Are Masturbation And Depression Linked?
Depression affects some 20 million people every year in the United States, and many people wonder what causes depression. Some people have heard that masturbation is a potential cause of depression.
Psychologists don’t usually consider masturbation to be a cause of depression, anxiety, or any other mental illnesses. However, compulsive masturbation may affect a person’s mood, relationships, or overall life.
Below, we’ll discuss how to address concerns related to masturbation and depression.
Masturbation is common
Masturbation can be considered a normal and healthy habit. Sometimes people masturbate to obtain sexual satisfaction or to relieve stress, and it's a normal expression of human sexuality and sex drive. Masturbation can help with stress relief and may offer several health benefits for the brain and body. Many people understand this and are comfortable with the fact that they masturbate on occasion. Others are so embarrassed by masturbating that they try to hide it. While masturbation is a personal act, it isn't something that people need to feel ashamed of, and there are benefits of masturbation.
Medically reviewed research shows that men tend to masturbate more than women. However, some people are embarrassed to speak about the topic, so the statistics may not be completely accurate and can vary from survey to survey.
Regular masturbation can be a way for people to relieve stress. But can masturbation cause depression on its own? In most cases, no: masturbation is not considered a source of depression. When masturbation is followed by depression, it may be caused by loneliness or feelings of guilt. Some cultures and religions teach that masturbation is a sinful and shameful act, which can add to the stigma around masturbation and cause friends or family to shame one another.
The effects of masturbatory guilt were studied in Can Masturbatory Guilt Lead to Severe Psychopathology: a Case Series. The case series found a connection between masturbation prohibition and subsequent guilt with the manifestation of severe psychopathology, though further research may be required. The series also mentioned evidence of masturbatory guilt leading to depression symptoms, but due to the limited scale of the series, more evidence is needed to create concrete conclusions regarding the general population related to any connection between masturbation and depression.
Overall, how you feel about masturbation is up to you. In many cases, masturbation is not considered a normal cause of depression. In most adults, masturbation is a completely normal physical action.
Masturbation when married
Some people feel bad or strange about masturbating when they're married or in a relationship. They may think that if they have a partner, then masturbating is like an affront to them. This isn't the case for many different reasons.
First, your partner may not always be in the same mood as you. Schedules don't always match up, you may be going through a stressful situation, or you may be struggling to get enough sleep; whatever the reason, having sex just isn't always possible when you desire it. Everyday responsibilities might get in the way of your intimate time.
Another cause of a mismatch in sexual desires could be mental health or sexual dysfunctions, making it difficult for one to have sex or orgasm. While masturbating isn’t likely to cause sexual dysfunction conditions like erectile dysfunction, it may be a helpful activity when one partner isn’t capable of or interested in having sex.
Masturbating while you're married may be fine as long as it isn't negatively impacting your relationship. Masturbation could harm your relationship if it becomes compulsive. Your depression doesn't necessarily have to do with the masturbation itself.
Excessive masturbation
It is possible to develop a habit of compulsive masturbation, which may interrupt daily life or even cause harm to physical health.
Excessive masturbation is more common among men than women. This is usually linked to issues with impulse control. People who experience compulsive masturbation may have problems with other activities or substances, too. It's possible that someone could have both a higher alcohol intake and be prone to excessive masturbation, which can make it more difficult to deal with each condition separately.
Masturbating excessively is sometimes caused by sexual addiction. Compulsive pornography use can also be linked to masturbation and depression.
Compulsive masturbation
If you think that you may be experiencing depression, you can reach out to a physician or mental health professional. Your depression is likely not caused by masturbation, and a doctor may be able to help you.
Depression is treatable, and it might be beneficial to seek therapy to process your depression. Sexual frustrations can also lead to depressive symptoms or symptoms of anxiety.
Therapy may help individuals who have difficulty with excessive masturbation. Therapists can often help people with a lack of impulse control to change their behaviors. Sex addiction and excessive pornography use are common, so there’s no need to be afraid to get help.
If you’re nervous about discussing these topics at a therapist’s office, you might consider online therapy. Online therapy is an effective and convenient way to get support without having to meet in person.
With BetterHelp, you can communicate with your therapist via audio or video chat. If you have questions or concerns in between sessions, you can contact your therapist at any time via in-app messaging, and they’ll get back to you when they can.
You may be wondering if online therapy is effective for compulsive masturbation or sex addiction. In a recent study comparing the effectiveness of in-person versus telehealth treatments for addiction, researchers confirmed that telehealth counseling is an effective alternative to in-person treatments.
Online therapy has widely been proven effective for treating depression, as well. In a study involving nearly 1,500 participants who self-identified as experiencing challenges with depression and/or anxiety, researchers affirmed that internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) resulted in 46.7% to 51.1% reliable recovery after a three-month follow-up, with an average therapist time of one to three hours per participant.
Does masturbation help with depression?
There is no evidence proving that masturbation can act as a treatment for depression, but research suggests there may be a link between mental well-being and masturbation.
Masturbation triggers the release of several hormones into the body that can have potential benefits, including increased self-esteem, stress relief, and overall well-being. These include:
- Dopamine: Sometimes known as the “feel good” hormone, dopamine is responsible for pleasure and reward.
- Endorphins: Designed to make us feel happy and satisfied, this hormone helps us build bonds with others.
- Oxytocin: Oxytocin also facilitates bonding with others and is sometimes called the “love hormone".
Everyone experiences depression uniquely, and it is possible for some people to feel sexually aroused or motivated to seek sexual experiences if they’re depressed. However, little to no evidence suggests that depression can cause a biological reaction that initiates these feelings.
A loss of interest in pleasurable activity such as masturbation is a common symptom of depression. Low libido is also a common side effect of some SSRI medications used to treat depression.
Is it normal to masturbate when I feel anxious or depressed?
It’s important to remember that “normal” is a relative term. What is normal for one person may not be for another.
Some people seek masturbation and sexual activity to cope with symptoms of depression. One may find that masturbating helps them partially or completely recover their diminished libido due to depression.
Regardless of your reasons, as long as it isn’t hurting yourself or others, you shouldn’t interpret that you’re doing something “wrong” if you masturbate when you feel anxious or depressed. Masturbation is a natural, healthy activity, and it isn’t uncommon for people to use it to release sexual tension and increase feelings of well-being.
Anxiety and depression are complex disorders best addressed with the guidance of a mental health professional who can help you uncover the origins of your thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, and find healthy ways to process and cope with them.
There are many possibilities for why you may feel sad after ejaculating. These may include uncomfortable past experiences with sexual activity, your present psychological state, or your attitude toward sex and masturbation.
For example, in some societies and cultures, masturbation is considered taboo and creates feelings of shame. Sometimes, this shame and masturbatory guilt leads to feelings of sadness after ejaculation.
One case study published in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) documented the experiences of a young man from one such culture who sought treatment in an outpatient psychiatry clinic for major depressive episodes. The man reported experiencing depressed mood, apathy, poor memory and concentration, poor sleep, loss of appetite, and significant feelings of guilt and hopelessness. After three months of treatment via weekly psychotherapy sessions and a medication regimen, he reported a 90% improvement in symptoms.
While more research is needed to provide definitive proof, peer-reviewed studies suggest that sexual abuse experienced as a child may also play a role in sadness after orgasm. One such case study published in the NLM involves a 24-year-old male who sought treatment in a psychiatric outpatient clinic for problematic symptoms after sexual intercourse, including low mood, crying fits, irritability, and generalized fatigue. During treatment, the patient was diagnosed with a condition called postcoital dysphoria (PCD) and revealed that he experienced sexual abuse during adolescence by an adult individual in the family, which led to feelings of resentment towards sexual experiences.
If you feel depressed after climaxing, a mental health professional can help you uncover the potential underlying reasons and provide you with guidance and healthy coping strategies.
Does masturbation cause anxiety?
For some, the association of shame or guilt with masturbation can cause significant anxiety. There are many reasons why someone may have these feelings— but it’s often a personal matter that can be difficult to discuss. As a result, they may go unaddressed, leading to further distress.
Postcoital dysphoria (PCD) is sometimes associated with issues of sexual functioning that may provide one explanation for anxiety after masturbation. Clinical reports indicate that PCD symptoms are also prevalent in cases of penile-vaginal intercourse and may occur despite normal sexual arousal and functioning.
Although not recognized as a mental health disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), some believe it is possible to have an addiction to masturbation or sex, which may result in anxiety.
The concept isn’t widely accepted as credible by mental health professionals treating sex, intimacy, and sexual dysfunction. Instead, sex therapists often use the term “compulsive masturbation” in reference to compulsive behaviors related to masturbation. Other compulsive sexual behaviors may include excessive use of internet pornography, uncontrolled and frequent engagement in extramarital intercourse, and abnormally frequent patronage of prostitutes or strip clubs.
Compulsive sexual behaviors are characterized by symptoms that significantly impact one’s daily life, functioning, and psychological state. For example, people who engage in frequent intercourse with strangers may put themselves and others at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. People with a compulsive desire to visit sex workers or strip clubs may incur financial problems due to excessive spending.
Chronic masturbation may cause some people to miss work, school, or social engagements because of the strong desire to masturbate frequently. This can create feelings of isolation, guilt, and alienation.
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