Masturbation and Its Domino Effects to Health

by:  Allan E. Ecleo

Sixth commandment says,” Do not commit adultery,” which is clearly clarified in the New Testament, “But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

Just this week, I came across with this confession of a brethren who related about his struggle on  masturbation and pornography.  I will hide his identity as respect of his privacy.  He says:

Some people have been evasive when talking about masturbation as others find it as taboo but remember that the concept of this words could even be found in the Scripture, particularly with forbidden acts as stated in the opening statement (the two preceding verses) which serves as a caution.  If we’ll try to dig deeply on this, this covers masturbation because in the process, anyone who after hearing from neighbour who does it (personally that’s how I started as I reached my 4^th year high school), after watching pornography on the web, or after noticing teens who enter a motel, or come across with partners who are kissing in the public, the mind naturally reacts to either emulate that encounter and the outlet would be masturbation. 

In 1993 The Janus new report New York, of the women who took part in national survey, 89% of them had reported masturbated at some time while 95% of men admitted to masturbating at least once.

In a separate survey in the United States, by the age of 16-17 over half of males and about a quarter of females admitted they masturbated at least once in the past month. According to the research, masturbation is most common for both men and women in the 25-29 age groups. At ages 25-29 just over two thirds of males and just over half of females masturbated at least once in the past month. Many people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s masturbate at least occasionally.  

In a research, it says that masturbating to ejaculation can cause temporary negative side effects in the brain. Brain is the most important organ of the body and if someone experiences these effects after each ejaculation yet masturbates to ejaculation every day, a temporary effect can become quite unsafe.

Both pleasure and pain take place in the brain. If one masturbates without a brain one will get no pleasure and if one burns his hand on a hot stove without a brain one will feel no pain. As pleasure is subjective so is the pain.

Based on disclosure. the doctors, counselors, psychiatrists, and other health professionals often receive complaints of negative side effects that people get from masturbation, as follow:

Excessive masturbation affects brain differently than having actual sex

Having sex with a woman supposedly affects the brain in a different way than when alone and masturbating.

Oxytocin is commonly called the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone” which plays an important part in intimacy between two people. It is thought to be released during bonding – hugging, touching, and orgasm in both sexes. In the brain, oxytocin is involved in social recognition and bonding, and may be involved in the formation of trust between people and generosity. It is released into the brain 4 times as much when having sex than masturbating.

Researchers once assumed that biomakers are no different during solo sex than they are during intercourse, which are refuted by Doctors Stuart Brody and Tillman Kruger  telling that orgasm during intercourse releases four times more Prolactin than masturbation. Since Oxytocin appears to trigger the release of Prolactin, it’s quite possible that Oxytocin released by intimacy accounts for the higher Prolactin levels during intercourse.” 

Prolactin was once thought to only be found in females to trigger breast milk production and all that, but not only is it found in males, it is essential to their sexual health.

The hormone Prolactin makes one feel satiated by countering the effect of Dopamine, which is released during sexual arousal.”

Masturbation affects the brain differently than having sex.

Brain scans have been conducted on those with porn and masturbation addictions and the reward centers of the brain are actually changed.

Scientists believed that human brains were fixed, their circuits formed and finalized in childhood, or “hardwired”. The  brain is "neuroplastic", and not only can it change, but works by changing its structure in response to recurring mental experience.

The neuroplasticity talks about pathways in human brain that are literally formed through persistent behavior. When the behavior discontinues for a long enough period of time, the pathway seems to reduce or fade.

Dr. Marty Klein discloses that when sex addicts are involved in sex (for example, when watching pornography), the part of their brain that lights up (the mesolimbic pathway) is the same part that lights up when a heroin addict injects heroin.

Research finds out that when someone is doing drugs or addicted to drugs, almost the exact same parts of their brain are being affected as someone who’s masturbating.

Excessive masturbation affects brain's dopamine levels leads to addiction

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (a chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerve cells) and it plays a huge role in the part of human brain that is responsible for reward-motivated behavior.

Masturbation is a form of a reward-motivated behavior because one is rewarded at the end.

Taking drugs, gambling, eating, having sex, and seeking approval are examples of other reward-motivated behaviors that cause dopamine to flood one’s brain. Dopamine floods the brain and makes one feel REALLY GOOD when doing these. It’s like giving the brain a giant piece of candy especially Masturbation.

Thus, many turn to be addicted on masturbation because just like drugs, the more one masturbates, the more the brain becomes “used to” and benumbed to the effects of Dopamine and the more one needs/craves just to “get off” and keep that wonderful feeling flooding back.

Dopamine is the “go get it” neurochemical essential for libido, risk-taking, stimulus, concentration, and expectation and excitement. In other words, a drop in dopamine signaling is associated with weakened libido which is a possible cause of sluggish erections, reduced risk-taking and increased apprehension, combined with a tendency toward angry overreaction. Any of which dwindles eagerness to commune, inability to focus, which can account for concentration and memory problems, and lack of stimulus and healthy anticipation, which can lead to laziness, delay, and even play a role in depression. Conversely, when dopamine and related neurochemicals are suitably in harmony, feelings of well being are more graceful from sexual attraction, socializing, to concentration focus.

PAGES
1	2	3	4