How can I overcome the sin of Masturbation?

[JesusmyLord]

I stopped this once, and when school came Masturbation came back again! I kept confessing week after week and this sin keeps coming back week after week!

Asking for prayers and help.

 

[Convert3]

Every time your mind begins to wander in that direction, begin praying a Hail Mary until your mind can focus on something else.

 

[Zach]

Yes pray. Also helpful is when the thoughts and urges occur get busy doing something. Move around. Go for a walk. Do housework. Any activity to divert your mind. A priest gave me this advice. Did your priest give you any advice in any of your weekly confessions?

 

[Inquiry]

This is one I struggled with for a long time and it’s not easy to even figure out how to fight it, let alone to actually fight it. A lot of people are going to tell you to try and distract yourself whenever temptations or bad thoughts enter your head. In one sense they are absolutely correct, finding things (especially prayers) that can get you out of your bad headspace is vital, but alone it is not enough. If you just fight temptations as they arise you are fighting a losing battle.

So here are the two steps that really helped me:

First, this isn’t just a temptation, it is an ingrained bad habit. Like any bad habit you can’t just attack the habit itself, you have to find all the smaller triggers that lead to that habit. Look for the situations where you are most overwhelmed by urges and thoughts and try to avoid them where you can. When you find yourself under assault by unwanted thoughts (whether you fall to them or not) try to figure out how you got there. You need to find all your triggers and start retraining yourself.

Secondly, pay attention to what you are praying for and what you are not. I spent a lot of time just praying for help fighting temptation, but that’s like being in a cage with a hungry lion and asking that he not eat you for a few more minutes. Your goal is not to resist temptation, your goal is to become the kind of person who isn’t tempted. Make sure you pray for that.

 

[jvickers]

As Inquiry indicated, it’s not just temptation, it’s a habit. Replace the habit with prayer. If you feel you have to do something physical, try a lot of pushups. That actually can work quite well.

 

[Hello]

Jude 19-20 you build your self up pray in the holy spirit .
Or go on a 21 day Daniel fast.

 

[drac16]

Try to control your gaze. Don’t look at things that will trigger lust. When you’re at Wal-Mart, don’t look at the magazines at the checkout aisles. If you’re watching football on TV and the cheerleaders appear on the screen, look away. If you’re at a gym working out, you know there will be women there who are wearing skimpy little outfits, so don’t look at them.

If you can control what you look at, you will have less lust, which will make it easier to stop the masturbation habit.

 

[Ctine91]

I think the most important thing is you need to keep yourself busy. Because when you have nothing to do your mind will wander and it’s not good. You should also look for a spiritual director in your place (can be your parish priest) to talk and share about it. Holy Rosary can also help. Spray a bit of Holly water on your bed before going to sleep and whenever you feel tempted, pls pray to St. Michael. Porn, masturbation, etc is a kind of drug, it takes time for you to heal but if you keep fighting and praying then I believe you’ll be okay.