DAE get super anxious and depressed when they don't masturbate (or have sex) regularly? - Lemmy.World

40, cis, never been sexually active. I feel like I’m crazy for even asking this. When I try to google for anything about anxiety from not masturbating, all I get are a) results about anxiety/guilt from masturbating, b) articles about how women shouldn’t feel inhibited from masturbation (which is great, mind you, but not what I’m looking for), c) things about social/relationship things with regard to masturbation, d) alt-right #nofap propaganda, and e) just stuff that seems completely irrelevant to what I’m talking about. I just generally haven’t had any luck finding any similar experiences or information about anything remotely like this online. But I feel like I’ve been caught in a vicious cycle for a while now. I randomly skip a day or two, feel demotivated, and end up not masturbating for a week or more just because I’m so depressed and anxious and completely not in any sort of mood to do so. A part of me has thought that maybe it’s just natural that at 40 my sex drive should be lower, but every time I start masturbating daily again, my mood improves until the next time I skip for a day or two and the doldrums take hold. I don’t think this is any kind of OCD thing where I’m making myself anxious by obsessing that I’m not horny or that I’m not masturbating either. This isn’t new, really. I’ve known for many years that I get depressed if I don’t masturbate. But it’s much more pronounced now than it used to be by a long shot. Another thing I wonder is whether this might be an indicator of low T". I’ve heard some sources say (though they’re mostly drowned out by the cacophony of bro-science #nofap bullshit to the contrary) that masturbation does boost testosterone, at least acutely. Maybe (lots of speculation here, but) masturbating regularly keeps my baseline testosterone levels closer to normal than not masturbating does and if I don’t masturbate for a while, my testosterone levels dip lower for longer periods, worsening symptoms. And if that’s the issue, maybe TRT would (IANAD. Can you tell?) It’s just really weird how the whole internet doesn’t seem to know that’s a thing that can be, but it’s a major part of my experience as a guy. Is this anything that anyone here can relate to or give any insight into at all?