masturbation /self-regulation

[gouldgrl]

Gosh, this is a tough thing to bring up in a forum, and I hope no one takes offense. It's just that I have tried to find information on the Internet to determine if, in fact, there is any reason to suspect that my compulsive masturbation as a young child might have been attributable to being on the autism spectrum. I am a female. I remember that this compulsive behavior was of some embarrassment to my family, as I would sometimes "do it" in the middle of the living room floor. I also recall that it was a tremendous stress reliever. In other words, it wasn't necessarily for my own pleasure.

I have been having difficulty getting a diagnosis of ASD due to "lack of evidence" of autistic traits in childhood. Yet, based on my research, little girls don't necessarily present symptoms the way little boys do. So, my personal experiences as a child may not seem compelling enough to the average psychologist.

Any thoughts or personal experiences regarding this "touchy" issue would be appreciated.

 

[King_Oni]

Well, I assume it could be a form of stimming, both being physically active and also the fact that it gives a pleasant feeling. And stimming is something that occurs quite a lot with those on the spectrum.

So perhaps it's more something to think about wondering why you did this. Since I suppose there's a difference between doing it because you have a compulsive need to do so and doing it because you're overwhelmed and you rather find stimulation from yourself in situations.

 

[Ereth]

I personally don't see anything especially wrong with it. I know a lot of people once thought, "OH MY GAWD MASTURBATION IS EVIL AND CORRUPTS CHILDREN," and some still do, but even for a child I don't brand it as "wrong." Now, in your case, you might have overdone it a bit, doing it in the middle of the living room and all, but as Oni suggested, it could've been a stim for you.

I know when I was little, I figured out how to flex my pubococcygeus muscle, and I would do that in the bath because it felt pleasant (basically, I was doing Kegel exercises at four years old or so, LOL). I didn't know what I was doing at the time, of course. I just made it into a fun game.

 

[Arashi222]

I know that some young people will compulsively masturbate if they were sexually abused. Not saying that you were. I would think that King_Oni is right you probably did it as a stim. Because it felt good, it was relieving something for you. It might just have been the only way for your nervous system to calm itself.

 

[wyverary]

I agree with King_Oni and Arashi, in that it is almost certainly a stim. When I was really young i did pretty much the same thing...my parents would say "Stop playing with yourself!" (they were Catholic) and I was never sure what was wrong with it. Like with you, there was nothing sexual about it; I'm almost certain it was a form of stimming and I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be very common.

 

[nowwhat]

Well, I'm a male, and we pretty much all are chronics at that activity so....

I agree: Sounds like a sort of stim. And now that you know the when and where of it, no further problemo.

 

[aspieoutlaw89]

it's a natural thing.sexual tension relief at it's best.i was 12 when i started.

 

[DissolvedGirl]

Hello everyone.
This is a delicate subject, I'm kinda ashamed but I'll just let it all out. I've read about how Aspies react very differently to sexual arousal due to sensory issues. I tend to be more on the hypersexual side. I've been masturbating since I was 2 years old, my parents would find me hidden under the blankets or in some corner of the room. My grandma would be less tolerant and threaten me with various things (doctors cutting off fingers, God punishing me) but nothing would stop me, I would spend hours just masturbating.
When it came to sex, at first it was confusing and unfortunately also abusive, but eventually I felt I was getting more and more in touch with my sexuality and discovered I really enjoy it and that I can feel it very intensely. Multiple orgasms, each of them very intense, body trembling, very wild and long and shakey, feels like electrical discharges throughout my body (but in a nice way), a very intense feeling of release. I've been with the same man for almost 5 years so our intimacy is very well contoured, and I can truly be myself with him without shame, but I've had comments from guys that I'm too much, too wild, too intense. I also felt shame about it, thinking I should temper myself down.
But the main issue I have is with masturbation. I find that I've always used it as a method of self-regulation. If I was bored, sad, mad, happy, horny, whatever mood could be met with a good old masturbation session. But in recent years I'm starting to find my high libido really annoying. Sometimes I just want to work and focus on it and I'll just feel the need creeping over me. I won't necessarily feel better for too long after masturbating, the desire will come again at some point. My boyfriend is in another city so we don't see each other all the time, but even if we would, his libido is lower than mine and I always end up feeling inappropriate about my high sex drive.
It's not always like this, I have periods and periods, but this is the dominant mode.

So, I guess my question is, do you experience periods of high libido, to the point where it's bothering you a little? I also end up thinking about sex quite a lot in some periods, and I make up elaborate fantasy stories to satisfy my desire. Do you masturbate to self-regulate, is that even possible? What do you do to temper the libido?

 

[aspieoutlaw89]

Hello everyone.
This is a delicate subject, I'm kinda ashamed but I'll just let it all out. I've read about how Aspies react very differently to sexual arousal due to sensory issues. I tend to be more on the hypersexual side. I've been masturbating since I was 2 years old, my parents would find me hidden under the blankets or in some corner of the room. My grandma would be less tolerant and threaten me with various things (doctors cutting off fingers, God punishing me) but nothing would stop me, I would spend hours just masturbating.
When it came to sex, at first it was confusing and unfortunately also abusive, but eventually I felt I was getting more and more in touch with my sexuality and discovered I really enjoy it and that I can feel it very intensely. Multiple orgasms, each of them very intense, body trembling, very wild and long and shakey, feels like electrical discharges throughout my body (but in a nice way), a very intense feeling of release. I've been with the same man for almost 5 years so our intimacy is very well contoured, and I can truly be myself with him without shame, but I've had comments from guys that I'm too much, too wild, too intense. I also felt shame about it, thinking I should temper myself down.
But the main issue I have is with masturbation. I find that I've always used it as a method of self-regulation. If I was bored, sad, mad, happy, horny, whatever mood could be met with a good old masturbation session. But in recent years I'm starting to find my high libido really annoying. Sometimes I just want to work and focus on it and I'll just feel the need creeping over me. I won't necessarily feel better for too long after masturbating, the desire will come again at some point. My boyfriend is in another city so we don't see each other all the time, but even if we would, his libido is lower than mine and I always end up feeling inappropriate about my high sex drive.
It's not always like this, I have periods and periods, but this is the dominant mode.

So, I guess my question is, do you experience periods of high libido, to the point where it's bothering you a little? I also end up thinking about sex quite a lot in some periods, and I make up elaborate fantasy stories to satisfy my desire. Do you masturbate to self-regulate, is that even possible? What do you do to temper the libido?

what i do to temper mine is sustain from masturbating watching roaring bears & big cats without touvhing myself.it was hot.

 

[Brianna]

Hello everyone.
This is a delicate subject, I'm kinda ashamed but I'll just let it all out. I've read about how Aspies react very differently to sexual arousal due to sensory issues. I tend to be more on the hypersexual side. I've been masturbating since I was 2 years old, my parents would find me hidden under the blankets or in some corner of the room. My grandma would be less tolerant and threaten me with various things (doctors cutting off fingers, God punishing me) but nothing would stop me, I would spend hours just masturbating.
When it came to sex, at first it was confusing and unfortunately also abusive, but eventually I felt I was getting more and more in touch with my sexuality and discovered I really enjoy it and that I can feel it very intensely. Multiple orgasms, each of them very intense, body trembling, very wild and long and shakey, feels like electrical discharges throughout my body (but in a nice way), a very intense feeling of release. I've been with the same man for almost 5 years so our intimacy is very well contoured, and I can truly be myself with him without shame, but I've had comments from guys that I'm too much, too wild, too intense. I also felt shame about it, thinking I should temper myself down.
But the main issue I have is with masturbation. I find that I've always used it as a method of self-regulation. If I was bored, sad, mad, happy, horny, whatever mood could be met with a good old masturbation session. But in recent years I'm starting to find my high libido really annoying. Sometimes I just want to work and focus on it and I'll just feel the need creeping over me. I won't necessarily feel better for too long after masturbating, the desire will come again at some point. My boyfriend is in another city so we don't see each other all the time, but even if we would, his libido is lower than mine and I always end up feeling inappropriate about my high sex drive.
It's not always like this, I have periods and periods, but this is the dominant mode.

So, I guess my question is, do you experience periods of high libido, to the point where it's bothering you a little? I also end up thinking about sex quite a lot in some periods, and I make up elaborate fantasy stories to satisfy my desire. Do you masturbate to self-regulate, is that even possible? What do you do to temper the libido?

I literally go through the same thing you just described, and haven't been able to find any information on it. I feel like I'm addicted to masturbation, but its more of a comfort/relief thing, so its clearly from my Aspergers, but the issue is how do I get it to ease up? I masturbate once or twice a day its so bad, not that I don't enjoy it, but its still hard.

 

[Streetwise]

A common comorbidity if you like in panic disorder is hypersexuality ,it is very common, I think the reason is the primal brain (which is panic )tells the urethra ,ureter to release urine ,which stimulates the genitalia, that's where masturbation comes in ,if this happens frequently your mind will invent a coping mechanism and I think in my opinion ,which is to masturbate to prevent anxiety ,which will prevent the primal brain from being stimulated ,I don't think anyone likes a panic attack !

 

[rollerskate]

Gosh, this is a tough thing to bring up in a forum, and I hope no one takes offense. It's just that I have tried to find information on the Internet to determine if, in fact, there is any reason to suspect that my compulsive masturbation as a young child might have been attributable to being on the autism spectrum. I am a female. I remember that this compulsive behavior was of some embarrassment to my family, as I would sometimes "do it" in the middle of the living room floor. I also recall that it was a tremendous stress reliever. In other words, it wasn't necessarily for my own pleasure.

I have been having difficulty getting a diagnosis of ASD due to "lack of evidence" of autistic traits in childhood. Yet, based on my research, little girls don't necessarily present symptoms the way little boys do. So, my personal experiences as a child may not seem compelling enough to the average psychologist.

Any thoughts or personal experiences regarding this "touchy" issue would be appreciated.

I'm sorry to bring this up...

... but. Are you sure you weren't sexually abused as a child?

Children aren't typically aware that area can do anything for them unless someone has shown them.

For me, my play acting as a child was a hint that I had gone through this. I didn't remember anything for a long time. Some of it I can never remember, because it happened to me as an infant/ toddler.

I didn't do it compulsively, though. So it may very well be a stim, but with dark roots.

 

[Fino]

I literally go through the same thing you just described, and haven't been able to find any information on it. I feel like I'm addicted to masturbation, but its more of a comfort/relief thing, so its clearly from my Aspergers, but the issue is how do I get it to ease up? I masturbate once or twice a day its so bad, not that I don't enjoy it, but its still hard.

Maybe I'm just a whacko, but I dont think once or twice a day is excessive. "Excessive" is defined as interfering with your life so I guess it could be excessive, but there were periods of my life where I did it 5-6 times a day and saw no problem with it.

 

[ftfipps]

When I was growing up I had a friend who's parents were against masturbating. If they caught him masturbating he would get punished. This is emotionally scarring in my eyes. Making the child think they are evil. I don't see anything wrong with doing it, male or female. I have masturbated every day since I was 13 and I don't feel fatigued, I don't have low sperm count or low testosterone, that is all propaganda. A man orgasms for about 10 seconds, a woman can orgasm for much, much longer. Enjoy.

 

[Tom]

The problem I see with self gratification, is the 'self' part. It can be just another aspect of isolating oneself.

 

[Fino]

I see its purpose as primarily to make the horniness go away, sorta like using the restroom because of the urge and eating because you're hungry.

 

[aspieoutlaw89]

When I was growing up I had a friend who's parents were against masturbating. If they caught him masturbating he would get punished. This is emotionally scarring in my eyes. Making the child think they are evil. I don't see anything wrong with doing it, male or female. I have masturbated every day since I was 13 and I don't feel fatigued, I don't have low sperm count or low testosterone, that is all propaganda. A man orgasms for about 10 seconds, a woman can orgasm for much, much longer. Enjoy.

that makes two of us,because i too have masturbated since i was 12 and i never got busted,but i never orgasmed.i was 17 or 18 when i herd what it was.

 

[Catalyst]

I was masturbating at a young age, so my parents tell me. They just told me if I was going to do it, to move it into a private space like my room or the bathroom. But it wasn't something I did for pleasure, I would just absently touch myself. I had a high strong libido once my sex drive did kick in and I started doing it for pleasure. I'm also bipolar and so it was strongest when I was manic, but it was still there decently well when I was depressed, too. However, for some reason after two children I just sorta lost my sex drive. I still did it, but then my husband's was greater than mine and it caused some issues. Now, years later, it's coming back. My boyfriend and my ex-husband both get it regularly. It's not quite what it was, but I find myself having to masturbate at least once a night (I don't live with either ex-husband or bf at the moment) or I won't get to sleep, and even then sometimes the urge comes back and I can't sleep. I've had it bother me when I'm driving, while I'm out for a walk or run, when I'm trying to sleep, when trying to do work... Not all the time, but just enough to be bothersome.

 

[Isadoorian]

I've been doing it since I was about 9 or 10; typically once in a while in my room when alone but over the years it's been nightly or often daily (again, when alone, also much easier when you've got a room all to yourself ). I sometimes do it multiple times a day if I'm able to. I also have a bit of a high sex drive which is both great and not so great, such as having the urge to get off or just feeling in the mood at inopportune times, I do ignore it though until the time's right (There's a time and place for everything! ).

I do it for the pleasure and also to help me feel sleepy at times as well and if it needs to be said, I use both my imagination and also look at adult content, often both at the same time. I also try my best to make myself last; I know not many people find it attractive for their male partner to only last a few seconds before orgasm, they want it to last and enjoy the fun before that happens

 

[Gryphgirl]

I find it gratifying (but not self-gratifying lol) to read these posts. It's nice to know I'm not alone.
I'm female and I started masturbating when I was about ten, but never thought much about it. It wasn't linked to sex, or feeling good. I never orgasmed, and it took me a very long time to understand what it was I was doing. I would hide under the covers, so I knew to hide it, but I didn't really understand. As I got older, I used it to counteract anxiety. It wasn't pleasurable, sometimes I would do it for hours and get stomach cramps. It wasn't until I got told I was autistic that it occured to me that this could be stimming and it made a lot of sense. When I was old enough to understand what I was doing, I thought I was hypersexual, especially when I was in my first relationship at the age of eighteen. The rigidity in my brain led me to believe that sex was a thing people in relationships naturally do and want, and I did not question it. I also used sex with my partner as a stand-in for real connection, because I did not understand how to be intimate outside of sex. I think he thought I was a bit of a nymphomaniac. Flashforward to today, despite the past and still constantly masturbate, I actually identify as asexual. I am not specifically attracted to anyone, I don't genuinely want to have sex, I am uncomfortable with the idea of actually having sex with another person, even if I do have sexual fantasies in my mind and a libido, I really do not want it ever again.