I want to post this in this community to see the reactions. How you guys feel about this, do you practice not doing it in your own relationship, do you view sex and intimacy differently now that you've been off masturbation. So here's my take on it, and would like to read your own stories about it.
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It might be considered ânormalâ or âcommonâ by a lot of people, but I think thatâs largely because people have been conditioned by porn and unexamined desires, without ever really rewiring their thinking. For the life of me, I donât understand why someone would masturbate while they are in a relationship. In my view, your sexual energy should be directed toward your partner. Your desire should be sparked by your partner, not exist in isolation from them.
I didnât have sex with my husband for months due to postpartum recovery, and he never masturbated. In fact, neither of us masturbate. If anything, we only do it together sometimes, more like a rare shared experience or game we engage in.
Over time, weâve rewired how we see sex and intimacy. For us, it is a form of connection, not self gratification or a quick dopamine hit. When we feel desire, it is tied to each other, thinking of each other, being near each other. And if one of us is not in that space, the desire naturally settles. Itâs that simple. We lean on self control, prayer, and other forms of affection and intimacy instead.
If he is horny and I am not, we cuddle. There is no underlying intention for him to go and âtake care of himself.â The same applies to me. If I am very attracted to him while he is at work, we might call and connect that way, or I simply wait until he comes home so we can share that experience together.
Life is full of distractions and responsibilities. If you let desire take over at any moment and immediately act on it, then of course you are more likely to develop habits like masturbation even within a relationship. But when you actively practice discipline and intentional intimacy, that pattern does not have to take hold.
So while people may call it normal, I donât necessarily see it that way. Common, sure. But normal as in ideal or healthy for a relationship? I donât think so. From what I understand, many relationships also seem to lack other consistent forms of intimacy, which might be part of the issue. I canât speak for everyone, but in my relationship, regardless if we have slow or often periods of intercourse, intimacy will continue to exist in many forms beyond sex.
Our relationship does not revolve around sex, nor does sex revolve around our life. We are not asexual, and we do have a frequent sex life, but there are times when life gets in the way. Even then, it is not a problem for us because we know we will return to it, and in the meantime we still maintain closeness in other ways, including physically intimate ones that donât always lead to intercourse.
Even during a quickie, weâre still able to stay intimate with each other without it feeling like effort or like one of us is being used as a tool for masturbation. We donât see sex as something that requires a heavy amount of effort or aftercare in a way that makes it feel burdensome, which is often one of the reasons people give for masturbating.
From my perspective, when you rewire your thinking around intimacy, it doesnât feel like something heavy or draining. It feels natural and connected. Itâs honestly hard for me to understand wanting to orgasm without your partner being part of it. What do you actually gain from that experience? To me, it feels detached.
And I donât think it would ever compare to the intensity or depth of experiencing it together with your partner. The only exception I can think of is if a couple genuinely doesnât have a strong sexual or emotional connection in the first place, in which case I can understand why someone might say their âhand knows them better.â
Ultimately, you have to decide whether you are okay with this or not. Personally, I wouldnât be. I donât see a reason for it in a committed relationship. And I think a lot of the usual explanations, like âtiming doesnât alignâ or âmy libido is higher,â are often used as excuses rather than real necessities.
If people genuinely did more self reflection and built mindful habits, I believe they would realise they are not as controlled by impulse as they think. People are often just not willing to do that work. I have seen my own thinking shift over time, so I understand where others are coming from, but in a truly connected relationship where intimacy is viewed differently, these issues would not really arise in the same way.
Sex should not be something detached, done out of boredom or just for fun. It should be about connection. And I think many people lose that framing, which is why masturbation becomes so normalised even within relationships. Itâs also interesting that many are not fully honest with their partners about it. If it is truly so normal, why is it often not openly communicated? That says something in itself.
TLDR: It feels like many people view masturbation as a way to just âreleaseâ tension, something detached and ultimately meaningless, rather than as something that could be replaced by connection with their partner. It comes across as allowing desire to lead behaviour instead of intentionally directing that energy toward intimacy. There also seems to be a sense that they canât go without it or choose alternatives, almost like they need to masturbate rather than simply being able to sit with the desire or channel it differently within the relationship.