I masturbate 3 or 4 times a day almost every day, including long masturbation sessions when my girlfriend and I have phone sex. But over the last few days I've started to notice that unless I touch myself I can't get an erection, whereas I used to get them just by having sexual thoughts and looking at pictures. I thought it might be that because I ejaculate so much my body doesn't need to get aroused that easily. I love this girl very much and we have decided to have sex, but there can't be any sex if I can't get an erection.
- age 17, New York
Masturbation does not make it more difficult for you to get an erection, except on the short term – an hour or two after masturbating you may still be "recovering" from the orgasm and therefore erection may be more difficult. However, abstaining from masturbation for a while may make it easier to get an erection, because your level of sexual tension is higher (i.e., you are "hornier"). You may also be experiencing a slight decline in the ease of erection, which is normal in the late teens. In this regard you have probably already leveled off – erection probably won't be much more difficult for you over the next couple decades.
It's worth mentioning that it's very common for a man to masturbate briefly to achieve a strong erection prior to intercourse. Sometimes you're so excited you don't need to, but for many men this is perfectly normal.
Do you find yourself masturbating more often during some seasons than others? Why?
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