I'm Addicted To Sex Toys

Elysia Downings, 28, has spent £3,000 – and would even turn down men – because of her obsession

- Kara O'Neill And Julia Sidwell

As I unwrap my latest gift to myself, I can’t help but feel excited. The sleek packaging, the shiny metallic finish, the futuristic buttons... While it might sound like a smartphone or a new tablet, it’s not. It’s actually my newest vibrator.

I was about 13 when I first started having regular orgasms. I’m not sure how I discovered them, but I just know that I quickly became obsessed with the pleasurable feeling. My childhood was a difficult one, and I saw an orgasm as a way of escape. It helped distract me from some of the emotions I was feeling at the time.

Secret habit

One thing I didn’t do, was talk to my friends about my ‘habit’. While boys in my class would talk crudely about that kind of thing, none of the girls ever seemed to mention it. That made me think it was something to be ashamed of and I was terrified of what people might say if I accidentally let slip how I entertained myself in the evenings after school.

I quickly learned that battery-operated household objects – like electric toothbrushes and vibrating back massagers – were much more efficient at getting the job done. I’d start squirrelling them away in an underwear drawer in my bedroom, ready to use whenever I felt the need. By the time I was 16, I was having an orgasm three or four times a day.