Four signs you might be addicted to masturbating

Perhaps during quarantine, or maybe even before and after the lockdown, you came to wonder if you were masturbating too often. Because physical touch is hard to come by these days, many of us are doing it more than usual. In fact, some athletes, like Tyson Fury, have admitted to including it in their daily routine.

There are, however, four major signs that you should probably dial it back a notch. Masturbation addiction is real, and it's a serious addiction, just like the rest—hard to control and harmful in some cases.

You hurt yourself

Some men who masturbate often experience pain, during and after intercourse, as well as upon ejaculating, according to Tobias Köhler, professor of urology at the University of Illinois.

These injuries and pain might be mild, but they can also lead to Peyronie's disease, or the formation of scar tissue in the glans if you press on it too hard, says Dr. Köhler.

It might sound obvious, but if the frequency at which you masturbate has gotten so out of control that you hurt yourself, then it's time to ease off.

Your social and work life take a hit

Masturbation comes with unexpected side effects. Perhaps you have developed a habit of being alone on Friday nights to relax and set aside a little time to please yourself... Maybe you've even arrived late to dates or meetings because you were masturbating beforehand—probably to take the edge off a little.

Either way, it's best to readjust your routine'if your autoerotic habits interfere with your social or professional life,' warned Dan Drake, a psychologist who specialises in sexual addictions.

Your sex life takes a hit

According to Dr. Tobias Köhler, people who masturbate a lot get used to being stimulated in a particular way... and it's almost impossible to replicate the same level of arousal when they have sex with another person.

Simply put, if you watch the same type of porn or do the exact same thing every time you masturbate, you're training your brain to only cum that way. Furthermore, your desire for sex with a partner diminishes and it becomes extremely difficult to feel pleasure without going through the same process.

When you do have sex with a partner, you're far more likely to suffer fromerectile dysfunction.

You think about it all the time

Do you wake up with an urge to masturbate? Do you do it out of boredom? Have you already done it at work (in the bathroom, for example)? At lunch, does your mind sometimes wander to your favourite porn scenes? At the end of your workday, do you feel like laying down on the couch and heading straight to PornHub? If at least one of these scenarios sounds familiar to you, and you often feel distracted by thoughts of porn and/or masturbation, then you definitely have a problem on your hands and should seek help...

If you experience one or more of these four signs, you have two options: stop masturbating for a while, or at least set limits. And if you can't curb your urge to do it, please consult a psychologist.