Psychological erectile dysfunction (ED) is caused due psychological factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, guilt, negative body image, and other mental health concerns. These factors interfere with a person’s arousal, which makes it difficult for them to attain and sustain erections. It impacts their sex life majorly.
Psychological erectile dysfunction is also known as psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Some males experience performance anxiety. Which is a type of psychological factor that arises before getting intimate. The anxiety stems from reasons such as feelings of insecurity or having an inferiority complex. It might also happen due to fear of not being able to perform better sexually.
This type of impotence issue usually happens in younger males. The kind of lifestyle they are living is full of stress and worries. Responsibilities and hectic work schedules may affect their mental health, which has a spillover effect on their intimate life. While older males commonly experience erectile dysfunction issues due to underlying physiological reasons.
Let us understand the psychological factors that contribute to psychogenic erectile dysfunction in detail. They are as follows:
Stress
Stress is a natural emotion, which is very common. It can happen due to work-related matters, relationship struggles, health issues, and so on. But it can affect the sexual performance in males. It interferes with the intimate life by constantly reminding them of the negative event or problem, which is the root cause of the stress. This makes it harder for them to be in the present moment. This affects arousal, and as a result, they may fail to get erections.
Stress can be dealt with by trying out some meditative and mindful exercises. Also, exercising regularly and doing some fun aerobic activity or engaging your mind in some creative work will help in bringing down stress levels.
Anxiety
Long-term stress can contribute to anxiety. Anxiety makes a person constantly worry about negative events that might occur in the future. This constant worry keeps their minds occupied. With these negative emotions, they fail to be in the present moment, which impacts arousal. Thus, they may experience impotence issues.
Anxiety can be managed in the same way as stress. Anxiety is an accumulation of stress, so it can be handled by engaging your mind and body in some activity that offers you fun and refreshes your mind.
Depression
This can cause a person to lose interest in intimacy and sex. Sexual intimacy may not feel pleasurable for them anymore. Being constantly depressed makes them live with heavily negative emotions. Which causes them to forget about everything and stay in a bad mood. It contributes to impotence issues.
Depression can be short-term, which will go away. But some people may experience clinical depression that can make their life miserable. Therapies and treatment will be helpful in such cases.
Low self-esteem
Esteem issues can hurt sexual performance. It can trigger feelings of inadequacy or inferiority among males. It can also stem due to previous sexual encounters, which have left them feeling inadequate. They may fail to be in the present moment due to constantly being stuck in the thoughts of not being enough. This can affect their ability to get and sustain erections.
Esteem issues are the manifestation of overthinking. Although, it can also be the other way around. One must stop overthinking and overcome their worries about their sexual performance.
Guilt
In some males, guilt might take over, due to their inability and failure to perform sexually well. Rather than thinking about the present moment, they may remember their last dull sexual encounters, which gives rise to erection problems.
Rather than living in the past and remembering failed attempts, one must try to focus on the present moment and live it fully. One must not think about the outcome, instead, indulge in the current moment while being intimate.
Indifference
Males might develop these feelings of indifference due to age. Their desire for intimacy may reduce as they age. They might not feel it’s appropriate to engage in sexual activity after a certain age. This can make them lose interest in sex and if they try to engage in sexual activity, they may have trouble getting and maintaining erections.
These psychological factors can affect your sexual performance, but there are indeed ways to manage them. If you still find it difficult, then it is better to opt for some therapy sessions with a mental health professional. They may conduct talk therapies to help you declutter your mind and suggest some remedial solutions along with medications for a short duration.
