masturbating and orgasm

[heylola12]

i started masturbating pretty late (16 F), a few weeks ago, because it never felt good. now it does feel good but idk if i'm reaching an orgasm: i rub my clit and reach a point in which i feel really good, like a feeling is building up, and after like 30 seconds it's gone. it's a nice, "relieving" feeling, but i don't know if i'm reaching an orgasm, because i don't feel the nead to moan and it's not a mindbowing feeling as i expected. i don't know a lot abot sex ed so could you tell me if it's normal and if it's not, what could i change to reach an orgasm?

[Sam W]

Hi heylola12,

From the sound of it, you may indeed be reaching orgasm, since you feel that build up and then a moment of relief or release. If you haven't read it before, this article gives some helpful context to what an orgasm generally feels like, so you can see if it matches with your experience at all: Sexual Response & Orgasm: A Users Guide

Part of the reason I said it describes what an orgasm generally feels like is that orgasm is an experience that varies a lot from person to person, and often varies for an individual person from instance to instance. That means they can be mild, intense, or somewhere in between, rather than always being these big, earth-shattering sensations. So that's another reason why it's very possible what you're experiencing IS an orgasm.

Even if it's not, my advice is actually the same as if it is an orgasm; since masturbation is still a pretty new experience for you, continuing to explore what kinds of touch do and don't feel good, the kinds of fantasies you like, and things like that is going to serve you well in terms of continuing to learn about and connect with your body.

[heylola12]

thank you so much, this helped a lot

[Sam W]

You're very welcome!