Some people find masturbation as a funny word even though for most of us, it is simply a part of life. Still, others consider masturbation as a component of healthy sexuality.
A freelance writer, R. Morgan Griffin states in and article titled “Male Masturbation : 5 Things You Didn’t Know’ that if there is one thing that almost every guy is an expert at, it should be masturbation. He further states that after years of extensive hands-on experience, most people think they know everything about masturbation. On the other hand, according to some experts, their presumption might be misleading.
Why do People Masturbate?
The answer is people do it for various reasons. The most common reasons you would hear from adults are to relieve sexual tension, to achieve sexual pleasure, to have sex with oneself when partners are unavailable, and as a means for relaxing.
The thought that some people choose to masturbate when they do not have a sex partner is not true. It might be a fact that people who have regular sex partners are more likely to masturbate than people without any.
How do people masturbate?
Women masturbate by stimulating all parts of the vulva including the clitoris, or parts of the vulva, inner and/or outer labia, the vaginal opening or its canal, and/or the perineum or anus.
Many women prefer rubbing the area adjacent to clitoris as they find direct stimulation of the clitoris creates a very intense sensation. Some may find clitoral stimulation to be very painful. Besides fingers, women use sex toys such as dildos, vibrators or objects resemble a penis such as banana, aubergine or cucumber. Some women enjoy spraying their vagina to a stream of water from shower head as a way to ‘get high’ or feel great pleasure.
Men masturbate by stimulating all parts or certain parts of the penis. Most men use fingers to masturbate by sliding them up and down the shaft, rubbing the glans, fondling the scrotum or rubbing the anus. Some may prefer to stimulate the glans, which is very sensitive part of the penis. Others prefer to using slide the foreskin up and down
While masturbating, both women and men may also touch other sensitive parts of their bodies. There are lots of nerve endings all over the body, including the breasts, nipples, or thighs, all of which create erogenous zones. People may experience great pleasure while masturbating when they touch/rub the erogenous zones simultaneously.
Some men and women prefer to use lubricant or lotions to increase pleasure and protect against irritation.
Are sex fantasies during masturbation normal?
Most people, psychologists, and sexologists think sex fantasies are normal and healthy as it may add to a sexual excitement, either alone or during mutual masturbation. Both men and women may fantasize with their own thoughts or with erotic images or language – in print, on video, or online.
Most people masturbate in private and they seldom share their masturbating experiences openly and publicly. That is the reason why is quite hard for us to estimate how common masturbation is. Masturbation actually is very common. Studies show that approximately 70% adult men and more than 50% adult women masturbate. It is also a common behavior among children and teens.
Most parents in western cultures view masturbation as a normal behavior because they believe human are sexual beings. Nevertheless, many cultures still actively discourage masturbation, partly due to general constraints often placed on sexual behavior.
What is obsessive masturbation?
Obsessive masturbation may fit a definition of compulsive masturbation disorder, which refers to the condition in which one will have an urge to masturbate continuously, with or without using any arousal materials such pornography. In some serious cases, one will need to seek professional medical help to treat associated symptoms, including depression, anxiety, obsessive behavior, and incapability to keep a healthy relationship.
When does masturbation become problematic or unhealthy?
Sexologist, Michael Shelton says,
“The answer is false, and, as the postings in this blog series have iterated, masturbation is now recognized as a healthy and normative behavior in the human sexual repertoire.”
But he believes it can become harmful on occasion. He explains,
“…..I have worked with men who have chaffed their penis due to excessive masturbation, had it “caught” or “stuck” in attempts at masturbation without hands via the use of household items (the vacuum cleaner urban legend isn’t necessarily a legend), and damaged relationships when masturbation became the sole outlet in regards to sexual interactions.”
He also believes that masturbation may play a crucial factor in the development and maintenance of paraphilias. Paraphilia is defined by The American Psychiatric Association as recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behavior…that causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational and other areas of functioning.
Some of the more commonly observed paraphilias, including pedophilia, exhibitionism, frotteurism, and transvestic fetish. Lesser known paraphilias that impact the sexual functioning of a significant number of males are coprophilia, necrophilia, klismaphilia, and asphyxiophilia, and many more.
Sexual exhaustion
According to Dr. Richards, sexual exhaustion is a syndrome. He further elaborates by defining sexual exhaustion as,
“…..a group of symptoms that consistently occur together or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms. Sexual Exhaustion is not only referring to sexual performance and abilities as is the common misconception. The term was first used as a description of sexual activities, frequently over the top, resulting in numerous ill consequences involving a wide array of systems, organs, and tissues all the way to the base of their very functioning with various hormones, neurohormones, and neurotransmitters being seriously affected.”
He also believes that over (compulsive) masturbation is a factor contributing to sexual exhaustion.
Symptoms of sexual Exhaustion
Symptoms associated with sexual exhaustion are of wide range, including lack of concentration and motivation, tiredness and exhaustion, depression and mood swing, generalized anxiety and cowardly feeling, lower back pain, low libido, various forms of erectile dysfunction, hair loss, vision problems and eye floaters, headaches and migraine, and memory loss.
Sexual exhaustion is also believed to cause bronchitis, sleep disorders, lower back pain, frequent colds/flu, and adrenal fatigue.
Over masturbation
Over masturbation may cause elevated temperature on one side of the body ie; the side of abdomen, for instance, if a man masturbate using right hand then the right side of the abdomen would be affected.
And these side effects of over masturbation are rarely known: over masturbation is believed to cause hemorrhage, angina, and heart attack!
If you take a closer look, you may find that penile glans is quite similar in appearance to the heart. Too much of anything can be harmful to your health. Over masturbation leads to sexual exhaustion, chronically increased cortisol levels and chronic inflammation. So, over stimulation of the glans is believed to constrict arteries, arterioles, and capillaries of the heart to the point of causing a heart attack.
Most of the symptoms of sexual exhaustion and over masturbation are considered as myths by scientists. However, mechanisms that explain of how each symptom develops, which involve various hormones and neurotransmitters, in the end, would satisfy those who view pure science and its branches function to help explain phenomena.
Hypothesis
In the case of sexual exhaustion that remains widely unrecognized in the medical community, the symptoms that believed to be associated with sexual exhaustion and over masturbation without any study performed to show its possible association with sexual exhaustion should be regarded as a hypothesis.
Is there anything wrong with the argument?
