Jokes aside there’s really some truth in this. I’m not sure if it’s the dopamine or that I just need to disctract my mind away from the things that makes me anxious but I sure as hell don’t do it because I’m horny. I don’t even remember whst being horny feels like.

And no, I’m not one of those nofap/pornfree fanatics. For most people there probably is not an issue there. It’s only when you spend 6 hours several times a week doing something like this that you might start to consider this may not be good for you.

i mean i think the problem is less whacking one out and more the fact that it’s what you have to resort to to bring some joy into your life

Well ofcourse it’s a combination of things but I feel like there something to the theory of how overstimulation like that drains your dopamine reserves (or something) and kind of makes you numb to more mundane positive experiences.

that really just sounds like victim blaming to me, by that logic couples that have sex often should be miserable too but the precise opposite seems to be the case

Maybe it’s because you share the experience with a SO. Doing it alone can bring momentary joy and relieg, but in the long run, it can’t replace sex.

How does that work, physiologically? We’re talking dopamine in the brain. If what that user said was true and “overstimulation like that drains your dopamine reserves (or something),” then another person being there wouldn’t make a difference.

I mean, it’s because they have a misunderstanding on how brain chemistry works, obviously. Like, it can store it, but it doesn’t get used up from doing things that feel good. That’s what makes dopamine. And while loneliness is a problem in the general population, it’s more likely that longer lasting gratification from sex isn’t from the physical act or even just the physical act with another person, but the joy gained from the relationship as a whole. Pretending that there’s chemically something different happening in the brain just because there is physically another person there is ridiculous. I’ve had plenty of unfulfilling sex with people I didn’t like that didn’t make me happy/content afterwards like masturbating would have.