Sometimes the key factor responsible for sexual difficulties, especially erectile dysfunction, can be anxiety. This condition is often termed psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Although several other psychological factors contribute to psychogenic erectile dysfunction, anxiety is one of them.
An individual struggling with an anxiety disorder might find it difficult to become intimate. Their intimate life gets ruined as a result. Anxiety causes them to be trapped in their minds constantly and worry about things. This worry keeps their minds occupied, due to which it becomes tough for them to attain arousal. Lack of arousal cannot stimulate the sexual response, and hence they experience erectile difficulties.
What causes anxiety?
Anxiety is a challenging factor, that is equally damaging as the other mental health concerns. It is a manifestation of the piling up of excessive stress. When an individual remains stressed for a prolonged duration, this accumulation of stress leads to anxiety. Feeling anxious from time to time can worsen an individual’s mental health.
But in this era of massive competition and fast-paced kind of living, an individual is bound to feel a bit anxious. The anxiety stems from survival issues, which causes mental agony among those who experience it regularly. Therefore, one must take some necessary steps to eliminate this challenging psychological condition, otherwise, it might give rise to other mental health issues.
What causes erectile dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction or impotence happens due to vascular damage, which impacts men’s ability to get erections as a sexual response. It mostly occurs as a result of an inadequate supply of blood through the vascular systems present in the penile. Lack of blood flow leads to clog formation in the blood vessels and causes them to constrict and become narrow.
This vasoconstriction takes place because of some enzymatic action, that suppresses the release of nitric oxide in the penile blood vessels. The blood flow gets hindered throughout the penile shaft, which leads to the impairment of erection function. Nitric oxide is a vital chemical that is necessary for a healthy erection function, however, its deficiency contributes to impotence issues.
How anxiety and erectile dysfunction are interlinked?
Anxiety disorder is characterized by feelings of nervousness and worry. It makes an individual remain stuck in their thoughts and feel uneasy. It is the most common factor that impacts sexual performance in most men. Many individuals experience performance anxiety, which affects their ability to get intimate.
This performance anxiety causes the release of some chemicals in the brain that interferes with sexual arousal and prevents an individual from an erection or make it harder for men to have a healthy sexual response. One failed attempt to maintain erections can give rise to more anxiety, which might follow a series of erection failures, thereby worsening performance anxiety.
This difficulty tends to majorly interrupt their brain function, which affects the nervous system’s response to signaling the reproductive organs to cause erections. Hence, by improving the symptoms of performance anxiety, one can ward off the difficulties of psychogenic erectile dysfunction and successfully restore sexual function.
Ways to cure anxiety
Physical activity
Moving and exercising are necessary to maintain overall well-being. Regular exercising can help you prevent numerous ills including physiological as well as psychological. When you remain physically active, your brain releases feel-good chemicals that enhance your mental well-being. These chemicals suppress the release of stress hormones and boost a positive attitude.
Rest
Taking adequate rest is essential for your health. Anxiety can make it harder for you to sleep, which can cause you to have sleepless nights. If you remain thinking at night and purposely avoid your sleep, then your anxiety might exacerbate. Sleeping is a restorative activity, which can help you in overcoming your stress and anxiety problems.
Learn something new
Engaging your mind in learning some skills can help you in alleviating your mental disorders. Developing some skills requires focus and attention, this is how you will be able to divert your mind from worries and stress.
Meditate
Meditation can have an incredibly healing effect on your mind and body. Some breathing techniques can enhance your sense of calmness and peace. Performing deep breathing exercises helps you to be in the present moment and dissolves all your worries, stress, and anxiety away.
No smoke, no alcohol
Such substances have psychoactive properties that can deteriorate your mental health along with your physical health. They can certainly make you feel stress-free for some time, but it increases your urge to use them even more and rely on them eventually, which enhances your stress and tension.
Ways to deal with erectile dysfunction
Diet
Moreover, Diet has a crucial role in sexual functioning. Increase your intake of foods that can boost your blood circulation. You must include foods like beets, onions, tomatoes, pomegranates, bananas, papaya, citrus fruits, leafy greens, collards, and fatty fish. You can even make use of dietary supplements, through your doctor’s consultation.
Kegels
Kegel is a pelvic floor exercise, that focuses specifically on your pelvic floor muscles. It strengthens your erectile response by increasing the blood circulation in that region and improves your sexual function.
ED medications
Prescription ED medications can help you in reviving your sexual function. But they are affordable to everyone, so, one can opt for some generic ED medications like Fildena. ED pills are made using an active ingredient, that boosts the blood flow to the penile and helps in restoring sexual function within an hour of consumption.
The lowdown
Being anxious will make it difficult for an individual to focus on intimacy, as their mind will keep them engaged in a train of worrisome thoughts. It is necessary to take some time off and understand why you are feeling anxious and look for ways to eliminate those feelings.
