{"id":267907,"date":"2026-02-04T22:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T22:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/267907\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T22:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T22:20:07","slug":"how-masturbation-can-help-relieve-your-menopause-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/267907\/","title":{"rendered":"How Masturbation Can Help Relieve Your Menopause Symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many women also find it difficult to communicate their sexual needs with a partner, Graham says. With masturbation, \u201cYou can explore your own likes and dislikes and not worry what your partner thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How to embrace self-pleasure<\/p>\n<p>While self-pleasure can benefit women during menopause, don\u2019t feel like you have to do it if you\u2019re not into it, Dr. Minkin says. But if you are interested and don\u2019t masturbate regularly or haven\u2019t in a while, here are some tips.<\/p>\n<p>Address dryness and other GSM symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>Dryness, itching, and changes to your vulva or vagina can make any sexual activity uncomfortable, Dr. Minkin says. \u201cTrying to get the vagina moist and comfortable to think about some activity down there is a good idea, whether it&#8217;s going to be self-pleasure or partnered activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One option is prescription <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC3252029\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">vaginal estrogen cream<\/a>, which can help relieve dryness, irritation, and pain during sex, she says. Over-the-counter <a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/what-works-for-vaginal-dryness-and-is-natural-best\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">vaginal moisturizers<\/a>, including products with hyaluronic acid, and water- or silicone-based lubricants, are other options \u2014 however, these items won\u2019t address the root of dryness, which is declining estrogen.<\/p>\n<p>Try sex gadgets.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s romance novels, pornography, fantasizing, or something else, Dr. Minkin suggests seeking out stimulating material to help you get in the mood \u2014 or try sex gadgets, like vibrators or dildos. She recommends <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/medamour.com\/pages\/about-us\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/medamour.com\/pages\/about-us&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/medamour.com\/pages\/about-us\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MedAmour<\/a>, a website that curates products with input from doctors and other sexual health experts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might get some ideas for yourself, and you might get some gadgets that are fun for you,\u201d Dr. Minkin says.<\/p>\n<p>Go at your own pace.<\/p>\n<p>Approach self-pleasure with mindfulness and curiosity, without self-judgment, Dr. Kelley says. \u201cLook at it as more exploration, empowerment, getting to know your body, and exploring what feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Start slowly and don\u2019t make orgasming your goal, Dr. Sophocles says. She recommends beginning with gentle \u201cG-rated touching,\u201d including your neck, inner arms, or breasts, which will heighten the pleasure centers of your brain. Progress to touching your inner things and around your genitals, and then finally, \u201cyou\u2019re ready to touch the clitoris and the labia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many women also find it difficult to communicate their sexual needs with a partner, Graham says. With masturbation,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[152366,134,12932,111,139,69,7680,152365,1249,1251],"class_list":["post-267907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-_health_conditions","tag-health","tag-menopause","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sex","tag-sexual-reproductive-health","tag-textaboveleftsmall","tag-web"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}