The Case Against Masturbation Addiction

If you look on allaboutlifechallenges.org, you will find that masturbation addiction occurs when the “need becomes so overwhelming that the addict does not have the power to keep from masturbating.” It goes on to explain that this is a gateway to other sexual addictions, including “multiple affairs, sex with prostitutes, or other illegal activities.” Don’t worry, a few lines down, the words, “we are three part beings – body, soul, and spirit,” assure us that this is, as Penn & Teller would say, “Bullshit!”

All About Life Challenges is a Christian (they prefer to call themselves followers of Jesus) recovery organization that specializes in recovery programs for everything, including alcohol abuse, rape survivors, and…of course, people recovering from masturbation addiction. I went to some other sources to see what others were saying. One site, sexualrecovery.com, looked promising. It didn't have the religious overtones of the others. However, when I read one man's "testimony," I was livid. Here's what the masturbation "addict" said, "My association with masturbation was simple, every morning when I showered I masturbated to fantasy and every night before I went to sleep I masturbated to porn to help me relax." Oh no! Twice a day?! How horrid! Definitely an addict! I soon discovered they heavily endorsed the 12-step SAA (Sexual Addicts Anonymous) model. In SAA's 12-step program, as with most of them, there is a heavy reliance on playing victim and surrendering to a higher power.

I sifted between these sources and found a few more, looking to see what these masturbation recovery counselors were saying the “problems” of masturbation were. Many started with the emotional, or mental, problems. One such site was newlifehabits.com, which said that masturbation was not what the body was made for and that “the single person should be in control of their body and life before getting into a marriage otherwise the outcome of the marriage can easily be predicted.” The author further suggests that masturbating actually hinders the relationships in our lives. Where his evidence to back this up exists, I’m not sure. But allaboutlifechanges.com agreed. They said that, “Masturbation, by its very nature, is a selfish act.” He then goes into how this will ruin your relationship with your spouse, as it did with him. Louanne Cole Weston, PhD doesn’t seem to agree in her article Masturbation: Healthy for Relationships. She says that many relationships contain higher and lower frequency partners—that’s when he wants it all the times that you don’t and vice versa. She says that masturbation (for both men and women) is actually helpful in reconciling this imbalance, which can actually improve your relationship with your partner. Furthermore, masturbation reduces stress, can help you sleep, and make you feel better about yourself. 

As for the physical effects of masturbation addiction, the newlifehabits.com guy says, “the body was not made for masturbation.” He then explains why hormones make us feel good and why it’s important to save this pleasure for marriage. Similarly, the allaboutlifechanges.org guy says, concerning the physical problems with masturbation, that learning to get that quick fix through masturbation “isn't very satisfying to a spouse in a sexual relationship.” Wow! How insightful. And yet neither of these guys mention actual health problems that arise from masturbating. That’s where I come in. In Melbourne, Australia, Graham Giles conducted research on prostate cancer, concluding that men who ejaculated most reduced their risk for prostate cancer by a third. The ones who masturbated least had a higher risk of prostate cancer. A 2004 publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirmed this, stating that "...men who reported frequent ejaculation over their lifetime - that's more than four to seven times per month, in case you're counting - had fewer overall cases of prostate cancer than those who ejaculated less often….And those tireless individuals averaging 21 or more ejaculations a month over their lifetime showed only half the risk for developing the disease." So as it turns out, there are actually medical benefits to frequent masturbation. Who woulda thought? Although, maybe allaboutlifechanges.com and newlifehabits.com would prefer that you endure the beautiful, God-given battle of prostate cancer with your supportive wife. After all, nothing brings people closer to God than experiences such as these.

In conclusion, masturbation isn’t bad. As recent studies have found, it's harmless. There isn’t some evil addiction out there, but religious fanatics get behind it to scare people into a notion of righteousness. It is reminiscent of the ex-gay recovery programs, which CSI author Karen Stollznow wrote a wonderful article on, called Straight Talk about Straight Camp. Check this information out for yourself and look at the scientific, medical, and psychiatric findings around masturbation. You will find that there is nothing inappropriate or devastating about an active masturbation life.

REFERENCES
"BBC NEWS | Health | Masturbation 'cuts Cancer Risk'" BBC News - Home. Web.

Leitzmann, M. F. "Ejaculation Frequency and Subsequent Risk of Prostate Cancer." JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 291.13 (2004): 1578-586. Web.

Shpancer PhD, Noam. "The Masturbation Gap." Psychology Today (2010). Web.

Weston PhD, Louanne Cole. "Masturbation: Healthy for a Relationship." WebMD. Web.