# Any Known Negative Effects Due to Life Time of NO Sexual Contact?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 24, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300 "2015-06-24T00:34:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/1 "2015-06-24T00:34:30Z")
I know it is certainly possible for humans to live out their lives without romantic, sexual contact. We see this with most priests, nuns and monks. People spend decades incarcerated in prison without sexual contact and they live on.
There are people who are asexual, involuntary celibate who for varying reasons don’t have a sexual partner thought they desire so, and lastly those voluntarily are celibate even though they have a sex drive.
That being said, it is suffice to say that for most of us it would not be easy to go through our entire adult lives with any romantic/sexual contact. For a certain period of time yes, but a lifetime? I don’t think so.
Most of us for better or worse will have sex throughout our lives. But I am curious to see if there can be possible health effects stemming from no sexual contact over long periods of time.
Most what I have read on the internet seems that people who are sexually frustrated seem to fall into depression and tend to be angry. But nothing more from what I have found. I know it won’t lead to organ failure:D, and I’m guessing most researchers have not really done much research to find out.
So Dopers can shed any light?
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/2 "2015-06-24T00:44:43Z")
Isaac Newton seemed okay without it, is what comes immediately to mind.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/3 "2015-06-24T01:13:50Z")
Seems to me that the people who feel a desire for it but who can’t get it would be the ones who’d suffer negative health effects. Unfulfilled desires and unhappiness tend to do this.
If there are problems associated with lack of sexual contact, I’m thinking it would be more correlative than causation. Someone who is already sick is probably not in the mood for sex. Someone who can’t acquire sexual partners because he or she is socially inept probably faces a number of adversities (poor employment, poor social networks) that predispose them to health problems. And as much as it pains me to say this, not wanting to have sex may also be a warning sign. Low libido may indicate a hormone imbalance, which may indicate an underlying health issue. Someone who lacks the desire for sex may have a underlying psychiatric disorder. [People with some psychiatric disorders are especially vulnerable to health problems](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19132962).
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/4 "2015-06-24T01:19:30Z")
Perhaps the reason why would have to be looked at. If the person desires sex and is unable to get sex it does show that there is other issues which may or may not be harmful.
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### Author:  [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/5 "2015-06-24T02:05:38Z")
I think it might be difficult to disentangle the effects (positive or negative) of never having sex from the effects (p. or n.) of never having an intimate conjugal relationship - i.e. never being married, or being in a marriage-like relationship. The two things will often go together.
For what it’s worth, never-married men (some of whom, presumably also never or rarely have sex) die younger than men who marry. But never-married women live longer than women who marry. And people of both sexes who marry multiple times die younger than those of the same sex who marry only once.
Hard to know what to make of all this, but my guess would be that this has less to do with the health effects of regular, rare or no sexual intercourse and more to do with the stresses we experience in, and the supports we receive from, our close relationships.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/6 "2015-06-24T03:32:45Z")
It’s healthy to vent prostatic fluids periodically.
If this hypothetical case also involves no masturbation and no seminal emissions, then there are some health issues that can arise.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/7 "2015-06-24T03:36:47Z")
> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> Perhaps the reason why would have to be looked at. If the person desires sex and is unable to get sex it does show that there is other issues which may or may not be harmful.
Involuntary celibacy can sometimes cause health problems in other people by their mere proximity to the involuntary celibate. See: Elliot Rodgers.
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### Author:  [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/8 "2015-06-24T03:50:37Z")
It makes you depressed
I’m 25 and I’ve never so much as held hands with a girl and I am miserable and want to die
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### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/9 "2015-06-24T04:00:03Z")
> [@UDS](#):
>
> from the effects (p. or n.)
[beavis]
Huh-huh. You said “porn”. Huh-huh-huh.
[/beavis]
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/10 "2015-06-24T04:03:10Z")
> [@PSXer](#):
>
> It makes you depressed
> I’m 25 and I’ve never so much as held hands with a girl and I am miserable and want to die
And worse still, this very effect is self-perpetuating and self-magnifying. If there’s one thing a miserable and depressed person is NOT, it’s fun to be with. Once one falls into the kind of pit that **PSXer** describes here, it’s _very_ hard to dig oneself out.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/11 "2015-06-24T04:29:19Z")
Lifelong celibates (or near-celibates) don’t get to have their fix of oxytocin.
Everybody should stop right here for a moment and read up on [**oxytocin**](http://io9.com/5925206/10-reasons-why-oxytocin-is-the-most-amazing-molecule-in-the-world), the so-called “love drug”, manufactured in the brain in response to intimate encounters. Apparently something akin to a naturally-occurring opioid, this seems to be why being in love causes people to feel euphoric (but also dysphoric when you get jilted and start having withdrawal problems).
So instead of giving love-starved depressed people prescriptions of lame anti-depressant SSRI’s and vacuous pep-talks about how there’s someone for everyone if you just wait long enough, why not deal directly and make oxytocin pills for these people? Maybe even make it an OTC drug you can get at the corner store. Oh no, our society never allows it to be _that_ easy!
The [Wiki article on Oxytocin mentions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin):
> [@](#):
>
> It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medications needed in a basic health system.
But! You can get your oxytocin fix from your pet dog too! Who needs love and sex? That’s just doing it the hard way! MTGOW guys too, take note, this is just the thing for you!
[‘Puppy Eyes’ Help Dogs Bond with Humans, Study Suggests](http://m.livescience.com/50509-dogs-use-human-bonding.html)
[Dogs, Humans, and the Oxytocin-Mediated Strong Social Bond](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-bekoff/dogs-humans-and-the-oxyto_b_7081010.html)
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/12 "2015-06-24T04:34:12Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> It’s healthy to vent prostatic fluids periodically.
>
> If this hypothetical case also involves no masturbation and no seminal emissions, then there are some health issues that can arise.
So-called “self love” is commonly seen to be recommended for guys who can’t get laid, as if that actually solves anything.
Sitting home alone jerking off may be useful for “cleaning out the pipes” and it might, y’know, actually feel good, but I don’t think you get your oxytocin fix doing that. It is no substitute at all for love, companionship, affection, and sex.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/13 "2015-06-24T04:42:12Z")
My own comments just above remind me of an _obvious_ answer to OP’s question:
> [@OP](#):
>
> Any Known Negative Effects Due to Life Time of NO Sexual Contact?
that I don’t think has been mentioned yet.
Such people (males, anyway) are at risk of becoming MGTOW, a fate for the damned!
(ETA: I guess in Japan, they become herbivores.)
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### Author:  [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/14 "2015-06-24T13:44:10Z")
My dog came sans-gonads from the shelter. He seems perfectly fine except he sometimes humps a soccer ball. I wonder if Catholic priests have soccer balls?
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/15 "2015-06-24T20:06:06Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> Isaac Newton seemed okay without it, is what comes immediately to mind.
Isaac Newton was an alchemy-believing nutbag who slowly poisoned himself with mercury looking for the Philosopher’s Stone. “Okay” is a relative term.
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/16 "2015-06-24T20:29:27Z")
> [@PSXer](#):
>
> I’m 25 and I’ve never so much as held hands with a girl and I am miserable and want to die
What are you waiting on? A leprechaun to come and grant you wishes? Get up, get out there, and start looking. It’s as simple as that.
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/17 "2015-06-24T21:05:35Z")
Had this started in General Questions, it might have had a possibility of soliciting some genuine information. At this point, I doubt that a serious thread will develop. On the other hand, this is not a debate.
We’ll try IMHO.
[/Moderating]
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/18 "2015-06-24T21:19:10Z")
Well, it’s going to have a seriously detrimenal effect on your reproductive and parenting capabilities.
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### Author:  [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/19 "2015-06-24T21:23:28Z")
> [@UDS](#):
>
> For what it’s worth, never-married men (some of whom, presumably also never or rarely have sex) die younger than men who marry. But never-married women live longer than women who marry.
I’d heard this before, and wonder if it is another “correlation vs. causation” thing. The class of “never-married men” would intrinsically include those who died young, but would have married if they hadn’t, weighting the average downward. Conversely the class of “never-married women” would include a lower proportion of women who have gone through childbirth with all the risks and complications thereof.
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### Author:  [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-known-negative-effects-due-to-life-time-of-no-sexual-contact/723300/20 "2015-06-24T22:31:42Z")
> [@tomndebb](#):
>
> Had this started in General Questions, it might have had a possibility of soliciting some genuine information. At this point, I doubt that a serious thread will develop. On the other hand, this is not a debate.
> We’ll try IMHO.
>
> [/Moderating]
Yes I am looking for serious answers, some humor is good but not to the point of derailing a thread.
I was wondering whether it could be General Questions or Great Debates, could be 50/50.
Thanks for LEAHCIM for giving serious answers.
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