Are you concerned about how much masturbation is too much? Well, masturbation is not a numbers game, and there’s no answer to the question “how often should you masturbate.” Masturbating is one of life’s most prominent forms of cost-free pleasures. Getting aroused, touching yourself, and climaxing is excellent for your mind, body, and soul. Honestly, everyone should give it a go at least once in their lifetime. You can’t be guilty of engaging in plenty of solo sex and self-pleasure.
Looking back at 2020 during the pandemic, when social distancing and self-quarantine took sex off the table, except if you are married or in a relationship, you might have started masturbating more than you have ever done before. Masturbation is a pleasurable and healthy activity that can also become an addiction.
While masturbating has significant benefits- you’re not going to get pregnant or get a sexually transmitted disease, you might be wondering if you are engaging in too much masturbation. The truth is, there is nothing like excessive masturbation. There is no stipulated frequency. Some people do it daily, weekly, and some rarely. However, how much masturbation is too much only becomes a big deal when it negatively affects your life.
When Masturbation Can be too much
Who doesn’t love spending a lot of one-on-one time with their genitals? But how do you know when you are crossing the line? And is there anything like too much masturbation, for that matter? Here are instances when it can be too much:
- Your Social Life Suffers: Do you cancel hangout plans with friends because you’ll instead prefer to stay home and masturbate? Do you feel cranky near your friends because you’d rather be doing something else? Then your getting off habits could be excessive. For clarity, there is nothing bad in choosing a night for some self-love and getting down with yourself. That’s fine! In fact, mark a day in your calendar now to practice some self-pleasure and be happy. How much masturbation is too much becomes a question you should ask when your need to jerk off all the time hurts your relationships.
- Getting off is always on your mind: You wake up every day wanting to masturbate. At lunch, your mind wanders to your favorite porn site. Your journey home is almost unbearable because you wish the car could move faster so you can get home, sit on the couch with a cup and wine and go through Pornhub. If this sounds familiar and you are often lost in thoughts of when next you are going to masturbate, that’s an indication of a problem.
- It comes with negative feelings: Masturbating should not cause you to suffer. It is supposed to make you feel terrific, happy, ease sexual tension, for self-exploration, reduce your stress levels and help you sleep better. But, it may become associated with negative feelings like shame, guilt, and unhappiness. While this does not show how much masturbation is too much, it can signify an unhealthy attitude towards masturbating. You have to be honest with yourself about what these emotions might mean.
- Your sex life is in the mud: Normally, when you use a particular hand motion whenever you masturbate or watch porn, it teaches your body and brain to climax that way alone. If/when you are having sex with your partner, this could become an issue. If you find it hard to recreate the same kind of excitement, and you can’t keep up, or you are starting to avoid intimacy with your partner and prefer masturbation to have actual sex with them, then it might be too much. You’ve perfected the act of solo sex to the level where nothing else brings you pleasure and satisfaction more than your hand. If this happens, you have an issue that needs to be addressed.
- Your Work-Life Suffers: Sex involves the mind and the body. Do you find yourself thinking about masturbating every day at work? Do you find it hard to concentrate at work and you can’t even complete a task? If you are always watching porn when you are supposed to be working or going late for work-related meetings, it might be a problem.
- Injury: There’s no fixed number for how often should you masturbate. But if you find yourself doing it to the extent of hurting yourself with extreme genital irritation, blisters, and rawness, you might want to tone it down a little.
How to Lower Your Amount of Masturbation
There is nothing problematic about too much masturbation. But if it is becoming detrimental to your lifestyle, you have to treat it like any other harmful behavior. Now that you know how much masturbation is too much, you don’t have to feel guilty about it if you find yourself in that position. Make peace with yourself, accept it and take steps to get better. Here are ways you can lower your level of getting off if it’s interfering with your daily life.
- Avoid Pornography: Pornography can worsen your addiction. Gradually reduce how much you watch porn, and make sure when you do watch porn, it is ethical porn. Your smartphone is a gateway to pornography. Take a break from your favorite porn site for a while. Stop holding on to that porn magazine. Chin up and do away with everything that tempts you. It might be challenging, but it will get better.
- Get Occupied: Are you always alone? Being alone and bored most of the time can be a trigger. You should spend more time with people. Don’t call to cancel when your friends suggest a hangout. Spending time with people keeps you occupied and redirects your focus from engaging in masturbation. Take a class, learn a musical instrument, pick up a new hobby, visit your family or join a gym to socialize more with others.
- Exercise More: Exercises like swimming, cycling, running can strengthen your muscles and release hormones that make you feel good. Feeling happy and relaxed reduces your urge to masturbate, and you won’t have to worry about how much masturbation is too much.
- Wear clothes around the house: Dress in tight clothes that don’t give you easy access to your genitals. It will make it hard for you to masturbate.
- Find a therapist: If you keep slipping into old habits, try seeing a therapist. There might be a psychological problem at hand. Talking to a therapist is helpful to work through the negative patterns, and you learn new behavior modification tips to stop masturbating.
- Seek a Support Group: Getting support from a trusted group of people can help you quell the habit.
- Be Patient: Getting off did not become a habit in just a day. Be patient with yourself. You can’t break the practice overnight. Take baby steps, and don’t get too worked up.
- Stay motivated: And don’t be ashamed.
Remember, the habit is not going to leave fast because it’s something you’ve acquired for months or even years.
We hope we have answered about how much masturbation is too much. The bottom line? Indulging in some self-love now and then is fantastic. It only becomes a problem when it gets in your way of life or your sex life with your partner. But if it has no adverse effect, then masturbate to your satisfaction. It’s a free world!