Masturbation refers to sexual arousal (and often orgasm as well) by manual stimulation of the genitals.Despite what many of us may have been told by our parents, teachers or elders, masturbation does not cause physical injury or harm to the body.
We’ve all heard the many myths about this habit. Below are some leading myths relating to it:

1. Masturbation leads to blindness
2. Masturbation causes you to grow hair on the palms of your hands
3. Masturbation causes you to become impotent later in life
4. Masturbation leads to mental illness
5. Masturbation permanently reduces libido, desire, and/or sexual performance
6. Masturbation permanently reduces the quantity or quality of semen

Eventually, they are all found to be false after conducting medical research.

Medical Viewpoint

Positives

1. Masturbation could help reduce stress and therefore has a role in releasing ‘sexual tension’
2. It could help the male become more comfortable with his sexuality
3. It eliminates the potential for pregnancy or transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
4. Being self-aware of one’s body and sexuality may better prepare him for sexual activity with his
partner.

Negatives

1. Frequent and vigorous masturbation (over-indulgence) may produce penile skin abrasions
or superficial bruising or discolouration
2. Masturbation may also become an obsession or addiction.
3. It may become an obsession which is generally felt to be the case if it reduces time available
to participate in other activities (i.e. social relationships, job, work).

Some Triggers are as follows..

• Stress
• Rejection
• Adolescent age-group 13-20 yrs.
• Loneliness and feeling of alienation
• Taking long showers
• Watching late night television with sexual themes, pornographic content, etc.
• Browsing the Internet when alone
• Thumbing through magazines with sexual themes
• Sensual contact with girlfriend/boyfriend
• Fetishes
• Dwelling on sexual memories
• Growing children

Causes
Masturbation may be done to..

• To release pain of rejection, abuse, poor self-esteem, etc.
• To Release frustration or stress
• For love of pleasure
• Self-pity
• Independence/self-sufficiency
• To complement a porn habit
• Safe sex / trying to maintain physical virginity
• “Healthy release” of sexual tension
• Children and adolescents may do it to cope up with feelings of guilt
• Impatience

What is Compulsive Masturbation?

• There are several forms of compulsive masturbation but like any addictive behavior the presenting symptoms are typical of all addictions:
• The inability to change compulsive masturbation patterns (with or without porn) despite promises to self or others to do so.
• Negative consequences related to the compulsive masturbation – such as non-existent or decreased sexual intimacy with others, relationship problems, social isolation, depression, long hours — sometimes whole days lost to online porn use or self-stimulation and fantasy, physical self-harm due to abrasive masturbation techniques, drug use/relapse along with the masturbation.
• Continuation of the problem sexual behavior patterns despite a related history of negative consequences and broken promises to self or others to stop.
• Escalation of this habit – in terms of increasing amounts of time spent masturbating or viewing progressively more arousing, intense or bizarre sexual content.
• Living a secret or double sexual life – known fully only to themselves.

Over-effects
Masturbation is a healthy sexual behavior. Like other behaviours, when over-practiced or addicted it can lead to both psychological and physiological imbalances. Frequent masturbation and ejaculation stimulate release of neurotransmitters like acetylcholine.

Excessive stimulation of the penis can result in over-production of sex hormones and neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin.

Abundant and unusually large amount of these hormones and neurotransmitters can cause the brain and adrenal glands to perform excessive dopamine-norepinephrine-epinephrine conversion and turn the brain and body functions to be extremely sympathetic in nature.

In other words, there is a big change of body chemistry when the male excessively masturbates.

The side effects of such changes to the male body include:

• Fatigue
• Feeling tired all the time
• Inability to concentrate on work, studies, routine, etc.
• Lower back pain
• Thinning hair / Hair Loss
• Inability to maintain long-lasting erections
• Premature Ejaculation
• Eye floaters or fuzzy vision
• Groin/Testicular Pain
• Pain or cramp in the pelvic cavity or/and tail bone
• Impotency in youth

Evaluation of the Problem..
Individuals vary tremendously in how much they masturbate. Some folks wouldn’t dream of it, while others masturbate two or three times in their lives, and others two or three times a day. (And those aren’t the only options!) There are no deleterious effects of masturbation itself, and it shouldn’t matter whether you’re single or in a relationship.

On the other hand, since you’re worried about how your masturbation may be affecting your relationship with your partner, here are a few things to think about to help you decide if it’s a problem or not:

• How is your health? Has it changed in any way since you increased your masturbation?
• Are you satisfied with your life — career, relationship, friendships — or are you using masturbation as an escape from things that are bothering you?
• Is your penis sore or bruised?
• Do you have any problem orgasming or ejaculating alone or with your partner?
• Do you still have sex with your partner? Are you having an amount of sex that you’re both content with?
• Thus, it’s not about how often a person masturbates but about how he is living the rest of his life. As long as masturbation is a part of your life and not instead of your life, you’re fine.

When masturbation becomes an escape from problems in relationship, or it begins to affect an individual’s health, or turn into a substitute for real life experiences, then you should consider slowing down on your stroking and dealing with who and what’s around you.

Role of Homeopathy
Homeopathy treats the person suffering from the disease. Homeopathy has an individualistic approach to treat disorders.

This approach has been found to treat many different diseases, abnormal behaviors and also bad habits like excessive or compulsive masturbation.

During case-taking, a homeopath a many details from his patient, like his lifestyle and food preferences, mannerisms, behaviour pattern, past and present medical histories, etc.

From this, he carves the picture of the disease in the patient, also known as ‘totality of symptoms’. Based on the totality of symptoms, the homeopath prescribes a homeopathic remedy and thus treats the patient. This approach applies to all disorders, habits, etc, including masturbation.

A homeopathic doctor also treats by taking into account the causative factor responsible for the disease or habit and excessive or compulsive masturbation is no exception.

Causative factors may be feelings of insecurity, loneliness, guilt, excessive pleasure, insecurity, watching adult content on television and internet, etc. Homeopathy treats such causative factors responsible for bad habit; and hence gives long-lasting relief from such sexual excesses.

Homeopathy believes that any habit done in excess or even compulsively is unhealthy and therefore it should be corrected by homeopathic treatment.
Excessive masturbation is therefore considered unhealthy by the homeopath and requires therefore requires regular homeopathic treatment.

Homeopathy is also prescribed to treat complaints resulting from excessive masturbation, which include exhaustion, fatigue, lower backache, etc. Homeopathy treats these symptoms without any bad-effects.

Rarely has a physical cause but may be aggravated by certain drugs; not a problem unless compulsion to have intercourse becomes a burden to person concerned or makes unreasonable demands on a partner. Constitutional homeopathic treatment may be necessary.

Masturbation has serious consequences since it drains the young men of his wellbeing and vitality and in many cases masturbation causes impotency, if over-indulged.

Therefore, parents are advised to keep a watch on their children against all possible factors which can tempt their children to masturbate

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Basil Wellness
Understanding Your Health