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ReachingFaith
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How so?Masturbation is extremely isolating and degrading.
How so?Masturbation is extremely isolating and degrading.
This discussion is derailing the OP.Wow. My head…A sex addict and an adult who masturbates to complement or substitute for a healthy sexual relationship…where is the crossing of definitions here! And if you’ll notice, why is it anyone else’s business what you do down there? This whole topic is something personal and private, and should remain that way. But since it’s a moral issue what one does with the private parts, let me just say that I’d estimate about 80% of all people masturbate or have masturbated at some point in their lives. You can deny that you have, but are we then to assume that everyone who has done this is somehow mentally and physically unhealthy? Masturbation can relieve stress and pain, especially in the case of women with severe menstrual cramps. Is that not healthy? Correct me, please, but respectfully.
It seems that many people use pornography as a stimulus to masturbate now. This can be very dangerous. Not only does it begin to build up the image of the subject being entirely sexual in nature, it constantly reinforces that image. There is no relationship, and no desire to form a relationship, with the subject. Training our minds to view certain groups of people as sexual beings debases those people. Those people are more than that and they deserve better. It also debases the person committing masturbation by reinforcing the idea that such debasement of others is acceptable, making them more callous.How so?
Sorry, I didn’t see the OP. I’ll make sure to read it first next time to make sure I’m not going off topic.This discussion is derailing the OP.
Masturbation can be an expression of the serious psychopathology which feeds it. As such it is like an open wound in which sin can take hold and destroy the person.
Common in this, as other forms of addiction is that whole essential goodness of the person is fractured into “good” (where the person feels “bad”, having intense guilt) and “bad” (lustfully, selfishly and even cruelly, feeling “good”) selves. The knowledge of having worth and of being loved has been destroyed through the person’s interactions in the world, leaving the person broken and lost, looking at illusions, at lies to fill the void that only grows deeper.
This thread was started with the intent of helping the OP and other ppl in such situations. And there are various organizations and God Himself who can help them.
Not so much to justify ppl who want to use the temple of God as an amusement park.
I would think this discussion would be better served if done with your confessor or another orthodox priest rather than on an online website.For lent I decided to give up masturbation. I wanted to give it up for lent, but I found myself breaking my promise every week. I made sure I broke it on Sunday though. I am aware that it is a gravely disordered act, and I want so badly to be done with it for good, but it seems like I tend to give in to this sin every 7 or 14 days. It’s awful, and I end up becoming incredibly guilty and depressed after committing it. It becomes hard for me to pray, because I feel like I’m not worthy of God. I’m a horrible sinner, and I hate it.
Hehehe! My thoughts, too!You make sure you do it on Sundays?
What?![]()
I totally agree. Many times people are made to feel worse about themselves simply because the folks on this forum cannot know all of the circumstances in the OP’s life that contribute to his addiction. This is a great place to share Church teachings and to give support to those who need it but it is not the place to discern the state of one’s soul. Yes, masturbation is one of the many sexual sins that goes against the will of God. But, we can never be expected to reach into an individual’s heart and know the many factors that lead one to any sin. That is truly left up to the individual and his or her confessor. I avail myself to the sacrament of reconciliation regularly and would never come here for those very personal struggles that I deal with on a daily basis. Why? Because no one can know all of the details and can mistakenly lead me into despair. Even moving from confessor to confessor can cause this as I have found out.I would think this discussion would be better served if done with your confessor or another orthodox priest rather than on an online website.