Erectile dysfunction and anxiety

Key issues in anxiety and erectile dysfunction

Every person has heard of erectile dysfunction and knows that it is the inability of a man to achieve and maintain an erection that is needed in order for him to have a normal sexual intercourse. There are a lot of causes of erectile dysfunction and anxiety is one of them.

When anxiety and erectile dysfunction are considered, people need to know that there are three key issues that need to be considered before the problem can be treated. First of all, people need to realize that erectile dysfunction usually occurs due to a combination of various causes. The second important thing that needs to be known is that a lot of people confuse anxiety with depression or sexual desire disorder but it needs to be known that that can be prevented through talking. The third thing is that anxiety is a normal response to personal and healthy issues.

Causes of anxiety

People need to know that there are a lot of life stressors that can be the cause of anxiety, which then induces secondary erectile dysfunction. The stressful events that lead to anxiety are plenty. They can be work related, couple related, age related, health related or they can be a side effect from some drug. It is considered to be normal for people to experience anxiety due to the fact that these situations are all part of everyday’s life. People should also know that the stressful situations in life are not the only ones that can lead to anxiety and there are also erectile problems that lead to anxiety as well. Performance anxiety is the most common. This particular anxiety is almost always present. Narcissistic perturbation is another cause of anxiety and it occurs when a person’s self esteem is pretty low.

The anxiety/erectile dysfunction cycle

Men need to know that it is not only them who are affected by erectile dysfunction, but it is their partners as well. When a man experiences erectile dysfunction, the partner will first think that she is not attractive any longer or she is getting too old or that he no longer loves her. A woman will also be concerned about the partner’s fidelity as well. The partner’s anxiety can also lead to behavioral modifications in the female partner. The cycle of anxiety and erectile dysfunction is a vicious one and it is really hard for both partners to get out of it. Issues are usually raised on both sides and that further deepens communication problems and understanding begins to lack in both partners. In these situations, most experts will recommend multidisciplinary approaches to erectile dysfunction. It is best that psychosexual counseling and pharmacotherapy are combined.