LOS ANGELES — Pleasure product company Tracy’s Dog conducted an anonymous poll among their customers about sex toy usage during the pandemic and had experts to interpret the results.
“Self-pleasure is the new meditation in times of pandemic,” explained a rep. “Besides boredom, and with clearly more time on their hands to explore new activities, the interest in sex toys is definitely booming.”
Tracy’s Dog tasked sex therapist Rebecca Starkovski and psychologist Michelle Wang with understanding the reason behind people’s buying decisions in favor of sex toys, like the company’s recently launched Mr. Duckie and Dolphamine.
Wang said that “during uncertain times, when you don’t know what to do, or what will happen next, our body starts producing cortisol. The stress hormone will help the body prepare for sudden changes and helps face the unknown, so our bodies can react quickly to danger.”
“This is a very demanding process psychologically,” the psychologist added. “Unfortunately, stress also inhibits prefrontal cortical cognitive function, which is harmful for our problem-solving skills. All the energy is directed towards the ability to survive. All the while, all our body needs, is quite the opposite — it needs to relax, and be in the present moment.”
Respondents shared that they will “say awake until 2-3 a.m., in a state of wakefulness, without a sense of time or ever getting tired,” along with experiencing the “feeling of losing meaning.”
“Not having a purpose, and with all structure and routine gone, the anxiety levels are shooting through the roof,” were common responses.
Wang stated that this is more often recognized as the state of “captivity of negativity.” To fight it, some resort to meditation, yet they’d have to be quite versed in the practice to be able to actually benefit from it.
Wang says that exercise can help flush the cortisol out of our body, but so does anything that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system: deep abdominal breaths, laughing, singing, humming, and ultimately — self-pleasure.
Starkovski, the sex therapist, confirmed that masturbation calms the anxiety, without trying to quiet your mind, achieved by some through meditation, when it’s already hard to do so. "After all, it’s well-known that an orgasm can override physical pain — or make it bearable — and it can certainly break through stress," said the rep.
49% of the respondents stated that their calmness increases after masturbation.
And in rating their activities that help them ease anxiety, self-pleasure came on top or second to meditation, adult book coloring, cooking elaborate recipes or taking a bath.
“Masturbation causes hormonal changes in the body, and the release of dopamine produces a feeling of calmness, pleasure and happiness,” offered Starkovski. “Masturbation relieves stress and can serve as a coping mechanism as well as helping to de-stress, which as a result supports the immune system, better sleep, less stress and an overall improved well-being.”
Tracy’s Dog also encourages their customers to follow the direction from New York Department of Health: “You are your safest sex partner.”
