Lesson No. 1: Masturbation is normal.

Lesson No. 2: Everyone does something to make them feel better when they are stressed, or depressed, or bored, or...

Ergo, masturbation is normal in the circumstances you describe. Is anyone hurt by your masturbation? Or eating crunchy food? Not likely. Do you enjoy both? Probably, assuming you can accept yourself and the ways you deal with stress.

My psychologist told me this when I told her that I couldn't understand why I return to my fetishes again and again: "Fetishes are self-reinforcing because nothing you can do feels any better. So you go back to them. Similarly, masturbation is a powerful way to release tensions.

A good, lifelong, unmarried friend once was having a meal in a nice restaurant with me and my wife. He was a well-known professional scientist in his field, had travelled widely, and had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. But he was single, and always had been. At one point he mentioned that a lot of people thought he was homosexual. "But I'm not," he said. I asked him how he managed his sexual needs. He said, within hearing distance of nearby diners, "I masturbate a lot!" End of story. Do what you need to do. Don't worry about what society says. Society is a fool.

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