Erectile Dysfunction (impotence): What It Is And What Is Its Treatment
Erectile dysfunction is one of the sexual problems that worries men the most. It usually occurs for different reasons, although performance anxiety is one of the psychological origins that can cause it and that turns this problem into a vicious circle that is difficult to get out of.
Erectile dysfunction can cause consequences in different spheres of a person’s life: self-esteem problems, relational difficulties, etc.
Any alteration of the mechanisms involved in erection can cause erectile dysfunction. At the outset, it is very important to know if there is any alteration at an organic level (such as neurological or vascular problems).
Once any affectation of organic origin has been ruled out, it is when we can examine the problems of psychological origin, with performance anxiety once again being the protagonist of this dysfunction.
Causes: performance anxiety
Performance anxiety is a state of alert that appears in response to a set of thoughts that connect with previous unsatisfactory results and predict new failure.
The battery of messages related to “will I make it?”, “what if it goes wrong again?” or “what could change this time?”, leads the individual to a mental state governed by overanalysis; Demand and fear combine to find a channel of expression.
Questioning one’s own capacity, added to the enormous lack of knowledge (what is causing the problem) generates a feeling of frustration that, once again, fuels thoughts related to the alert.
Psychotherapy works on the different areas that can trigger stress and anxiety in the patient’s life (life experiences, current work and family situation, relationship, etc.), as well as more specific aspects related to performance anxiety.
The obligation to deliver results, excessive altruism, and self-observation are three key themes of performance anxiety. With the aim of improving the capacity for self-control, the therapy focuses attention on the detection of automatic thoughts that trigger alertness. In line with what has been mentioned, these types of thoughts respond to:
Talking about these types of concerns offers the patient a channel of expression that will increase emotional self-knowledge. This, added to the creation of alternative thoughts, will diminish the voice of self-demand and facilitate the work of self-empathy. Likewise, building a discourse with all the elements that remain in the “backstage” of the problem (taboos) will facilitate understanding and rapprochement within the couple.
Guidelines and advice to follow
An important point is to provide the patient with guidelines that reduce the level of nervousness and pressure in sexual experiences.
More concretely, One of the indications that is sometimes offered in sexual therapy is to “prohibit intercourse.” throughout the first sexual encounters, thus ensuring that the concerns that we previously mentioned (the results 10, the partner’s satisfaction and one’s own physiological response) cease to be a source of anxiety.
There are many myths regarding the genitalization of sexual relations or the belief that they are only complete if penetration and orgasm are achieved. It is true that the genitals are a very important part of the human body, but reducing sexuality to genitality is limiting the experience, especially if we consider that our entire organism is sexual. The skin is a sexual organ, and as such, it must be taken into account in our intimate relationships.
Penetration is just one more practice within the multiple possibilities we have to satisfy ourselves. Very pleasurable sexual relations can exist without intercourse. This connection again with pleasure is another of the objectives within Psychotherapy.
What happens if the person doesn’t ask for help?
First of all, it is important to differentiate between an isolated manifestation or an established problem.
When it is a dysfunction that is repeated over time, serious problems appear such as the impact on self-esteem, avoidance of sexual relations and conflicts at the couple level. In reference to this last point, the belief that “you are increasingly distant” and “you no longer want me” attributes the origin of the problem to wrong causes and ends up becoming a reason for discussion and distancing.
From couples therapy it is essential to work on the communication of the fears and needs of each member, thus achieving an environment of love and mutual attention… A problem that was previously experienced from solitude, now happens to be experienced hand in hand.
And premature ejaculation, why does it occur?
Premature ejaculation is the most common sexual problem among the male population. This lack of control can be due to very diverse causes. In fact, the origin is inaccurate. What we do know is that it depends on psychological factors and, many times, on beliefs related to men and sexuality (cultural aspects).
Among the factors that contribute to the existence of this dysfunction we find the predisposing factors (for example, family history, the circumstances that accompanied the first sexual relations and poor learning), the precipitating factors (among which the low sexual frequency, the demanding partner and performance anxiety), and maintainers (where performance anxiety, lack of psychosexual skills and relationship conflicts stand out again), without forgetting all those biological aspects that could exist in each case.
