putting up a filter or a barrier may prevent you from the extra step necessary to gain control over your urges.

Step 2. Stay active and engaged

Another great way to overcome your masturbation habit is to make sure that you stay active and engaged.

Regular exercise helps to produce the same neurotransmitters and chemicals that are responsible for the feelings of satisfaction that you enjoy after an orgasm. Naturally, exercise won’t create the same intense physical sensation as an orgasm. However, it can provide you with enough emotional and physical fulfillment to keep you satisfied even without masturbating.

Engaging with regular hobbies can also help keep you distracted from masturbating. Many people take up their masturbation habit as a result of boredom. If there’s nothing to do, then you’re naturally going to want to seek out something simple to fill your time. 

Humans choose the path of least resistance, which often means seeking out the simplest thing that provides the most pleasure. Oftentimes, this is masturbation.

Filling your time with enjoyable activities can help to prevent you from falling into this boredom trap.

Another thing that you can focus your time and energy on is achieving goals. The first of your goals can involve overcoming your masturbation habit. Once you’ve done that, you can focus on accomplishing things that you’ve always wanted to.

Step 3. Get help from a professional

If your masturbation habit is adversely affecting your life, then it’s natural that you want to overcome the problem. Doing this can seem daunting on your own. Fortunately, there are lots of professionals who are specifically trained for helping people manage masturbation addiction.

These people often work with people addicted to all manner of things, ranging from drugs to sex to gambling. The basic, underlying principles of addiction are the same, so if you’re compulsively masturbating, you can expect to find some assistance from these trained professionals.

Step 4. Find a support group

If you’re struggling with compulsive masturbation, it can often seem like you’re going through this struggle alone. This, coupled with the intimate nature of the pornographic material you might be using, can often make it a challenge when trying to find support. 

Masturbation isn’t always discussed in the open, and you may not know who to reach out to. Fortunately, there are plenty of people who have been through the same thing that you’re going through.

There are many masturbation support groups that you can get a hold of and join. Many of these groups are online, and if you’re in a large city you may be able to find a group in person. In either case, these groups are designed to help you share and connect with others who have overcome similar issues.

Step 5. Build connections

Ultimately, the sensation of masturbating and orgasm is something that humans have historically received through connection with other people. Many compulsive masturbators, especially those who are using pornography, are actually simply in search of human connection.

You may be able to curb your masturbation habit by connecting with other people. If you’re not familiar with connecting with others, start slow. Try attending a group or activity with others who share similar interests. Reconnect with family members or old friends.

Stopping the urge to masturbate

Here are a few tips that you can employ to actually stop yourself when the urge arises.

• Take a breath. An urge is a powerful emotion, a craving. Knowing this, you also know that you can overpower your emotions. They don’t control you, you control them. One of the best ways to control your emotions is to simply take a big breath and count to 5. Once you’ve taken the breath you may find yourself in control.
  
  
• Ask yourself what you’re hoping to achieve. What reason do you want to masturbate for? Is there an unpleasant feeling you’re trying to avoid? Are you trying to find a human connection?
  
  
• Get a filter. Installing a pornography filter can help you by creating a barrier between you and pornography. If you have to step over this extra hurdle every time you’re stricken by the urge to masturbate, you’re more likely to overcome your craving.
  
  
• Do something else. You can also consider your craving as an intense, driving power. If you apply this power to something else — especially something creative — you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve. The Taoists and Ancient Chinese viewed sexual energy as the prime creative force in the universe and harnessing it can help you achieve your goals.

How Brainbuddy can help you to stop masturbating

There are lots of ways that you can stop masturbating, and we can help you figure out the best ways to do that. The Brainbuddy app can help you develop the best solutions for overcoming your masturbation addiction.

If you’re serious about making a positive change in your life, then don’t hesitate to reach out. There are plenty of people who have overcome their masturbation habits, and we’d love to help you.