What is erectile dysfunction (ED)?
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined by a man's inability to achieve an erection strong enough for sexual intercourse. The causes of ED can be medical or age-related – but there are also many men who suffer from psychological erectile dysfunction. Although it is completely normal to have difficulty getting or maintaining an erection from time to time, if it happens often or always, it can have a negative impact on a man's sex life, self-esteem, and self-confidence. Paying attention to the signs of erectile dysfunction and finding the causes of ED will help you focus on the right approach to finding ED solutions.
Signs of erectile dysfunction
One way to know if you are dealing with medical or psychological erectile dysfunction is to pay attention to the signs of erectile dysfunction. Medical ED is often generalized. In general, you cannot get an erection during any activity – including masturbation or sex with a partner, and you usually do not have nocturnal or morning erections either.
Keep in mind! ED can be an early warning sign of heart disease. It is important to keep track of the signs of your erectile dysfunction, find the specific causes for you, and seek medical attention immediately. Medical ED can be the result of diabetes or prostate surgery. It can also be caused or exacerbated by many medications, including antidepressants and antihistamines. If you are dealing with ED and taking medication, check with your doctor to see if these could be the cause and ask if alternative options are available.
What causes psychological erectile dysfunction?
Psychological ED occurs mostly during sexual intercourse with a partner.
Many men feel that their ability to have and maintain an erection should remain the same throughout their lives – but this is far from reality. Over the course of a man's life, his erection will decrease in firmness and most men have difficulty getting an erection at one time or another. Most men have heard that they can lose their erection during intercourse and are afraid that it will happen to them. Thus, at the first sign of a change in erectile capacity – or even after a single experience of losing an erection during intercourse, this can trigger the onset of psychological erectile dysfunction.
The mind often plays tricks on us, and a simple thought is enough to negatively influence the quality of the erection.
6 causes of psychological ED:
1. Performance anxiety
Performance anxiety occurs when you start worrying about whether or not you will get an erection. This makes you be in your head instead of enjoying the physical experience – and, in turn, it can make it harder to get an erection. This creates a vicious cycle, and the more you worry about your erection, the less likely you are to get one. And the less likely you are to get one, the more you worry. Many men end up with psychological ED because of this cycle.
Performance anxiety can also stem from worrying about your partner. You fear that you aren't exciting your partner enough or that your partner won't continue to want to have sex with you if you can't manage to get an erection. Even worse, you feel the pressure to perform whenever your partner wants sex.
2. Lack of attraction
Another sign of erectile dysfunction is when you try to have sex with someone with whom you feel you should want to have sex, but to whom you are not actually attracted. Men are told they should want sex all the time, from anyone. Often they don't even ask themselves if they feel any chemistry, simply believing that something is wrong with them if they can't get an erection. In this case, reclaim your erectile capacity by listening to yourself and ignoring what society tells you.
3. Emotional reasons
Many men deal with psychological erectile dysfunction when they have experienced a difficult emotional failure in another area of their lives. Men can have psychological ED as a result of losing a job, given that they often base their self-esteem on their ability to provide for themselves. Other major negative life events, such as the death of a family member or the stress of divorce, can also cause performance issues. Some men have problems with erectile dysfunction as a result of depression.
4. The sex you are having doesn't excite you
Erectile dysfunction can occur because the type of sex you are having is not actually the kind of sex that excites you. Maybe you don't know what excites you the most, maybe you don't know what your true sexual needs are. You may know what excites you, but your partner may not be interested in the same type of sex as you. Some men face psychological ED when their partner does not respond or does not seem excited during sex, when they cannot reach orgasm, when they do not moan, etc.
5. You have too much impulse control
The key to staying erect during intercourse is to be able to follow your sexual impulses as they arise so that you stay present in the experience.
6. Relationship problems
Psychological erectile dysfunction can also occur when conflicts arise in the couple's relationship. If these conflicts are not resolved, the gap widens, resentment appears, and the motivation to have sex with your partner may decrease. In this case, your body is trying to tell you that there is an emotional blockage somewhere. This is often common especially in relationships with a partner who is very critical or verbally abusive.
1. Medical solutions for erectile dysfunction
Regardless of whether the causes of ED are psychological or medical, doctors often address the problem by simply prescribing medications like Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra. Medications can be helpful for some men, and some even end up finding pills to be good solutions for ED. However, medications do not help treat the foundations of psychological dysfunction, nor do they improve your skills as a lover.
Some men simply do not respond to medication. Others have trouble enjoying sex due to the painful or distracting side effects of the medications, such as headaches or the inability to breathe through their nose due to congestion. Because the response to pills is not immediate, the medication forces you to plan sex in advance and can destroy the magic of spontaneity. Finally, the high cost of ED medications can be a detrimental factor.
2. Nutritional supplements – one of the best products on the market is BLIXX Potent which contains L-arginine AKG 2:1 200mg, dry extract of fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) 80mg, D-aspartic acid 66.5mg, dry extract of Asian Ginseng/Panax ginseng leaves (80% ginsenosides) 40mg, dry extract of Siberian Ginseng/Eleutherococcus senticosus root (0.85% eleutherosides) 40mg, dry extract of Polygonum cuspidatum/Reynoutria japonica root 30mg, dry extract of Polygonum multiflorum/Reynoutria multiflora root 30mg, dry extract of guarana seeds/Paullinia cupana (contains 22% caffeine) 20mg; anti-caking agent: tricalcium phosphate.
3. Sex coaching solutions for psychological ED
If you are looking for a non-medical solution for ED, you might consider sex coaching sessions, as they are based on redirecting and reconnecting with your physical body and ameliorating ED through awareness, communication, and breathing.
What do you learn?
To know your basic desires, what excites you and why, the key to a strong and consistent erection. It is important to embrace your essential desires and share them with your partner to have sex that excites you. Improved embodiment.
It teaches you how to stay connected to your desire and be in your body and not in your head.
It teaches you to follow your impulses, it trains you to follow your desires and impulses while remaining present in the erotic experience so that your arousal does not decrease, but increases.
It teaches you to understand attraction. It helps you choose who you actually want to have sex with and what kind of sex will be most exciting for you. It is important to remember that the quality of the sex and the type of sex you have can have a huge impact on ED.