Struggling with masturbation - what to do?

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Have you tried fasting? it has helped me a lot. When I am fasting, the hunger pangs overpower the sexual desires. The sexual desires still exist, but they are made more manageable by way of fasting. You’ve got nothing to lose, so you might as well give it a shot. Go without food and drink from sunrise 'till sunset. God will bless your efforts, because He says, in James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…”.
 
Every sin is a choice.

The act of resisting temptation makes you stronger the next time you are tempted.

When you were a baby, learning to walk did not happen in a day, it took awhile for your muscles and your nervous system and your own willpower made walking, running, jumping, dancing all possible.

Your mom can tell you the training it took for you to potty train.

As you got older, you learned to read, to do math, to play a sport, to make art, to play an instrument or a video game, you began to work out, all of these things started with you failing at them. By doing them you gained mastery.

Sometimes it is so hard for me to resist the Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer that I will stop buying anymore!

Resist sin, build up that strength. God provides the grace, you provide the will power.
 
pray a number of Hail Mary’s every time you are tempted by this sin.

Continue to pray the Hail Mary until your temptation goes away.

Trust me, the Hail Mary it works if you start praying it

God bless
 
I did not say self-mortification to point of starving oneself or doing damage. Finishing shower in cold water is harmless, not eating second plate of pasta is harmless, having one scoop of ice cream when you want two is harmless. The self-mortification I suggested is 100% harmless. It is sacrificing one’s comforts, which helps train us to deny sinful pleasures.
 
Thank you all for your caring responses! I really appreciate it!
Please keep me in your prayers. I´ve fallen today and I´m planning on going to confession soon.
 
Kima said:
I found myself very tempted to give in, but I persevered, thanks to our Lord.
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Work on that, temptation will come, and even though it comes harder than other temptations, every time you say no to it you get stronger, pray the rosary (50 Hail Mary’s should do it, if you can do more go on), do penance like dont use your social media for a day, and pay attention to the time of the sin, if you watch porn at nigth or alone DONT use your cellphone at those cases, limit your screen time if thats the case, but most of all know that every time you fall and go back to confession you are forgiven and stronger, your will is like a muscle, you keep saying NO to sin again and again and eventualy you will not suffer as much as you are suffering now, temptation is there but now you are stronger to say no.
 
I’ve struggled with this as well. It’s not as bad as before I converted to the RCC, but it still exists, unfortunately. I’ve noticed that staying busy – avoiding those long days by myself helps prevent it from happening. You might try reading the scriptures, like the Gospels and the psalms on those long days. Not only is it edifying but it makes it more difficult to sin. And of course, daily mass and reception of Holy Communion also helps. It’s hard to jump into darkness when you are full of light.
 
Confess humbly and ask for the intercession of Saint Joseph, husband of Our Lady, and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.
 
A quick “Jesus I trust in you”, prayer repeated as long as needed I found helpful. Bad spirits flee at the name Jesus. It’s a.so good to refocus the mind when needed. You got it!
 
You’ve received some great spiritual advice already. I found this video recently about dopamine, (which is at the root of your issue), and it provides some good practical advice.
 
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i wouldnt worry to much about this, just be thankful you have a normal sex drive. so many people have problems with sex,even after marriage. a lot of people have so much anxiety and stress they cant enjoy sex. this is really bad in a marriage. i think you are normal…i am an old man that has been married a long time. we have a wonderful life,but sex has always been a problem. so be thankful…
 
As Catholics, we believe that the Catholic Church is the pillar and foundation of truth. We do not view other religions as equal to the Catholic faith, which is Christ’s church. Jesus has one church, and although other faiths may have some truth, they do not contain the fullness of truth and in simple words, are heretics. There are Christian faiths that teach abortion is ok. Sexuality is a gift from God and urges are very strong but we must learn to control this great gift from God.

To say everyone masturbates is a lie. I masturbated everyday for 35 years, turned into an addiction. Masturbation is a sin that will lead to vice. I am still recovering from it. I go months without masturbating and if I fall, I go to confession. As time passes, I keep putting masturbation further and further behind me. So purity is very possible.
 
Congrats on your battle. You sound like you are doing much better now.
 
There is no easy way to chastity. The “try this cure” advice has some good points, but chastity is a virtue.
2342Self-mastery is a long and exacting work . One can never consider it acquired once and for all. It presupposes renewed effort at all stages of life.129 The effort required can be more intense in certain periods, such as when the personality is being formed during childhood and adolescence.
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My friend, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for a battle…
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One of the main hinderances to chastity is the demanding and desperate expectation of results.
Learning how to suffer well is key.
 
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Hello Kima,

I understand your struggle… I was enslaved by masturbation for a long, long time, feeling really bad for relapsing and my inability to quit. Even during my marriage I still committed that sin, and it wasn’t until I understood more about who Jesus REALLY is and what He did for us, that I got healed from it.
I don’t know if it was a miracle or just the fear of offending God (with my newly and more complete understanding of God) that made me quit, but I can tell you, try to know Jesus better, not as a friend or as an all loving buddy, but as God, and you will try to avoid offending Him like never before.
I would recommend you to read “Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist” by Dr. Brant Pitre, that was the book that made it “click” for me and helped me quit a lot of vices and understand Jesus in ways I didn’t before, and while you’re at it, check his youtube channel too “Catholic Productions”, he explains things very clearly and connects the Catholic faith to it’s jewish roots very well.

Hope it helps, God Bless!
 
Thank you all very much for your responses! I’m planning to get to confession tomorrow evening and I’m hoping to get a fresh start spiritually.

God bless you all!
 
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