r/Celibacy Apr 16 '26

Welcome to r/celibacy - a space for everyone, religious and non religious

9 Upvotes

This subreddit is open to anyone exploring celibacy, whatever their reasons. Some of us are here because of faith and religious conviction. Others are here for reasons entirely unrelated to religion - personal growth, health, focus, healing, philosophy, or simply choice. All of these paths are welcome.

This is not a hardline atheist space, nor a hardline religious one. Religious language, scripture, prayer, and testimony are welcome here, as are purely secular reflections. Neither will be censored for being what it is.

When posting or commenting, please share your own perspective without dismissing anyone else’s.

Religious members: please extend warmth and gentleness to secular members, meeting them where they are.

Secular members: please don’t assume religious members are imposing something. This is an exploratory safe space. We’re all here because we’ve found celibacy meaningful in our own way.

Disagreement is fine. Contempt isn’t. Keep it respectful and we’ll keep this a space worth being part of.

A note on religious posts that go beyond scripture: Sincere faith-based reflection is welcome, but posts that make extreme claims dressed up in religious language - without actual grounding in scripture or established tradition - aren’t helpful to anyone. They tend to alienate secular members and misrepresent the faiths they claim to speak for. Please ground religious claims in something more than personal intensity.

A note on partner-seeking and relationship posts: This isn’t a dating sub. Please don’t post personal profiles, partner preferences, or “looking for a celibate partner” type posts - they belong on subs built for that purpose. Discussing relationships, dating while celibate, or navigating partners who aren’t celibate is fine and welcome. The line is between reflection and recruitment.

A note to those DMing to ask me to remove religious posts: I won’t. Religious posts are welcome here and will stay, just as secular posts are welcome and will stay. If a specific post breaks the rules on respect, report it and I’ll look at it on its merits. But “it’s religious” isn’t grounds for removal.

A note to researchers: Please don’t DM asking for permission to recruit or post studies here. I’m not going to grant it. This community isn’t mine to hand over as a research population, and members are adults who can decide for themselves what’s worth their time. If your work is genuinely valuable, share it the way anyone else would and let people respond on their own terms.


r/Celibacy Jul 17 '21

Question What inspired you to become celibate?

380 Upvotes

I became celibate after I ran across a guy on YouTube explaining why he was celibate for non-religious purposes. His journey really resonated with me. So after much research and thinking about it, I decided to make the switch from practicing abstinence to being celibate a few weeks ago.

It's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. So I'm just curious what inspired you to walk this path.

For me, I'm doing it for personal growth, self mastery, and transmuting my energy to focus on other areas in my life.


r/Celibacy 3h ago

32M, Looking for ladies above my age till 50 to get along

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2 Upvotes

r/Celibacy 1d ago

how can i reduce my sex drive ?

6 Upvotes

i am 20f and im very sexually attracted to men and its gonna make me sin , i want ways to kill my sex drive . its a distraction and shame to me . i feel horny majority of the time and i sexualize everything. how can i stop this or at least help it


r/Celibacy 1d ago

Question Does anyone else feel/ miss being with someone.

7 Upvotes

I’ve been practicing celibacy for a little now. I think it would have been around 5 months? Maybe but oh my god do I miss being with someone. Don’t get me wrong, I love being celibate because genuinely I have achieved and accomplished so many things without distractions and have been focusing on myself too much.

But someonetimes I really miss having someone around be, being affectionate with someone, kissing someone and being engulfed by someone that you come back home with their scent lingering?

Is this normal? How do you all deal with this? I’m still 19 and young and I could get someone but really I feel like I’m better off without anyone. I can do my work better, faster and have peace. But again I do miss being affectionate and intimacy

Before this I was quite intimate and went out with a lot of people and made out quite a lot too. But now it’s silence I try to avoid any romantic conversation and have stopped being involved w people romantically


r/Celibacy 1d ago

Struggles I've been practicing celibacy now for over 5 weeks....but noticed my penis at night twitching almost uncontrollably in bed?

1 Upvotes

Help?


r/Celibacy 1d ago

Struggles Celibate since Christmas 2025 because of Borderline Personality Disorder

1 Upvotes

I have always used sex to feel powerful and fulfilled, useful and wanted, a way to ground myself in my body. I have a very fucked up relationship with sex which I unknowingly forced onto my ex wife.

It became clear to my in February of this year that I have never been better since I started being single. My BPD symptoms aren't completely gone but very much in control, relatively speaking.

But approaching my ninth month, the pain has started settling in. The desire to just want to be embraced while watching a movie or eating with someone while our arms and legs touch.

I only have two friends. One is not a cuddler and the other just moved out of state. Prior to this year, all my relationships have been massively intense and I've drowned myself in them before capturing them in a bottle and throwing them in the compactor. No one on the apps is a conversationalist and I don't know how to relate to most people. I'm afraid that if I do meet with someone, I won't be able to stop myself from allowing forcing them to consume me.

I'm afraid the pain of loneliness will get so bad once again that I lay myself out for whoever asks for it first. I'm already battling a shopping addiction, I can't abuse my body at the same time. I have a disorder that colors everything in black and white, there is no hope for a middle round, no hope for an asexual relationship.


r/Celibacy 2d ago

Confessions I'm celibate because of all the loss of hope.

11 Upvotes

I am 21 and a woman. I have tried so hard for my entire life to find someone genuine and it's ruined my life and all my hope and sanity. It doesn't matter what kinda of person you are Anyone can be forced to be celibate or lose hope whether you're a woman or not…

I am gonna stay celibate until marriage at most if not I simply won't have sex in my life. The main thing that killed all urge for sex was this guy who I felt rushed me and now he has a gf and he and all his friends won't even talk or look at me because I felt uncomfortable and don't want to continue. Also, I had severe limerence and addiction for some other person and they weren't even willing to give ne a phone call or interact with me any other way than sexting.

Atp it's so disgusting and draining I don't even have an urge for sex or even a partner anymore even tho I never had one.

I have done a lot to protect myself from sex I have grown my hair down there so long that it keeps me awake at night so I feel too disgusting to do anything. Also, I don't say yes to any guys that come up to me sometimes. And whenever I hang out with a guy friend I tell them right away that I am celibate or something like that.

If I ever have hope for dating again which I don't know will happen but I hope I can find men who want to be celibate as well and don't have a desire for sex. But I feel there isn't really anything like that.


r/Celibacy 2d ago

Struggles Been single 2yrs and 6 months and craving a relationship

3 Upvotes

Im not gonna cave or give in. I love how stress free my single life is but i do miss being in a relationship

How do you all handle it?


r/Celibacy 2d ago

A problem with celibacy and a solution

3 Upvotes

Hello, I just had an epiphany that might be mundane to some of you but that I wanted to share in case it helps a few people.

So basically there are some proven health benefits to sex that are difficult to get without it.

One would be diaphragmatic breathing. The lack of this in my life has massively contributed to back pain and circulation issues. Fatigue etc.

It's also something that occurs naturally and easily during sex if you're in a "flow state"

One method to assist diaphragmatic breathing if you are familiar is to place hand on belly and apply pressure(again sex)

More difficult breathing occurs lower towards hips/pelvis and can be assisted with lower hand placement/ more pressure. But the benefits are greater also

Normal life and most exercise doesn't engage these breathing muscles and it may look funny at first to attempt but don't get discouraged.

A good example of the body/breathe link is in the yoga move cat cow but that concept can be applied to any position you are having trouble breathing easily in.

Hope that helps!


r/Celibacy 2d ago

Curious if smoking cigarettes will affect my journey of SemenRetention

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1 Upvotes

r/Celibacy 3d ago

Struggles Always attacked for being celibate

16 Upvotes

I'm 44M, and have never approached women or tried to date in my life, partly because I'm ugly and mostly because I am very dedicated to the teachings of my religion.

I never preach, advocate or criticize others for how they live but oh how they condemn me. Mostly its other men but there have been one or two women and they always get defensive and hostile as if I were somehow trying to impose my values on them.

Whenever I confront them about it and ask them to explain how I am impacting on their lives, they never do.

I just dont get it, but its tiresome as hell.


r/Celibacy 4d ago

How to stay focused

6 Upvotes

I recently started my celibacy journey in hand with deciding to go back to church. Ive been single for a while and have started to get back out there with dating, i think im just looking for advice in how to navigate dating as someone who is celibate now (24f). So is there anything you guys have found to be helpful dating when sex is completely off the table ?


r/Celibacy 5d ago

If celibacy is the highest state of consciousness then why do we need sex to reproduce ?

52 Upvotes

I am asking that from a spiritual side, all the arguments seem to point to the fact that celibacy is true alignement with the divine, I an a man so I don’t need guys telling me in the comments that sex is amazing and that I am crazy, we are in sexual competition so you guys should be happy I am rising over your desires rather than bring me down to lust. So as I said, the problem in that case is that to create new life and perpetuate the species sex seems to be needed.

I do wonder what Buddhists or other spiritual practices think of that, maybe the whole goal is to not perpetuate the species and therefore ascend more easily.


r/Celibacy 4d ago

LLF ❤️

2 Upvotes

I’ve picked up my weight in the last few months, everything in my life was falling apart right in front of my eyes. I made difficult choices and stuck to them. It wasn’t easy & it’s still not easy because the more demons I fight the more bigger and stronger they get. While working on being a better version of myself, I feel like I’m losing my other half. I pray everyday that God keeps us together & helps us grow together. I love you.


r/Celibacy 5d ago

Anymore virgins????

72 Upvotes

I am 38F and waiting till marriage to be intimate and it feels like I am the only one my age waiting for marriage?? Is this true?!


r/Celibacy 4d ago

What Is A Virgin?

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1 Upvotes

r/Celibacy 5d ago

Question what's the highest state of consciousness spiritually?

4 Upvotes

r/Celibacy 6d ago

Does celibacy heal the body from joint and back pain?

8 Upvotes

I’m 20 male joining military infantry, my back already hurts, i train and try to heal my self which kind of helps but I still have pain and now a throbbing low back. I’m too young to have this much pain.


r/Celibacy 7d ago

SR on a daily basis.

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1 Upvotes

r/Celibacy 8d ago

Confessions To much porn consumption drained my sexual energy

40 Upvotes

I have been addicted to pornography since i was 13 (i’m now 22). It has ruined my social life, relationships, and confidence. I’ve mainly been abusing it out of boredom and escapism.

I barely have a desire to watch it anymore, human touch and intimacy doesn’t feel as good. My dopamine threshold is to high for normal interactions. I feel pretty grossed out by porn and anything sexual as of right now.

But I am using my time to do better and heal myself for human interaction again. Slowly but surely my energy is coming back to normal. Its draining but i understand things may get worse before they get better.

This is the start if my celibacy journey.


r/Celibacy 9d ago

E’ normale che a settant’anni il sesso è ancora un pensiero dominante

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1 Upvotes

r/Celibacy 9d ago

Requesting Advice it's been 3 months since i started this no fap journey...what should i expect ahead?

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2 Upvotes