The physiological, psychological, and emotional effects of spending time locked in a chastity device has always intrigued me. Recently, I came up with a male chastity cycle theory based on my own experiences.
Many of the guys curious about trying lockable device chastity for the first time who reach out to me, ask the same questions. While I never mind answering the questions, for a while now I’ve thought about writing a guide that covers the basics for those who don’t feel they know enough about chastity and chastity devices to get started. That idea morphed into writing a book offering a seven-day chastity challenge for beginners. I wanted to come up with a way to explain what beginners should expect along the way from putting on a chastity device for the first time to adjusting to wearing a device for 24 hours by the end of the seven days. And that sparked an idea.
I’ve always thought a “chastity cycle” existed because, from experience, I’ve noticed that I progress through identifiable and distinguishable phases or stages of physiological, emotional, and psychological responses to the lack of sexual stimulation and orgasm denial. What I ended up with for the book was a theory of what those different phases or stages were and what characterized each of them.
Some stages I identified from my experiences fit with the four stages of the Human Sexual Response Cycle (pictured above), published in 1966 by researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson. But not all, for the obvious reason. With a chastity device locked on, there is a pause, often a lengthy one, at plateau (Stage 2) before a chaste man gets to the orgasm and resolution stages. So, here is what I came up with after much thought.
A Male Chastity Cycle
Here is my explanation of these six stages.
Stage 1: Neutral
What I mean by neutral is the state of a man who has recently experienced sexual satisfaction (orgasm and ejaculation) and is in the resolution phase of the sexual response cycle formulated by William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson, in their 1966 book Human Sexual Response. In this stage, he probably feels and will feel for some period a loss of sexual desire. He feels “neutral” about engaging in sex or masturbating again until his sexual energy recharges.
Here, I’m not talking about the refractory period, the relatively short time after ejaculation when it’s physically impossible for a man to get an erection and ejaculate again, but a period that varies from one to several days. The length of this period I believe is mostly a function of an individual’s age, libido, and the frequency of ejaculation they have become accustomed to. This neutral stage of the cycle means the first day or even the first several days of chastity often seem rather anti-climatic for most men as far as sexual arousal is concerned since they recently had sexual satisfaction.
Stage 2: Desire
The desire phase kicks off when sexual arousal returns, usually within the third to fourth day for me. Different stimuli triggers arousal and renewed sexual desire. Once arousal starts, it typically continues to build for me. The simple act of wearing a lockable chastity device can produce arousal for me since it makes me more aware of my genitals than I might otherwise be and that leads to sexual thoughts and feelings.
The brain releases a cocktail of chemicals produced by the body, including dopamine, that produce sexual arousal and desire. Those chemicals, also known as “feel-good” hormones, make sexual arousal and desire feel pleasurable. So, even though I may feel increasingly “horny” during the desire phase, I get through at least the first four days of sexual abstinence with little difficulty or discomfort.
Stage 3: Frustration
Around the fifth day in chastity, I begin experiencing some degree of sexual frustration. When I first started chastity and had been accustomed to having orgasms several times a week, I experienced the frustration sooner and feel it more acutely than now since I’ve become accustomed to having far fewer orgasms. So, now this phase isn’t as hard for me to navigate, but I’m always definitely aware of it. I suspect this is the stage where guys who self-lock feel most sorely tempted to remove their device and seek sexual release. But I’ve become accustomed to it, so that’s not been an issue for me in a long while. I just know the frustration will eventually pass.
Stage 4: Blissful
By the end of the fifth or beginning of the sixth day, I move beyond sexual frustration and enter the blissful phase. That’s the sweet spot of the chastity cycle. When a man feels aroused but does not orgasm and ejaculate immediately, the brain discovers that orgasm is not imminent and continues releasing the “feel good” hormones to encourage it and the levels, especially dopamine levels, rise further and further above the normal baselines.
These naturally occurring chemicals transform sexual arousal into pleasure itself and you enter a “blissful” state. You no longer feel so desperate for sexual release, and you may feel more emotional than usual. If you have an intimate partner, you may feel emotionally closer and more affectionate toward them. That happened to me with my first key holder even though we weren’t in an intimate relationship, so I know how it feels. My first visit to this phase was when I learned firsthand why so many men find wearing a lockable chastity device and abstinence so enjoyable.
Stage 5: Restless
In the restless stage, sexual frustration can return with a vengeance at times. During this phase I’ve felt irritable, sad, and sometimes even slightly depressed. The length of time between blissful and restless varies from one person to another and I believe with how much experience you have with chastity and some other factors. With experience, even if you self-lock, you develop strategies that can extend the blissful stage, particularly sexual stimulation, that stops short of orgasm. This is the very thing that sexual teasing from a key holder does. And the stimulation needn’t focus on the genitals but may involve other erogenous zones like the testicles, perineum, or anus as examples.
At my experience level, the blissful stage typically lasts for around thirty days, and sometimes longer. But I suspect for some guys it may only last for two to three weeks. Even with teasing, about three weeks was usual for me during my first year practicing chastity.
Stage 6: Satisfaction
Satisfaction, the last phase in the chastity cycle, occurs when you remove the chastity device and receive sexual stimulation that ends with an ejaculatory orgasm. It’s the same as the resolution phase of the Human Sexual Response Cycle. You experience release from the pent up arousal and denial, and enter the post-orgasm resolution phase of the sexual response cycle.
While this male chastity cycle is mostly based on my anecdotal experiences, I read extensively about the experiences that other chaste men share on chastity related blogs, forums, and social media. And I’ve found a lot of commonality with what I’ve experienced. That leads me to believe my theory about how men respond to periods of chastity seems accurate. And that isn’t surprising given what I’ve learned about the science of male sexuality.
The Driver's of the Male Chastity Cycle
Male chastity and how men respond to it is a response to the effects of orgasm denial. But denial is only the mode of chastity. The actual mechanism that drives our response is the science of male chastity, particularly the cocktail of natural chemicals the body produces and the brain releases.
There is a whole slew of these naturally occurring chemicals. But those of primary interest are dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and prolactin, hormones that act as neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that help in the transmission of signals in the brain and other vital areas.
The different stages of the male chastity cycle I’ve imagined are all products of the levels of these different chemicals. Dopamine levels, for example, increase with sexual arousal. Dopamine plays a major role in how we feel pleasure. The brain releases dopamine when it is expecting a “reward.”
When you come to associate a certain activity with pleasure, mere anticipation may be enough to raise dopamine levels. It’s responsible for a cycle of motivation (seeking pleasure), reward (Feeling pleasure), and reinforcement (the desire for more of an activity that produces pleasure).
I find the science of male sexuality incredibly fascinating and knowing a little about hormone levels that affect sexual functioning and what causes those levels to increase and decrease helps you understand why you feel the things you do at different stages of the male chastity cycle.
What do you think about this theory of a male chastity cycle? Does it track with your experiences? Do you notice different, identifiable stages or phases when you wear a chastity device for a period of time?
Are You Curious About Male Chastity and Thinking About Trying It?
This is the book I recently wrote for guys new to chastity and those who haven’t managed to wear a lockable chastity device for at least seven days. It’s presented in the form of a 7 day challenge, a fun and non-threatening way for beginners to dip a toe into chastity and learn how it suits them. It’s available now on Amazon as an e-Book and paperback.
