He’s no monk on a mountaintop, nor does he shun the secular world, but for the past three years, Marcus Gallagher has abstained from pornography—and he’s not looking back.

Like many men, Gallagher (who chose a pseudonym for anonymity) first encountered pornography in seventh grade. What started as curiosity evolved into a gratifying escape, then an irresistible urge, and, ultimately, an impediment to his life.

As his habit grew, Gallagher found himself increasingly uneasy around others, especially women, and struggling with an endless buzzing in his mind. “Every minute, I was thinking of something sexual, like pornography,” he recalled.

That’s when he started considering practicing abstinence.

Gallagher is not alone. A growing number of young people are joining the trend of ejaculatory abstinence, or “semen retention,” as it is often called, which means refraining from emission for a specified period. “Semen retention” and related hashtags are among the most popular men’s health topics on social media, garnering well over 2 billion impressions on TikTok and 3 million on Instagram.

Participants may choose this practice for various reasons. Some treat it as a half-joke, half-serious challenge among friends; some believe it can boost testosterone and muscle—which the present science hasn’t proved. But to men like Gallagher, it’s a challenge of breaking away from a decade-long addiction, a challenge that came with unexpected mental benefits.

The Growing Appetite for Unreality

Studies indicate that approximately 69 percent of American men and 40 percent of American women consume online pornography annually, with 11 percent of men and 3 percent of women reporting addiction.

Over 60 studies support that pornography use can cause addiction-related brain changes, including heightened responsiveness to pornographic cues and reduced sensitivity to natural rewards.

“The brain becomes more sensitive to and stimulated by the pixels, as opposed to people,” explained John D. Foubert, dean of the College of Education at Union University in Tennessee, a renowned expert in sexual assault prevention, and author of over 30 peer-reviewed articles and books on related topics.

“Pornography literally rewires the brain,” Clare Morell, a policy analyst specializing in technology and mental health, told The Epoch Times. “It creates habitual neural pathways so that the person needs to continue to access pornography due to such a high level of dopamine being released in the brain when they view this type of content.”

Porn is a “supranormal stimulus” that depicts an unrealistic and exaggerated version of sexuality, said Dr. Donald Hilton Jr, neurosurgeon and internationally recognized expert on the neuroscience of pornography. This visual hyperstimulation can hijack the normal reproductive drive, desensitizing the brain to authentic human intimacy and relationships.

Almost everything else seems bleak and unworthy of pursuing, Hilton said.

Science reflects this. Increased pornography use leads to less gray matter in a portion of the brain, which reduces sensitivity to natural sexual rewards and can diminish the ability to feel pleasure from normal intimate relationships.

Moreover, Foubert told The Epoch Times that pornography use typically leads to multiple adverse outcomes, including depression, anxiety, stress, social malfunctioning, decreased sexual and relationship satisfaction, altered sexual tastes, poor quality of life, real-life intimacy problems, and loneliness.

However, not all experts agree that pornography consumption is detrimental or addictive. Nicole Prause, a neuroscientist researching human sexual behavior, addiction, and porn, told The Epoch Times that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have rejected the idea of “pornography addiction” as a clinical diagnosis.

Prause suggested that in many cases, people who think they have a porn or masturbation problem may be struggling with more common issues like depression. She advocates addressing the underlying mental health concerns rather than framing it as an addiction issue.

Hilton challenged the notion that porn doesn’t meet addiction criteria.

“Consider hypothetically two individuals, frantically fixated to their computers, both trying to win an intermittently reinforced reward,” he wrote in a paper published on Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology. “One is looking at pornography, searching for just the right clip for sexual consummation; the other is engrossed in an online poker game.”

Both exhibit identical behavioral patterns—spending hours pursuing their fix, damaging relationships, and being unable to stop. Yet as Hilton pointed out, “The DSM-5 classifies only the poker as an addiction.” He argues this distinction is “both behaviorally and biologically inconsistent,” given the similar patterns of compulsive behavior and negative life impact.

Independent of addiction, the WHO recognizes “compulsive sexual behaviour disorder” (CSBD) in 2019, characterizing it as “a persistent pattern of failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges resulting in repetitive sexual behaviour.”

Dr. Rena Malik, a urologist, pelvic surgeon, and medical influencer, told The Epoch Times that sexual behavior becomes problematic only when it interferes with other daily activities. She explained this includes “going to work on time, being productive at work, interacting with your family, friends, loved ones, or being intimate with a partner.”

Those Who Delay Gratification Win

“There is no such thing as an addiction in moderation,” said Gallagher.

Once you develop a porn addiction, it’s hard to stop, he said. By acting without restraint, people risk becoming “eternally possessed” by these desires, losing self-control. Gallagher argues that self-control is a unique human capacity that should be guarded and cultivated.

Indeed, excessive pornography erodes people’s self-control, according to research. A 2016 study published in The Journal of Sex Research found that increased porn consumption leads to a decreased ability to delay immediate rewards for greater future benefits.

In a subsequent study, the researchers had one group of porn users refrain from pornography while another group abstained from their favorite food for three weeks.

The researchers found that those who quit pornography developed stronger self-control, becoming better at postponing immediate desires to attain more significant future rewards. By contrast, those who gave up their favorite food did not show this improvement. The researchers concluded that “regular self-control in some domains (e.g., sexual) might be more powerful than self-control exercised in other domains (e.g., food).”

By consciously engaging in abstinence and limiting porn use, individuals may enhance their self-discipline, leading to improved outcomes in various aspects of life, Gallagher said. “Because I can tackle such a hard problem, doing other hard things doesn’t seem so hard anymore.”

The famous 1972 Stanford University “marshmallow experiment” demonstrated the importance of delayed gratification.

In the experiment, children were seated in a private room, and a researcher placed a marshmallow on the table in front of them. They were told that if they didn’t eat the marshmallow while the researcher left the room, they would be rewarded with another.

The children who delayed gratification for the second marshmallow were followed for over 40 years. The longitudinal data showed these kids had higher SAT scores, better responses to stress, better social skills, and generally better scores in a range of important life measures. (Follow-up studies: 1, 2, 3.)

Moreover, a seminal 2005 study found that self-discipline predicts academic success more than does one’s intelligence quotient (IQ). Among 140 eighth graders, self-discipline accounted for more than twice the variance in educational outcomes compared to IQ.

Other studies have shown that higher self-control leads to fewer reports of psychopathology, higher self-esteem, and more secure attachments in relationships.

Draining Life Force

One of the driving forces of porn use and masturbation is the claim that it is good for health. However, the current scientific evidence supporting these claims remains largely inconclusive. In different studies, health benefits are attributed to both frequent ejaculation and abstinence—including claims about effects on testosterone levels (1, 2, 3, 4), fertility, sperm quality, mental health, and level of happiness.

Traditional medicine, particularly traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), offers a more explicit stance, warning against casual and indiscriminate discharge.

“Current research promotes frequent ejaculation for prostate health and stress relief. TCM, however, emphasizes balance,” says Dr. Jingduan Yang, a fifth-generation TCM teacher and practitioner, board-certified psychiatrist, and CEO of Northern Medical Center in Middletown, New York.

In TCM, sexual health is seen as a balance of essence (jing) and qi, two types of energy in our bodies. Essence is the core energy for growth, reproduction, and vitality, while qi is the daily energy that drives our functions.

Essence is harder to replenish, so preserving it, especially in winter, enhances physical resilience and mental clarity, Yang told The Epoch Times.

According to TCM, the kidneys are considered the storehouse of this essence, and every ejaculation depletes it. This is because ejaculation requires physical exertion, the discharge of nutrients, and vital fluids used to create sperm.

“Ejaculation triggers complex nervous system activities: The parasympathetic (rest and digest) system promotes relaxation, while the sympathetic (flight or fight) nervous system takes over during ejaculation, leading to intense physical exertion and energy output. TCM views this exertion as drawing on kidney energy, which, if depleted too frequently, can lead to imbalances or lower energy reserves over time,” Yang said.

This may lead to a condition known as shenkui, literally “kidney deficiency,” characterized by symptoms like general weakness, musculoskeletal pain, dizziness, and sexual dysfunction.

“Modern medicine tries to rationalize it (ejaculation) as natural and without harm, but from an energetic level, there are serious short-term and long-term effects,” Jonathan Liu, a TCM practitioner, told The Epoch Times. “From my clinical practice, kidney essence deficiency is indeed related to some conditions like poor memory, fatigue, even some dementia cases.”

Ryan B. (a pseudonym) is among the many men who report decreased energy after ejaculation. “I always feel tired afterward—like I’m just out of energy,” he told The Epoch Times.

“Sexual behavior is not just for pleasure; its proper role is for procreation,” Liu said. He suggests conserving the body’s vital energy to maintain health.

“Restraint isn’t about deprivation but cultivation,” Yang said. He suggests this cultivation tempers self-discipline and can heighten spiritual awareness and productivity. “However, balance and individual health needs are key.”

Historically, all the major religions and philosophies have encouraged various forms of self-control and in some cases have even strictly prohibited masturbation. Judaism and Islam practice fasts and encourage moderation. Hinduism promotes awareness and control over the senses. In Christianity, some denominations advocate celibacy or abstaining from sex before marriage.

These practices aim to redirect energy from immediate gratification toward spiritual, mental, and physical growth. In the early 1800s, European and American physicians even believed that masturbation could lead to insanity, reflecting historical attitudes toward sexual restraint.

“Abstaining is not going to physically hurt you. It’s more the attitude that often comes with it that is,” Prause said.

The Way Out: Purpose Over Pleasure

Every year, Gallagher would try to abstain from masturbation for an entire month. “Every single time I tried, I failed,” he said. Nonetheless, he persisted.

Gallagher, now a 26-year-old software engineer, eventually began reaping the benefits. “Now, I’m looking back, and I have so much more mental clarity,” he explained. What came along was increased confidence and empowerment.

“We seem to be in the midst of a masculinity crisis … and this is changing how men feel like they fit in the world,” said Justin Lehmiller, a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and host of the Sex & Psychology podcast. The trend of ejaculatory abstinence is “part of a much bigger movement that’s about restoring masculinity,” he told The Epoch Times.

“A man who lacks purpose distracts himself with pleasure,” said Gallagher, further commenting that many people are engrossed in the modern hedonistic culture of instant gratification, drinking, smoking, and drug use.

Yet he believes there is hope. “It is inevitable that once someone reaches the end of this path and realizes its hollowness, they will naturally start looking in the other direction, towards something more virtuous and fulfilling,“ he said. ”When the pendulum reaches one extreme, it will inevitably start to go the other way.”

For those considering a similar path, Gallagher proposed practical steps for quitting. For immediate urge management, he mentioned that some of his friends found success with physical activities like doing push-ups when temptation strikes. He recommended journaling as a tool to reinforce reasons for stopping and to reflect on past decisions.

He emphasized the importance of understanding the addictive nature of porn use and masturbation, encouraging reframing one’s perspective by questioning the fundamental purpose and impact of the behavior on one’s life and relationships.

Above all, he believes that purpose through spirituality is the best way out.

“Stopping an addiction like this is really hard, near impossible, without the help of God,” Gallagher said.

For some people, abstinence can be a game changer, Foubert said.

“See what it does to your loneliness, to your depression, to your anxiety, to your intimate relations with other people and see if that’s something you like and it may be something that you want to continue beyond.”