How Much Masturbation is Too Much Masturbation?

Question: How Much Masturbation is Too Much Masturbation?

I need help. On your site it says that masturbation is great and healthy and everything, but then it also says that you can do it too much. But no one tells me how much masturbation is too much. Basically I do it at least once a day, mostly in bed, and sometimes more. I don’t have a girlfriend right now, and I don’t want to damage anything down there. Can you just tell me yes or no, is masturbating once a day too much?

Answer:

I wish I could answer your question easily, but masturbation isn’t like eating right, the FDA doesn’t offer us a "daily allowance" for masturbation (which is a good thing too, because I’m sure they’d give us some low ball number). Masturbation, like all of sex, is related to many things, physical, emotional, psychological, social, spiritual…the list goes on. So there’s never one answer to the question how much masturbation is too much masturbation or what qualifies as over masturbation.

This isn’t to say that you won’t find people who will give you a simple answer to your complicated question. The question of how much masturbation is too much has been the focus of some people’s life’s work, dozens of books, and countless religious tracts and sermons. Some say masturbation is terrible, some say masturbation is okay, but only when you’re young and single, and some tell you the truth, which is that masturbation is perfectly healthy and an important part of sexual health. With all these conflicting messages what is most important is that you do exactly what you’re doing right now; ask the question for yourself.

Too much masturbation can’t be determined only from the number of times you’re masturbating in a day or week. You need to dig deeper, and you can start by asking yourself some other questions about your masturbation habits:

• Is your masturbation causing you distress?
• Is your masturbation causing (unwanted) physical pain or damage?
• Is your masturbation getting in the way of your life in unwanted ways?
• Do you find yourself literally unable to stop masturbating?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I would say it’s possible (but still not definite) that you are masturbating too much right now. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t other times in your life when masturbating everyday would be perfectly fine. It also doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there who masturbate everyday (or more) and who are completely healthy and have no reason to masturbate less. Remember, there isn’t a magic number, and we all use sex differently.

If you do think you’re masturbating too much (that is if your masturbation is causing you distress, or pain, or it feels compulsive, or it’s getting in the way of your daily life) it may be something you want to talk to a professional about. Be sure it’s someone who is comfortable talking about sex and isn’t going to make you feel bad for your healthy sexual expression.

Source: About.com