Howdy how. I'd like to know the opinion of the fellow TFPers on this question. Does masturbation cause to you any negative side-effects, such as inability to concentrate, fatique (mental and physical), difficulty in working and even fits of VERY VERY negative thoughts (minor fits of depression?)?
I, being single with a pathetic sex life (a non-existant one actually), have turned to the comfort of self-pleasuring quite a lot recently, talking myself into it since I see a lot of positive remarks when I google the subject ("can relieve depression", "can enhance sex life", etc), or when reading TFP
. I don't know what the average frequency of masturbation for most people is, having seen posts here that talk about daily action etc, but I have lately been drawn more and more into porn and frequent masturbation. On an average, I'd say I "spank the monkey" 4 times a week, if I give in to my horniness...
To be honest, I'm not yet sure about the effects of masturbation. Having grown up (I'm 20 now) taught that there is a reason the word "wanker" is derogatory, I must say that I'm ambivalent about the subject. I see people glorifying porn and masturbation, because "it feels good, so it can't be wrong", and I sometimes buy it and well, you know what happens then... On the other hand, I can go without any for a whole month. I have done "one month long wank-free challenges" a couple of times and seen my motivation, clarity of thought and overall mood rise. In other occasions, I have given in and enjoyed it with no side-effects, mostly after prolonged periods of stress.
Unfortunately, lately I have noticed that masturbation is taking its toll in the development of my social life. When I do it, I become unattentive, I start to procrastinate and I generally become a sad, pathetic individual; an apath. Some times I suddenly find myself focusing on all the negative things in my life, I start hating being around people, I despise having work to do and so on. These feelings last for maybe half a day. Then I'm back to a "normal" situation, although I guess that I become a worse person every time, and this is worrying me and makes me mad at myself at the same time. The counter-indicator is that my wank-free days I am in a better mood, so I know that these effects are indeed caused by masturbation.
Soooo... Has anyone else had these "symptoms"? I'm starting to get anxious that continuing this routine could lead to permanent "character damage". I'm also afraid that having established masturbation as the "easy way" of pleasure, I am lowering my chances of meeting girls and making myself more bitter and defiant of intimacy every day... but that's (maybe) a whole other story.
