What Are The Effects Of Chronic Masturbation On The Body?

[JDreamer]

I was first introduced to porn when I was around 10 years old by the Playboy channel, which led to masturbation. As I grew into my mid and later teens it became a chronic issue, remaining constant well into my mid to late-20's. The porn was plentiful - especially when it became abundantly accessible on the internet. There were times when I found myself on 2-3 hour marathons late at night.

Looking back at this period of my life I am certain of a few things. The first is that it was a bi-product of depression/anxiety caused by a stressful family life. My parents were always fighting (father has struggled with alcoholism/my mother is a co-dependent) and it's my belief that I developed OCD-like behaviors to cope. Hell, there was a period as I was growing up where I would literally bite off the thickened skin on the pads under my toes and bottom of my feet. Eventually that subsided, but masturbation didn't.

I'm in my late 30's now and have more self-control. I go periods of a couple of weeks where I won't masturbate, but I'll have some weekends where it might happen 3-4 times. Ultimately I've wondered what kind of damage I did to my body - particularly from a development standpoint, as well as brain chemistry. I'm pretty certain it's played a heavy role in my hair loss, possible hormone/thyroid issues, excessive body hair, low energy levels, and a pervasive "detached" feeling.

Anyone have any insight on the subject?

 

[Waynish]

Depletion of kidney qi... It TCM this doesn't mean the same symptoms for every person, but an accumulated underlying weakness.

 

[GoodOlMiak]

Wow, that's courageous of you to be so transparent and authentic about yourself.

I had a nearly identical experience growing up, with the exact same consequences (ie. bald, excessive body hair, low energy, detachedness).

I would add that I had a low self-image and felt a pervasive sense of helplessness, given that my escape for all of life's problems was porn. Now, I live on my own, my life is going much better. I did lots of self-development work for myself. In fact, I found the Ray Peat forum to solve those very same physical issues.

As far as my personal experience, my thyroid is back to it's youthful pre-horny-adolescence state, but I do have to work on it by following Ray Peat's recommendations.

I believe the orgasm has multiple effects:
1. large release of prolactin after orgasm (causing fibrosis of the scalp, also increases estrogen)

2. losing nutrients in your ejaculation (most animals and plants give their best when it comes to procreating)

3. practicing an unproductive for of self-soothing

For me, I have almost completely ceased watching porn. I will watch it (and regret it) when I'm very tired. That tells me two things: I should get to bed and use the computer less (I'll write, draw or just go to sleep).

I've worked in the addictions field for a number of years and I can share some effective methods that work for many people.

Currently, I'm hoping, but not holding my breath that with the right nutrients and lifestyle, I can reverse the damage done by excessive porn. I don't imagine my body hair will just suddenly fall out, but perhaps I can regrow my hair.

 

[sladerunner69]

Not doing it sure makes me feel a lot better and more energizeed. But boy it is difficult as heck resisting the urge to hop on Pornhub and just fapfapfap away. To be honest I have thrown in the towel many times, but what works best for me is reminding myself how good I will feel mentally for not doing it, and also that the adult industry is highly demeaning to women and many of the girls in those films are being pressured into that lifestyle with money and drugs.

 

[Waynish]

Meh @ adult industry demeaning to women. You need to get out and pickup girls - only ejaculate if it is with a woman. No such thing as masturbation anymore. Build the habit of doing something physically active as soon as the urge strikes.

 

[milk_lover]

I have a question for you guys... How is it a turn on to see two rigid artificial plastic boobs who hardly bounce while an aggressive man is giving her and she is moaning like she has given birth? That's so wrong on so many levels and not real. Porn is toxic to men and women equally.

 

[Dessert_All_Day]

I have a question for you guys... How is it a turn on to see two rigid artificial plastic boobs who hardly bounce while an aggressive man is giving her and she is moaning like she has given birth? That's so wrong on so many levels and not real. Porn is toxic to men and women equally.

LMFAO. A bit of a strawman there.

Nevertheless, porn is not "toxic" any more than refined sugar is "toxic."

 

[Prosper]

I have a question for you guys... How is it a turn on to see two rigid artificial plastic boobs who hardly bounce while an aggressive man is giving her and she is moaning like she has given birth? That's so wrong on so many levels and not real. Porn is toxic to men and women equally.

I've always preferred nude solo pics of amateurs over the kind of soulless commercialized porn you describe. It's much more sensual and arousing to mentally transfer a hot everyday woman from a still picture into your room and fantasies than passively masturbate at two people having sex without you.

The kind of porn you describe is not even that common in my opinion. It's more like a fetish.

 

[milk_lover]

I've always preferred nude solo pics of amateurs over the kind of soulless commercialized porn you describe. It's much more sensual and arousing to mentally transfer a hot everyday woman from a still picture into your room and fantasies than passively masturbate at two people having sex without you.

The kind of porn you describe is not even that common in my opinion. It's more like a fetish.

Please don't put ideas into my mind because I am weak when it comes to beautiful naked women.. Amateur level porn and solo real girl masturbation(real boobs is a must), preferably with fingers, are things I can sympathize with.. Other than that, sorry, nothing is worth it. My precious zinc can be recharged, but it may cost you eating muscles meat and I am not that fond of muscle meat because I have to eat glycine with it and I react badly to glycine.. so there is some collateral damage for the process.

 

[milk_lover]

LMFAO. A bit of a strawman there.

Nevertheless, porn is not "toxic" any more than refined sugar is "toxic."

well we don't know for sure if porn is toxic, but it spikes your prolactin level and that level stays elevated longer than when you have sex with a partner.. And what about the loss of sensitivity of too much porn? Are you aware there is a death grip, many frequent masturbators complain about? So I wouldn't rule out any harmful effects from porn..

 

[Prosper]

@milk_lover I think you should make a clear distinction between porn and masturbation, as they don't necessarily always go hand in hand. Death grip, for example, does not have a direct relationship with consuming porn. Secondly, as far as I know, porn does not spike your prolactin, but ejaculation does. What seems to affect the prolactin spike is whether you ejaculate with a partner or with hand. On one hand the prolactin spike is greater when you ejaculate with a partner, but on the other hand some of its effects are offset by stuff like oxytocin, which is completely absent in solo sexual activity.


A somewhat loose rule of thumb would be that excess sexual activity weakens the body, while excess pornographic stimulation weakens the mind.

 

[Tarmander]

There are a bunch of health issues that can be discussed, but I want to add some stuff in about other parts.

Watching porn lowers conscientiousness, which roughly speaking is being vigilant, careful, and wanting to do a task well. It's like the opposite of being easy going. It's responsibility.

Growing up with an alcoholic and a crazy family means nothing gets done well, no attention is given to detail, you are not well cared for.

I would put money on you being a very conscientious person, and the porn/masterbation was a way of lowering that urge in you when it was very painful to have in your childhood.

Now that you have grown up and have more control over your life, you don't need to lower that trait anymore, plus in general you just have less energy to deal with compared to your youth. But sometimes that conscientious trait rises and makes your life feel BAD. You can't stand it...it's some type of energy, like depression or anxiety or whatever, and the pron makes it go away.

The solution is to channel your inner vigilance. No more porn, not more wanking, only real girls. When you get the urge, build something, improve something, clean your car, just bring order to something. The more you embrace the order of masculinity the less you'll have to worry about this stuff.

Anyways, that's my take on it, hope it was accurate.

 

[milk_lover]

@milk_lover I think you should make a clear distinction between porn and masturbation, as they don't necessarily always go hand in hand. Death grip, for example, does not have a direct relationship with consuming porn. Secondly, as far as I know, porn does not spike your prolactin, but ejaculation does. What seems to affect the prolactin spike is whether you ejaculate with a partner or with hand. On one hand the prolactin spike is greater when you ejaculate with a partner, but on the other hand some of its effects are offset by stuff like oxytocin, which is completely absent in solo sexual activity.


A somewhat loose rule of thumb would be that excess sexual activity weakens the body, while excess pornographic stimulation weakens the mind.

Fair points! Agree :)

 

[Dessert_All_Day]

well we don't know for sure if porn is toxic, but it spikes your prolactin level and that level stays elevated longer than when you have sex with a partner.. And what about the loss of sensitivity of too much porn? Are you aware there is a death grip, many frequent masturbators complain about? So I wouldn't rule out any harmful effects from porn..

These seem like extremely irrational fears to me.

 

[milk_lover]

These seem like extremely irrational fears to me.

Dude I am not fearful at all lol when it comes to masturbation. I almost do it daily because I live alone in Korea right now. I just think we should be careful what type of porn to choose and not do it excessively, maybe maximum of once daily.. And use lube like coconut oil so you don't abuse your member and do it in a very relaxed mode.. If you need a lot of stimulation to make it go up, maybe you don't need to release and you are stressed so you use porn/masturbation to deal with stress..

 

[Dessert_All_Day]

Dude I am not fearful at all lol when it comes to masturbation. I almost do it daily because I live alone in Korea right now. I just think we should be careful what type of porn to choose and not do it excessively, maybe maximum of once daily.. And use lube like coconut oil so you don't abuse your member and do it in a very relaxed mode.. If you need a lot of stimulation to make it go up, maybe you don't need to release and you are stressed so you use porn/masturbation to deal with stress..

Well I wasn't attributing that fear to you, but rather pointing out the anxiety and fear that religious groups along with the NoFap community has caused many men (it seems).

 

[Waynish]

I have a question for you guys... How is it a turn on to see two rigid artificial plastic boobs who hardly bounce while an aggressive man is giving her and she is moaning like she has given birth? That's so wrong on so many levels and not real. Porn is toxic to men and women equally.

You saw some low quality porn my friend!

 

[tankasnowgod]

Dude I am not fearful at all lol when it comes to masturbation. I almost do it daily because I live alone in Korea right now. I just think we should be careful what type of porn to choose and not do it excessively, maybe maximum of once daily.. And use lube like coconut oil so you don't abuse your member and do it in a very relaxed mode.. If you need a lot of stimulation to make it go up, maybe you don't need to release and you are stressed so you use porn/masturbation to deal with stress..

I think you hit on some important points here. The entire "NoFap" movement came about because of porn delivered via a high speed internet connection. It wasn't an issue (or at least as prevalent an issue) when it was magazines, VHS, DVDs, and Pay Per View. While there could be issues with the act itself and any type of porn, here are some of the issues that I see with the modern practice-

Excessive Blue Light from the computer screen (maybe affecting very sensitive parts of the body)
Toxins in lotions or whatever guys use
Doing it to excess (like the marathon session described above, or guys doing it several times a day)
Possible excess prolactin stimulation from above, negative effect on androgens or other hormones
Depletion of nutrients
Effect on Sleep
Lack of sunlight and movement
Possible Negative effects on social life
Short circuiting any "Mating Cycle" than humans may have

 

[Dessert_All_Day]

Blaming high speed internet or modern porn for ED is like blaming painkillers for the opioid epidemic. Many people are not susceptible to the "addiction," so why even call it that? It just spreads lies and confusion and doesn't tackle the root causes of the problem.

I recommend Danny Roddy and Haidut's podcast on addiction for anyone who hasn't yet heard it. Physician Gabor Mate's research is also relevant here. Most "addictions" aren't what they seem.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Blaming high speed internet or modern porn for ED is like blaming painkillers for the opioid epidemic. Many people are not susceptible to the "addiction," so why even call it that? It just spreads lies and confusion and doesn't tackle the root causes of the problem.

I recommend Danny Roddy and Haidut's podcast on addiction for anyone who hasn't yet heard it. Physician Gabor Mate's research is also relevant here. Most "addictions" aren't what they seem.

I didn't blame porn via high speed internet for ED. I did point out some potential novel issues (especially blue light and excessive frequency) that internet porn has introduced into the lives of many men.