Self-gratification is a common practice in all human societies. Studies show that 93% of men and 60-70% of women masturbate during their lifetime. Masturbation is a habit that develops quickly and can have an adverse effect on men and women of all ages. According to the studies, self-gratification has many negative physical and psychological effects on people. Self-pleasure causes a sense of regret and self-reproach, and all people who self-pleasure always experience many mental struggles and anxiety.
Quitting masturbation and curing masturbation is not as easy as turning off a light. Rather, it is a process that requires commitment and you may backslide or make mistakes at different stages. The important thing is to stay committed to your decision and start over at any point. Therefore, to quit masturbation, the first step is to make a decision. You have to decide to quit. Once you make that decision, the problem is largely solved. This decision must be more than a hope or a wish, it must really be a decision.
Remember you are human, human makes mistakes and has sexuality. None of these things make you a bad person. Forgive yourself and remember that you are bigger than your problem. If you are constantly punishing yourself for masturbating, you are still thinking about it full time. Instead of blaming, think of it as a problem and you are determined to find a solution.
1) Eliminate anything that tempts you to masturbate. If you have provocative photos or videos, you should remove them. If you have images, videos or URLs of irritating sites on your computer, delete them.
2) If you are more tempted to masturbate at certain times, set a schedule for that time. For example, if at the end of the night you are more tempted to indulge yourself, do not go to your bedroom and bed until you are deeply sleepy. Try to entertain yourself by watching TV, reading a book or magazine, or doing something you like.
3) If you suffer from self-gratification due to being alone a lot, look for ways to fill your loneliness. Increasing communication with friends and relatives, attending courses and public meetings, going to the park for a walk are ways to fill loneliness and avoid self-indulgence.
4) Fill your life with different activities. The excitement of doing different things can replace the desire to masturbate, giving you a way to distract yourself the next time you are tempted to masturbate.
Learn more about: sexual problems and differences between couples
5) Artistic activities such as painting, music and drama help to a great extent to change the direction of sexual desires and leave self-satisfaction and be on the path of creativity and construction.
6) Find your favorite sport and follow it.
7) Find a new hobby or learn a new skill to quit self-indulgence. Learning something that requires effort and time will focus your mind on the delayed gratification of achieving goals instead of the early gratification of self-gratification. Try skills like cooking, gardening, carpentry, speaking.
8) Do voluntary and charity work. Dedicate your energy to helping people who need your help. Membership and activity in non-governmental and charitable groups and associations, in addition to giving you a sense of usefulness, makes you fit in the social environment and make many friends.
9) Put in place a reward system. Make a contract with yourself that for every day that you do not satisfy yourself, you will put a thousand tomans in a fund and at the end of the week you can buy yourself what you like with the money. This method helps a lot in quitting self-gratification.
10) If you are in contact with friends who are also in the habit of masturbating, reduce your contact.
11) Don’t look in the mirror too much and limit yourself to cleaning and tidying up as usual.
12) Occupy your mind with useful and informative content. Make a list of your favorite books, magazines, and websites and keep them handy. Set aside time every day to read your favorite books, magazines and novels. The novel helps you think about its story throughout the day.
Source: Dr. Salam
