Hey, Cortisol is an important hormone through which our body regulates day today stress. Stress here could be due to over or under working of the body, emotional variations, or repeated and uncontrolled thoughts. Our body responds to all these by varying cortisol and adrenaline level. Hence anxiety and depression here could be the cause as well as result of the cortisol imbalance. Counseling from a psychologist or psychiatrist should help you understand the cause behind your anxiety as well as stress pattern and address them from root. Once the cause is addressed body automatically regulates it's hormones. If masturbation is helping you relieve the sexual tension, it is rather relieving stress and not enhancing it so it should not adversely affect cortisol generation. Take Care & Good Luck. Best, Sneha Bhat