Chronic Masturbation: Understanding Compulsive Behavior

Chronic masturbation, sometimes called masturbation addiction, or compulsive masturbation, means you can’t stop, even if you want to. In this post, we’ll look at why that is, whether it’s normal, and what you can do about it.

Is masturbation addictive?

Even more than pornography, masturbation addiction is a highly debated concept. After all, “addiction” means habit-forming substances foreign to your body. Masturbation involves your body and nothing else. Right?

Yes and no.

Sigmund Freud considered masturbation the original addiction. Every other substance—including drugs and alcohol—is simply a substitute. Now, Freud had some weird ideas. But in this case, modern neuroscience has found a grain of truth. Many experts today agree that masturbation can be addicting, for reasons we’ll explore below.

Regardless of what you think about Freud or neuroscience, masturbation forms a seemingly unbreakable habit for many people, especially when combined with pornography.

What do we mean by masturbation addiction?

It’s important that we understand the characteristics of addiction. A 2018 paper published by the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal identifies six components of addiction. I think these give a helpful set of criteria as we think about compulsive masturbation:

1. Salience – This has to do with how much space masturbation is taking up in your life. Has masturbation become the most important thing to you? Do you obsess about it so that it dominates your thoughts and desires?
2. Mood modification – This means masturbation gives you a euphoric “high” or helps relieve negative feelings. Do you find yourself turning to masturbation when you’re lonely or depressed?
3. Tolerance – Do you find yourself masturbating in different ways or with greater intensity to get the same “high” as you used to? This is especially noticeable when combined with escalating pornography.
4. Withdrawal symptoms – Do you experience uncomfortable or even painful effects when you try to stop this behavior?
5. Conflict – Have you experienced interpersonal conflicts with friends, family, or colleagues because of your masturbation?
6. Relapse – Do you fall back into masturbation even after resolving to quit?

If these six signs or symptoms characterize your experience with masturbation, you might be dealing with an addiction.

What causes it?

Surveys suggest that most people masturbate. Popular opinion suggests this is normal and healthy sexual behavior. Regardless, there are clearly instances where masturbation gets out of control and becomes an obsessive and destructive habit. You might feel stuck in a shame cycle.

If your reading so far makes you think you might be addicted, how did this happen? For many, habitual masturbation relates to pornography addiction. Before you can overcome masturbation, you need to quit porn.

Psychologists have identified a common cause of addiction: lack of secure attachments. A “secure attachment” means a healthy relationship where you feel safe and loved. When you don’t have this, you’re more likely to substitute a soothing behavior, such as watching pornography and masturbating.

Can a Christian be addicted to masturbation?

If you’re a Christian, you may feel convicted about your masturbation habit, and that’s your motivation to quit. Maybe you’ve heard conflicting ideas of what the Bible says about masturbation and you want to understand it better.

If this is you, you’re not alone. Many Christians struggle with masturbation. In fact, research has discovered a positive link between religious convictions and the tendency to identify as an addict. Does this mean Christians have stronger sexual desires? Not likely. But it does mean that Christians have stronger convictions about their sexual behaviors, and they feel a deep sense of incongruence when their actions don’t match their beliefs.

What does masturbation do to your brain?

When you engage in sexual activity, your brain releases a neuro-cocktail of pleasure chemicals. It makes you feel good. It tells your body everything is OK. We’ve looked in detail at the effects of porn on brain chemicals. Pornography often contributes to masturbation addiction.

But why do many people feel addicted to masturbation even after giving up their porn?

What can you do about it?

So, if you’re trapped and feel like you can’t stop, what do you do? It’s not easy, but here are the steps to quit masturbation:

1. Stop watching porn first.
2. Find what triggers your masturbation.
3. Address your physical tension.
4. Find out your deep longings.

Finding a Counselor or Therapist

For many, qualified counseling or therapy is the best path forward to overcoming unwanted behaviors. A counselor can help you uncover the deeper motivations underlying your masturbation and give you an actionable plan for overcoming it. Find an addiction counselor or therapist.

We’re rooting for you. You can overcome your chronic masturbation!