While masturbation is considered healthy and a natural part of human sexuality, it can become a problem if it starts to interfere with your daily life and relationships. Trying to stop compulsive masturbation is not easy, but there are ways you can overcome the temptation.
One way is to avoid pornography, and another is to fill your time with other self-soothing activities such as exercise, mindfulness, yoga, discovering a new hobby or going out to dinner with friends.
1. Change Your Lifestyle
If boredom, loneliness, or stress are common triggers for masturbation, try to replace those emotions with other activities. Going out with friends and family members, engaging in hobbies such as art or music, or taking up exercise, all of which release dopamine to relieve stress, can help you build new coping skills to overcome the urges to engage in compulsive masturbation.
Additionally, removing any sex toys from your home may help to eliminate reminders of sexual triggers. Some people also find it helpful to install a filter on their devices that blocks pornography, which can be easy to access in just a few clicks.
A therapist can help you recognize if your masturbation habits are becoming compulsive and problematic. They can provide psychotherapy, or talk therapy, to identify the underlying issues and work with you to create coping strategies to help reduce or eliminate the compulsive masturbation.
It’s important to find a therapist who specializes in sex disorders and can offer you a safe space to explore your sexuality. BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who can match you with the best therapist for you. If you’re concerned that your masturbation habits are becoming too problematic, reach out for a free, confidential, no-obligation therapist consultation today. Just fill out a short questionnaire, and you could be on your way to meeting the right therapist for you!
2. Change Your Habits
While masturbation is a natural part of human sexuality, it can become a problem when done to excess. It can generate feelings of guilt in some people and interfere with everyday life in others. For instance, some people may start skipping work or school to masturbate or find themselves having uncontrollable urges to do it. If you have these symptoms, it might be time to seek treatment.
The first step is to change your habits. You can do this by avoiding pornography, surrounding yourself with friends and family, or finding other ways to spend your free time. For example, you could try volunteering your time at a youth shelter or tutoring low-income kids. Doing so will give you an altruistic feeling and also help you stay away from masturbation for a while.
You can also try meditating, taking long walks, or doing other activities that will keep your mind off masturbation. It’s also important to get enough sleep. Urges to masturbate often occur when you are tired, so getting a good night’s sleep will help.
Finally, you can try eliminating triggering items, such as your collection of porn or sex toys. You can do this by throwing them out or putting them in a safe location. This will limit the temptation and make it harder to relapse.
3. Change Your Environment
Masturbation can be healthy for both men and women, but it can also become addictive if not handled properly. Several strategies can help stop masturbation addiction. The first step is to recognize that there may be a problem and seek help. The second step is to change one’s environment by avoiding pornography and other triggers. Finally, it is important to spend time with other people to reduce isolation and decrease temptation.
Developing a strong support network can be an essential part of stopping masturbation addiction. Many people who struggle with masturbation also have problems in other areas of their life, such as work or relationships. Often, these issues can lead to masturbation as a way to distract themselves from what is really going on. A sex therapist can help to address these problems and develop more effective strategies for dealing with them.
Changing your environment can be difficult, especially when you have spent months or even years in the habit of masturbating. But, just as with any other behavior that feels out of control, it can be overcome with dedication and perseverance. Just remember that it takes time to break a habit that has developed over the course of years. It is important to be patient with yourself as you move through the process of breaking the masturbation addiction.
4. Change Your Mindset
Having the right mindset can be crucial for success in stopping masturbation addiction. It is important to recognize when your masturbation is becoming compulsive and problematic, and speak with a therapist who specializes in this type of addiction.
It is also important to find other ways to fill your time and occupy your mind. Boredom is one of the biggest causes of masturbation, and finding new hobbies will help to keep your mind off your urges. Whether it’s taking up a new sport, joining a book club, or spending more time with friends, finding something to do will take your mind off of your compulsion.
You may also want to consider identifying your triggers. If masturbating occurs during specific times of the day, such as after waking up or before going to sleep, you may need to try readjusting your routines. Try listening to music in the morning, taking a cold shower, or changing your bedtime routine to see if these changes alleviate your masturbation urges.
Finally, you may want to consider joining a support group for compulsive masturbation. Your therapist may be able to recommend one, or you can search online forums such as Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. In some cases, medications can be prescribed to treat underlying mental disorders that cause compulsive behavior. However, it is important to remember that masturbation can often be a coping mechanism for other issues such as depression or anxiety.
