Zen,

First off, celibacy implies not having with others and abstinence means no sex no way no how and not even with yourself. So which one are you practicing or attempting to practice?

Second, urges happen when the body no longer has the input it once had, so if you had a lot of sex before the decision not to have sex, the urges will be stronger.

Now, how you get rid of them or make them taper off is by not pay attention to them. My urges began to wane once I focused in other areas of my life .

It is okay to masturbate during celibacy. it is perfectly acceptable. I seldom do it these days but if I do it would be twice a month if that. Sometimes once a week and I can go months without it. The point I am making is that for me sex is no longer important to me because it is no longer a need for me and if I get an urge and I do not feel like masturbating, I do not and it is not a big deal.

I am 58 years old and I consider myself having a healthy sexual life that is that neither addiction nor my genitals rule my life.

Hope this helps,
Wolf

Wolf,

By your definition, I'm attempting abstinence at this point in my life. The longest I've gone was eight months, before losing it. That was last year. Now I want to attempt it again.

By the way, do you meditate?

Zen,

The longest I've gone abstinent was a year and half, then I would not say I lost it but felt healthy enough to resume masturbating which I now do sporadically. What worked for me was to put focus in other areas of my life that I had been neglecting.

I meditate occasionally, when I feel off or not in touch with the present or myself.

Wolf

i meditate an it works ,, i'm curious your reasons for wanting to practice abstinence? if u have a full understanding to your reasoning that'll help greatly,,, just to do something for the sake of doing it doesn't make much sense, we are all sensual an sexual creatures that doesn't mean we have to always engage in it,, what are u seeking out of being abstinent? i love intimacy but that doesn't mean sex so perhaps the urges you feel is your denying human contact at all,, hug cuddle holding hands is beautiful too, massages r great, do you just wanna bust a nutt or do you want something passionate an long term in your life,, ask yourself first what are u seeking then make the decision whether abstinence is for you, i tend to enjoy intimacy more than the sexual act, an i'm realising my past sexual behavior came from boredom not being horny, don't make your body feel you're denying it anything an then the sexual urges change, like our friend mentioned pay attention to other aspects of your life,,

and if u find someone that sparks your sexual desire during whatever you decide be honest ask yourself what is your intent will it honor you an then make your decision,, no one can answer that better than you. get clear about what your seeking first, and whatever you decide don't just give yourself away, do everything with genuine purpose,

cbreez,

It's for a spiritual reason, which I will not go into detail in this forum.

However, it is known that abstinence has healthy benefits and improves overall energy. These are enough reasons for me to do it.

Have you practiced abstinence before? If you have, you will notice big improvement in your energy level. For me, it usually takes one month of abstinence to notice the effect. It's a great feeling. Masturbation actually makes you tired, if you do it too frequently. But there is a trick you can do. You can masturbate, but don't ejaculate. Then you can retain your energy level. Control your urge to ejaculate, which is difficult if you masturbate frequently. So best thing is to reduce frequency of masturbation.

well i tried to help but it seems you have it under control,, i've been celibate before for spiritual reasons as well an indeed the energy level was higher but i also enjoy sometimes seeing my well it doesn't matter ,, good luck on your journey, every individual is different so as someone older than 40 my sexual energy increased more now than when i was in my twenties,, what exactly were u seeking here if i may ask ? it seems i've misunderstood your question,

i imagine reminding yourself why you are choosing this way of living might lessen the urges but for some of us we are naturally highly sexual,, i love writing about intimacy in that way u release it without having to act upon it,, an swimming surprisingly helped too,,

you have choose.
think about the benefits of celibacy.

cbreez,

No, it's not easy for me to resist sexual urges. I have failed many times in the past. I'm picking it up again.

"as someone older than 40 my sexual energy increased more now than when i was in my twenties"

How come you have more sexual energy than you were at your twenties?

self control is the only way you can resist urges.

Problem is, it's not easy to control.

I think men need to release the sperms and or fluids from their testicle for health reasons or they get too full.
That is what happened to my friend who even had a vasectomy. He is 54 and still wants sex but hasn't with a person in over 2 years. He looks at porn.

My neighbor was 81 and still very active sexually so I think most men have that urge all their lives to continue population.