There are loads of words for masturbating – tossing off, wanking, jacking, tugging, choking the chicken and bashing the bishop. The list goes on. And the list of worries that guys have about it seems to be just as long.

A bit of good news:

While it often seems that everything fun in life is bad for you, thankfully, wanking is not one of them. In fact, in many ways, it’s actually good for you. Let’s face it, if feels really good – that’s why we do it – and helps you relax. It also helps you get to know your body better, which is good for if you get in a relationship. After all, how can you expect someone else to give you pleasure if you don’t know how to do it to yourself? Sperms, which look like tadpoles under a microscope and live in cum, only live for a short time in your body. Your body is constantly making new sperms and wanking helps make sure your body gets rid of the older ones, ready for the newer ones. It’s like a natural spring clean for your nuts. There’s even some evidence that it can reduce the risk of prostate cancer later in life.

How to wank

Blokes wank in different ways – there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way so don’t worry if you hear your mates talking about it and you do it differently. For some guys, the top part of their knob is the sensitive part, while for others they prefer to tug at the base. Some guys like to toss off using a lubricant of some sort – baby oil or Vaseline. They say it makes it feel ‘smoother’ and better, but other guys don’t like it. It’s up to you. Be careful what you use though – steer clear of household cleaning products, for example, for obvious reasons. And definitely don’t ever be tempted to try it with a vacuum cleaner. It always ends in tears, and not just you mums. People think about all sorts of different things when they masturbate – sometimes they fantasise about things that they wouldn’t normally consider actually doing. That’s normal and doesn’t mean you’re weird or a freak. Not everyone wanks though. Some people don’t agree with it on religious grounds. They think it’s wrong. Remember though that even men that say they don’t masturbate, often still do secretly. From a medical point of view though, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t. And finally, just to dispel some of those myths once and for all.

Too much?

How much guys wank depends on lots of things. Daily is fairly normal, especially for younger guys. Guys in sexual relationships tend to masturbate less. Even then, most of them do still masturbate every now and then. Some guys get worried that they’re doing it too much. Stop worrying. Sure, if all you’re doing is sitting in your room all day tugging away, then it might be a good idea to get out a bit more, but even so it’s not going to kill you. Other guys like to masturbate into a condom, or they rub their knob against something, like a pillow. It’s all perfectly normal. What it doesn’t do: It doesn’t make your knob shrink (or, I’m afraid, grow, no matter how hard you tug it) It doesn’t make you go blind or affect your eye sight in any way (unless you accidentally shoot in your eye). It doesn’t make hair grow on your palms. It has absolutely no link to depression or madness or any other mental health problem. Any one who tells you otherwise is wrong. It doesn’t make you impotent. It doesn’t deplete your energy or shorten your life in any way. It certainly doesn’t make you rubbish at sex, and in fact might even make you a bit better at it because it helps you learn how to speed up and hold back your orgasms. Sex therapists actually use masturbation techniques to help with guys that come too fast. Remember, wanking is the safest form of sex out there. You can’t catch anything from doing it.

Call NAPAC Helpline

0800 085 3330