"Health and psychological effects
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Benefits
It is held in many mental health circles that masturbation can relieve depression and lead to a higher sense of self-worth (Hurlbert & Whittaker, 1991). Masturbation can also be particularly useful in relationships where one partner wants more sex than the other — in which case masturbation provides a balancing effect and thus a more harmonious relationship.
On July 16, 2003, an Australian research team led by Graham Giles of The Cancer Council published a medical study [5] which concluded that frequent masturbation by males may help prevent the development of prostate cancer. The study also indicated that this would be more helpful than ejaculation through sexual intercourse because intercourse can transmit diseases that may increase the risk of cancer instead.
Masturbation is also seen as a sexual technique that protects individuals from the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. Support for such a view, and for making it part of the sex education curriculum led to the dismissal of US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders during the Clinton administration.
Some people actually consider masturbation as a cardiovascular workout. And while doctors have no proof of this actually being true, those suffering from cardiovascular disorders (particularly those recovering from myocardial infarction, or heart attacks) should resume physical acitivity (including sexual intercourse and masturbation) gradually and with the frequency and rigor in which their physical status will allow. Some doctors will advise those recovering from heart attacks to resume sexual activity (solitary or with a partner) when one is able to climb 2 flights of stairs without experiencing shortness of breath or chest pain.
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Risks
A study by Stuart Brody, a professor and medical psychology consultant, showed that a test group which only had intercourse had, as a whole, lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those who had intercourse but also had masturbated for one or more days (Brody, 2006).
Masturbation involving both a man and a woman can result in pregnancy only if semen contacts the vulva. Any masturbation with a partner can theoretically result in transmission of sexually transmitted disease by contact with bodily fluids, and such contact should be avoided with any partner whose disease status is uncertain. Objects inserted into the vagina or anus should be clean and of a kind that will not scratch or break. Care should be taken not to fully insert anything into the anus—any object used should have a flared or flanged base; otherwise retrieval can require a visit to the emergency room. Most modern dildos and anal plugs are designed with this feature.
A man whose penis has suffered "an invasive procedure, blunt trauma or injury during intercourse"[6] may suffer later in life from Peyronie's disease. There is the rare event of penile fracture[7] which may occur. Phimosis is "a contracted foreskin (that) may cause trouble by hurting when an attempt is made to pull the foreskin back"[8]. In these cases, overly aggressive manipulation of the penis can be problematic.
Compulsive masturbation can be part of a sexual addiction syndrome.[9]
Lawrence I. Sank (1998) speculated that the habit of masturbating prone (i.e. lying face downward) was responsible for serious sexual problems, including anorgasmia and erectile dysfunction, as suffered by four men he examined. He coined the term traumatic masturbatory syndrome to describe the effect. As of 2006 there has been no follow-up research and the idea that prone masturbation causes male sexual dysfunction is not familiar or widely-held within the medical community, and thus should not be credited as such until further research.
Some sources, however, continue to give credence to the idea. One sex therapist (Margolies, 1994) has condemned masturbation by rubbing against a pillow or mattress and Lipsith et al (2003) suggest that masturbation could play a part in male psychogenic sexual dysfunction (MPSD), citing Sank as their authority."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masturbation
2006-08-18 11:00:08
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answer #1
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answered by Sancira 7
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