Masturbation - a problem for how many?

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Oh, and also… if none of these apply to you, please elaborate further. Thank you.
 
I was addicted to it for 6 or 7 years, then I experienced a profound period of peace where I was scarcely even tempted for a summer. The temptations came back, but I have much more mastery over them. Before it was hard for me to go 5 days without doing it; it has now been 9 months since my last fall.

The desire is still there and it is definitely still a challenge, but Christ has freed me from myself. 🙂
 
I voted for the 2nd one.

While I can’t say I’ve never done it before in my life, it definitely isn’t something I was ever into. I find it to be rather boring and very empty - no appeal at all. I’d much rather take the real thing. 😃
 
The more you focus on it the more it becomes a condition and an unnecessary concern that clouds the more important aspects of faith like charity and love.
 
PeytonManning said:
99% of young men do it and the other 1% lie about it 😛
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It is extremely difficult for a young man to never struggle with masturbation at least a little bit. But for some (such as my husband) it becomes pretty much a non issue once they are married and have a healthy sex life with their wife.
 
This was a big problem/addiction for me in my early teenage years and into my early twenties. I was exposed to sensuality a bit early by some overly-lax kin and it just kinda stuck.

Weekly confessions (which felt really crummy having to confess the same sin over and over) were my strength, along with fasting. I learned that if I could deny myself (eating only bread, or just 1 meal in a day) at least once a week, that my urges would lessen. Another thing that helped was saying a “Hail Mary” when temptations got bad. It’s hard to continue with that act when you know Mary is standing right next to you.

Eventually I was able to ignore the urge…though I would fall from time to time. Once I got married, it was never an issue again.
 
gubernova said:
Who cares?
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Not to suggest that the OP is struggling this, but some people who struggle with things in life find strength and comfort in hearing from others who have been down a similar path. There are potentially a great many people reading this thread who need to hear from others that have struggled, or currently struggle with it for a variety of reasons (to know they are not alone, to find solutions, to find comfort through charitble Truth…)
 
I’m very surprised that there’s actually 2 people on here who have honesty NEVER done it…
 
I know the Catholic line of thought on this subject, but I kind of disagree that it is evil per se. I think it is a better vice/addiction than drinking or smoking. It will not put you or others in danger, or cause cancer. I see the physical act of masturbation along the lines of scratching an itch, stretching, or yawning…that is, just a bodily release of pressure.

However, I think the problem with this is not in the physical act, but in the aids people use. Most young men use porn when they m-bate, and this is where it becomes detrimental. I’m not judging anybody, and I’m not saying I never watched porn. But I do think that it can degenerate people’s thoughts about women and sex, and can cloud your mind about certain things. Since most porn views women as sexual objects, people who watch it frequently can become jaded into thinking that’s true. This is where masturbation ceases to be victimless because it starts to affect your relationships with other people. :sad_yes:

This is just my two cents…you’re free to disagree 👋
 
PeytonManning said:
I know the Catholic line of thought on this subject, but I kind of disagree that it is evil per se. I think it is a better vice/addiction than drinking or smoking. It will not put you or others in danger, or cause cancer. I see the physical act of masturbation along the lines of scratching an itch, stretching, or yawning…that is, just a bodily release of pressure.

However, I think the problem with this is not in the physical act, but in the aids people use. Most young men use porn when they m-bate, and this is where it becomes detrimental. I’m not judging anybody, and I’m not saying I never watched porn. But I do think that it can degenerate people’s thoughts about women and sex, and can cloud your mind about certain things. Since most porn views women as sexual objects, people who watch it frequently can become jaded into thinking that’s true. This is where masturbation ceases to be victimless because it starts to affect your relationships with other people. :sad_yes:

This is just my two cents…you’re free to disagree 👋
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2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. "Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action."137 “The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose.” For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved."138
To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social factors that lessen or even extenuate moral culpability. - Catechism of the Catholic Church
 
PeytonManning said:
Most young men use porn when they m-bate, and this is where it becomes detrimental. I’m not judging anybody, and I’m not saying I never watched porn. But I do think that it can degenerate people’s thoughts about women and sex, and can cloud your mind about certain things. Since most porn views women as sexual objects, people who watch it frequently can become jaded into thinking that’s true.
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Blech! True that, I hate porn.
 
It was definitely something I struggled with before I found the Church. Actually I guess I shouldn’t say I struggled with it, since I enjoyed doing it; at the time I probably would’ve said I needed it but, looking back now, I realize I only did it out of boredom or to help me sleep or regulate my mood, etc.

I fell off the wagon a few times in the first couple of weeks after I found the Church and resolved to quit the habit, but after that, my body stopped rebelling against chastity and, while I still struggle with the occasional flare-up of lust, I haven’t fallen off the wagon since.
 
As someone already posted, “99% of males have masturbated, and the other 1% lie about it.” OK, that’s an old joke, but I bet it’s a very rare male who has never masturbated…and I suspect that very few of them “struggle” with it. Most recognize it for what it is - normal.
 
rick43235 said:
Most recognize it for what it is - normal.
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That’s part of the problem. Most look at it as “normal”, when in reality it is gravely disordered to the objective criteria for morality.

2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. "Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action."137 “The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose.” For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved."138
To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social factors that lessen or even extenuate moral culpability. - Catechism of the Catholic Church
 
Ahs, you seem to be ignoring the last part of that passage. Immaturity, anxiety, and force of habit lessen the gravity of m-bation. In other words, young people with no other sexual release, people who use it to relieve stress, people addicted to it, etc. are not as at fault. It may still be a venial sin, but I don’t think it’s gravely depraved.
 
The blind quotation of the catechism is quite annoying, and can alienate even more those who are trying to seek a relationship with God. It’s easy to quote the catechism and live in a black and white world. Living with the human condition and understanding it can be quite rewarding and difficult.
 
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