awkward question (explicit aspects)

[littledevil1908]

hey, i just wanted to ask a question about "self-pleasure." AKA sexually satisfying oneself by oneself. can it possibly be bad for your health? i have heard it causes hair loss. while i am very disciplined about being healthy and avoiding things that i normally would love to do and eat, this is one of those things i have trouble keeping myself away from. it is one of my indulgences, especially since i don't have a girlfriend right now. i hope i explained my question well enough.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

I think most of the bad "side effects" you hear about related to this are bogus. I don't see how "doing it yourself" could have different effects than with a partner aside from no risk of STDs or pregnancy.

Probably just stuff people told their kids over the years to stop them from indulging.

[jeff3]

Originally Posted by littledevil1908

hey, i just wanted to ask a question about "self-pleasure." AKA sexually satisfying oneself by oneself. can it possibly be bad for your health? i have heard it causes hair loss. while i am very disciplined about being healthy and avoiding things that i normally would love to do and eat, this is one of those things i have trouble keeping myself away from. it is one of my indulgences, especially since i don't have a girlfriend right now. i hope i explained my question well enough.

I heard it causes it to grow on your palms, not true.

[Calculusaurus]

Are you male or female?

Health-wise it's perfectly OK to masturbate. It won't lead to hairloss or anything like that.

Depending on your point of view, there can be a few negative consequences. If you're male, then your masturbation technique will probably consist of more pressure than what you get from actual sex -- so when you actually have sex, things might become difficult. I'm young so I guess I'm immune to that problem for now, but I've read about it :P

Also, orgasm will release a lot of tension. Tension can be good when there's just the right amount. As a male, I think it helps to have a bit of tension in your life at all times. This tension translates into energy and motivation. A lot has been written on "sexual energy" in the field of personal development -- even look back to Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich -- and if you orgasm once a day, you'll dissipate all of that sexual energy. None will be left over to rechannel into motivation and success. As David Deida put it, frequent orgasm leads to a good life, but not a great life.

For example, try masturbating just once a week and notice how much more effort you'll put into going out to meet actual women.

Aside from that, I've heard that orgasming (is that a word?) at least once a week helps maintain optimal testosterone levels in males (but more than once a week doesn't provide any additional benefit? -- I think, but I don't really remember where I read this).