Masturbation is a common behavior and has mixed reviews about its effect on the male body. However, many men are concerned that it could harm their health or body. We found 5 possible side effects of masturbation.
- Addiction
Masturbation can be addictive. After all, it’s free, you can do it anywhere, and get an instant reward without the drama and pretense.
Even with all the benefits you get from this act, you should control its influence on your lifestyle. Too much jerking off is harmful. But how do you know if you are addicted to masturbation?
This shouldn’t be hard. When you become overly preoccupied with this pastime, then realize that you are deeply hooked.
You tend to spend too much time alone. Further, you begin to postpone or skip urgent chores, avoid family and social gatherings or void any form of personal development.
Spending too much time jerking off ends up spoiling your social network and preventing you from growing mentally and emotionally. Besides, your commitment to marital duties takes a back burner.
As reported by Healthline Media, masturbation can become problematic when an individual experiences a compulsion or a persistent urge to engage in it. The release of dopamine during masturbation, akin to certain drugs, can lead to addictive tendencies. Consequently, some people who masturbate regularly may reach a point where they find it challenging to control their urge to masturbate.
But you can still prosper yet get the best of self-indulgence. Blend this activity with other hobbies. Most importantly, nurture your relationship.
- Infections
In some instances, the method with which you perform this vice can result in unwanted consequences. You may get infections or suffer skin damage or penis soreness.
Using dirty sex toys and unclean hands can transmit STIs quickly. These manifest as foul smells and repugnant discharge.
Sex toys are exposed to several microorganisms. They may be stored in unhygienic wardrobes or wrapped with unclean towels. These unsanitary environments may propagate moles, mites, and warts which may end up colonizing your favorite sex tools.
In a rush to enjoy your pleasure, you may ignore the significance of cleaning these implements. When you use them in this state, the colony ends up migrating to your private part.
Again, even if you use your hand during the process, you may get carried off by the pleasure and exert excessive grip over the shaft. The intense friction may result in skin chafing, blisters, and sore male member.
- Penetrative Sex Avoidance
Too much preoccupation with self-pleasure can negate its main purpose – attaining a robust erection and pleasuring your partner better.
Instead of committing to the feelings of your sex partner, you become selfish. You look forward to enjoying your solo action. As such, your brain and body set off arousal only when you are alone.
When you try mating with your significant other, your body tend to rebel. Naturally, your body is already sexually satisfied with all the bliss your hands provide. Further, you make little attempt to explore your partner’s erotic zones since you have already rewarded yourself.
So what do you do? You try to avoid sex with your partner as an escape mechanism.
Avoiding sex could reduce the frequency of intimacy. You end up inadvertently starving your partner, contrary to nourishing her sexual desire.
And when you cling to this coping mechanism for a prolonged duration, then your marital sphere starts suffering. It could result in a marriage breakdown.
- Performance anxiety
You may try not to avoid sex altogether. So you make futile attempts to reignite sex. But excessive masturbation takes its toll on your energy levels as well as libido.
Due to too much self-pleasuring, your sexual desire subdues. When you perform penetrative sex, you fizzle out much faster than your partner would want.
This disappointment leaves your partner unsatisfied. She may thus resent these episodes, which in turn stress you up. You could lose patience trying to set your mood in sync with that of your partner.
Anyone who understands sex would know that trying to impress your partner under pressure ends up achieving just the opposite. You fail to develop the emotional connection you need to remain erect for long.
Eventually, you fail to carry your partner to the orgasm destination. Your continued failure is due partly to performance anxiety. This is yet another outcome of giving self-indulgence greater preference over coitus.
As per the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a study revealed that younger men tend to masturbate most frequently. Furthermore, the study observed that men who engaged in more frequent masturbation exhibited higher levels of anxiety. Additionally, those who experienced a greater sense of guilt associated with masturbation also reported higher levels of anxiety.
- Injuries
Besides minor skin lesions, you may end up with serious repercussions as a result of too much hand job.
A mild form of injury due to masturbation is numbness. This is caused by the excessive grip of the shaft. A strong clutch can lead to the loss of senses over your sore penile veins. The ensuing result is the loss of excitement to stimulation.
Yet, when you don’t give the injured veins time to heal, it could make things worse. The nerves could get damaged permanently. The effect is known as the Peyronies Syndrome.
Here, the internal tissue scars of a scarred blood vessel heal but block the proper blood supply. In some cases, the tissues may rapture, thus the blood has to find another route to supply the penis tip.
This tear causes the penis to skew in one direction. It’s usually not a problem until you become erect. The scarred section stretches out of proportion. And pain is evident during penetration and even urination.
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- Guilt
Men brought up in extremely conservative cultural situations suffer from this side effect. These settings treat masturbation as a sin within their religious and spiritual contexts.
So men from these families grow up wanting to explore their bodies but can’t since they’ve been conditioned to shun masturbation.
They are fed with all the negative perceptions of masturbation, from it being a dirty activity, to causing severe mental degradation.
Still, their body arch for physical manipulation. This they give into, as anything natural.
The problem is that each time they complete this noble exercise, shame, and guilt floods their minds.
The bad feeling causes withdrawal and anxiety. Still, their urge to continue this activity remains strong.
Alternating between the pleasurable feeling self-exploration brings, and the resulting humiliation it carries afterward could lead to mental stress.
Yet these young men can’t discuss their sexual predicaments with a trusted family member, lest they are treated as outcasts.
Hence they carry this sense of dishonor even later in their lives.
- Poor sexual sensitivity
Masturbation is a good stress reliever. But during the act, you may get overzealous.
Subconsciously, you may apply too much force or rub the penis shaft vigorously.
The use of excessive pressure doesn’t augur well for a sensitive organ such as a penis. You may end up chaffing the fragile skin layer, through friction burns.
Worst still, a strong grip on your penis during self-pleasuring also sores the sensitive penile veins.
And if you are a persistent masturbator, you may not be allowing this part of your body to heal properly.
This vigorous jerking causes the veins to become numb. Numbness diminishes its touch response.
How then does this situation affect sexual response? Well, distressed veins don’t register light touches. Hence you apply greater pressure each time you stimulate them.
This makes sexual stimulation difficult. You need more time and effort to arouse your penis using manual stimulation. Yet penis sensitivity decreases with each increased stimulation.
A 2022 research study published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute revealed that excessive stimulation of the penis during masturbation could lead to decreased sensation. Commonly known as “death grip syndrome,” this condition may result in difficulties reaching orgasm during sexual intercourse. To address this, individuals are advised to modify their masturbation technique, particularly if they employ a tight grip, in order to restore sensitivity levels during sex.
In conclusion, we provided a piece of detailed information regarding the five possible side effects of masturbation. We hope that, considering these side effects, you can make better health-related decisions for yourself to avoid issues in your sex life.
SIMILAR QUESTION
What Are The Side Effects Of Excessive Masturbation?
Introduction
Masturbation is a natural and healthy part of human sexuality. It is a way of exploring one’s own body and learning how to achieve sexual pleasure. However, like many things, excessive masturbation can lead to adverse side effects. This paper will discuss the potential side effects of excessive masturbation, as well as ways to reduce these risks.
What is Excessive Masturbation?
Excessive masturbation is defined as the act of masturbating too often or too vigorously. While there is no exact definition of what constitutes excessive masturbation, it generally refers to masturbating more than three times a week or more than two hours a day.
Side Effects of Excessive Masturbation
Excessive masturbation can lead to a number of physical and mental health issues, including:
Physical Health Issues
Excessive masturbation can cause physical health problems such as:
- Skin irritation: Too much friction can lead to skin chafing and irritation.
- Pain or numbness: Over-stimulation can lead to pain, numbness, or tingling in the genital area.
- Low libido: Over-stimulation can lead to a decrease in libido and difficulty achieving an erection.
- Fatigue: Excessive masturbation can lead to fatigue due to the body expending energy during the act.
Mental Health Issues
Excessive masturbation can also lead to mental health issues such as:
- Guilt: Feeling guilty about engaging in excessive masturbation can lead to feelings of shame and insecurity.
- Anxiety: Excessive masturbation can lead to anxiety due to worrying about being caught or not being able to control the urge to masturbate.
- Depression: Excessive masturbation can lead to feelings of depression due to the lack of physical contact with others and the resulting feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Reducing the Risks
There are a number of ways to reduce the risks associated with excessive masturbation. These include:
- Limiting masturbation: Limiting the amount of time spent masturbating and the frequency of masturbation can help to reduce the risks associated with excessive masturbation.
- Seeking help: If you feel like you are engaging in excessive masturbation or are having difficulty controlling the urge, it is important to seek help. A therapist or counselor can help you to identify the underlying causes of the behavior and develop healthier coping strategies.
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle: Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep can help to improve mental and physical health, which can reduce the urge to masturbate excessively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, excessive masturbation can lead to physical and mental health issues. It is important to be aware of the potential risks associated with excessive masturbation and to take steps to reduce these risks. By limiting the amount of time spent masturbating, seeking help, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the risks associated with excessive masturbation can be minimized.
