I don't feel any pleasure while masturbating

[Sammy99]

Hi, I'm 17, almost 18 year old male. I got to know about masturbation about 3 years ago and since have been doing it. But during the lockdown times when I was going through some articles about sex and masturbation on Wikipedia, I got to know that there is actually an "euphoria" felt during masturbation. I personally haven't felt any of this euphoria and have been masturbating just like an exercise or an activity. Yeah it indeed feels satisfying after ejaculating, but I never have experienced any "euphoria" or like getting "high" feeling ever as they describe in all the sex related articles. So have I been doing it wrong all this time or is only that small satisfaction we feel after ejaculating is the "euphoria" all talk about I'm confused.

[Sam W]

Hi Sammy99,

Something to remember about masturbation is that there isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to do it. It won't feel exactly the same every time you do it, and how it feels will vary from person to person. Sometimes the feelings during or right after it are very intense and euphoric, but there are plenty of other times where it feels good, but not that intense, or even times where an orgasm feels pretty lackluster.

It may not match what you've read about, but is masturbation pleasurable for you when you do it?

[Sammy99]

Hi Sam W,
Thanks for replying. I can recall only very few moments where I felt really pleasuring, but when I try to recreate that moment, everything including the posture, the strokes, the speed of the strokes etc, I don't get that pleasure back. I had read in some article that if a couple wants to reach an orgasm, they need to experiment and try what would be the best way to attain it, and I feel the same goes with masturbating too, but the other problem is that after masturbating, I get an intense feeling to rub my penis or masturbate again and that sorta scares me like if I'd become some retard who always wants sex or some feeling in my penis to remain normal, or go into a masturbational addiction and this prevents me from experimenting what my best way of attaining pleasure maybe. Soo..... Any tips on all these maybe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, I come from India and here sex and sexual acts are like a taboo and the mindset is that if you're a virgin, you're "pure", so I can't ask a pal or an adult so openly about this. I'm so glad I found out about Scarleteen

[Siân]

Hi Sammy,

Whilst that advice of "experiment and find what works for you" is good, context is also important - not just what your body is physically doing but how you're feeling too. Have you ever noticed that sometimes something that you really enjoy doesn't appeal to you? Like maybe if you're sick, the foods you usually love will turn your stomach a bit? Or how a cool breeze on a hot day feels wonderful, but if you're already cold it's not so great? The same happens with sex, a lot of what's important is our mood, thoughts and feelings. It's not just about learning what kinds of touch feel good, but what kinds of context make you feel relaxed and turned on - does that make sense?

It's hard dealing with sexual taboos, and we can talk more about that if you want. First though, I want to reassure you that enjoying masturbation and wanting to do it regularly does not make you an addict. We have a couple of articles here that might help explain what I mean by that:
Are we addicted to sex?
I'm an abuse survivor and I'm worried about sexual addiction

[Sammy99]

Hi Siân,
Thanks for the support. I appreciate your help but I won't be able to use Scarleteen as much since my exams are nearer and it'll be some 7 months of just one exam after another. I'll go through the articles you've linked during the free times I get and try to come back to Scarleteen once my exams are over

[Mo]

Best of luck on your exams!