“Do you masturbate?” He answered, even if I do, why do you think I will tell you?
The issues surrounding masturbation is one stretched too far and because of the many colouration, from religious to psychological and more importantly, medical, it has made it a subject of discussion even for the umpteenth time.
For many reasons known to those that practice it, there is always an option to whatever it gives.
For starters, one can simply put that anything you cannot publicly admit that you do is likely to be the wrong stuff.
According to Wikipedia, masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one’s own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or a combination of these.
Psychologically, some of the reasons people practice masturbation include low self esteem, ability to sustain a sexual relationship with an opposite sex, loneliness and peer pressure, among others.
The religious angle to masturbation is quite direct as it is believed that it is classified as a sexual immorality.
The debate on masturbation even got more complicated as medical experts have shared different views on what the action or absence of it does to the body.
Studies have found that masturbation is frequent in humans of both sexes and all ages, although there is variation. Various medical and psychological benefits have been attributed to a ‘healthy’ attitude toward sexual activity in general and to masturbation in particular.
Whether during active sex or masturbation, one thing is common, ejaculation; one wonders the fuss about masturbation.
Dr Anderson Anuforo, a medical expert at Emabel Hospital, Lagos, explained that there are different school of thoughts as to what comes with masturbation.
He said while some say it could lead to premature ejaculation, others have argued that it could actually increase sperm count as it keeps reproducing itself each time some are lost through ejaculation.
A study however maintained that not all orgasms have the makeup. In as much as intercourse comes with a handful benefits for men, ranging from easing pain, improve the heart, blood pressure, burn fat, masturbation doesn’t necessarily work in that light.
“During ejaculation, your body seems to respond differently. Even the makeup of semen is different if you masturbate instead of having sex.
“Still, does it really matter? Have you honestly been masturbating all these years only because you wanted to boost your prostate health? Didn’t think so. But one study, Harvard’s Health Professional follow-up, showed that masturbation may help lower risk of prostate cancer,” WebMD noted.
Also, while it is a sure bet hideout from preventing unwanted pregnancies and avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), it also has its own redline as far as safety is concerned.
Dr Anuforo noted that since the object is towards sexual gratification, the euphoria and sensationalism that comes with it might bring some excess, which in turn could lead to skin irritation, rupture the part of the penis where blood is filled, even though cases of this are far between.
Unlike in water therapy where one is asked to consume about eight cups a day, which is equivalent to two litres, or in beer where a bottle per day for women and two for men (this is definitely another topic for another day) is considered moderate, there is no average nor moderate masturbation recommendation from any part of the world, sadly so and this naturally increases the chances of excesses.
Dr Anuforo added that frequent masturbation could increase the erection time and thereby leading to premature ejaculation.
“Masturbation is targeted towards instant gratification. This means that the chances of doing it more than once in a day is very likely, especially when you don’t need the approval or consent of the opposite sex to get started.
“Like alcohol and other addictive substances, frequent masturbation could also result in addiction and form behaviour or a way of life. You know what they say that too much of everything is not good, this can have an adverse effect on one and lead to premature ejaculation. It could also lead to shortening erection period during sex.
For all its worth, people that were asked if they masturbate or not refused to disclose their masturbation status and only laughed it off, while others claim it is personal.
Experts revealed that the basic reason people refuse to disclose whether they masturbate or not is because of societal norms; the norm that serves as yardstick for judging what behaviour is right or wrong makes the affected persons resort to denial as a defence mechanism.
The likelihood of wanting to see a therapist when there is an addiction is also not likely as nobody wants to discuss what went down with anybody.
tribuneonlineng.com

It is definitely not a good habit. It is not easy to stop it... Individuals involved in it needs some form of psychological counseling.