I loved your article, Kara!

I think about masturbation all the time and you still gave me several ahas about the subject. Also, way to disagree with your therapist about masturbation not counting as self-love. :)

"Do you meditate? Do you masturbate?" -> Loved this part. People don't take masturbation seriously as a form of self-care that helps mental health, at least when it's practiced in a satisfying way and without shame! The Wheel of Needs that you displayed was very illustrative... yes, why is sexuality not on there?

What you said about all the oxytocin being directed at YOU when you masturbate is really interesting. Yep, that aligns with the idea of literal self-love. And now I know I'm not crazy for being convinced that a good self-pleasure session combatted my cold, hahaha.

Also, I am JAZZED that learning masturbation in your 20s helped you avoid bad relationships and hookups! This is a huge win and I think I am discovering something similar. I masturbated much earlier than you, but it's taken me a while to do so with pride and to make it a profoundly enriching experience. I'm still working on it but luckily I've made a lot of progress.

Keep rocking, my lovely survivor! I appreciate your writing.