Establishing the cause that determines the erectile dysfunction is essential, in this way the path to an adequate treatment and getting well is much faster.
The psychological factors involved in the occurrence of sexual dysfunctions in men are also numerous, and they can be potentiated by a chaotic lifestyle, an unbalanced diet and lack of physical activity. Also, a physical pathology can also manifest psychological consequences - a difficult diagnosis, chronic alcoholism that diminishes sexual performance thus stimulating the emergence of anxiety states.
Sexual dysfunctions in men are a broad subject that must be viewed in a wider context, in which the psychological side must not be omitted.
Types of sexual dysfunctions in men
The types of sexual dysfunctions in men are represented by:
- Changes in sexual desire
- Decrease until the loss of erection, having as situations total anerection (in most cases of organic cause), semi-erection and intermittent erection, with variations depending on external factors, generally psychogenic
- The decrease in the firmness of the erection until it is lost during the sexual act
- Ejaculatory difficulties - premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, painful ejaculation or impossibility of ejaculation
- Partial or total orgasm dysfunctions.
Psychogenic causes of sexual dysfunctions in men
The psychogenic causes that determine the occurrence of sexual dysfunctions in men are:
- Anxiety related to sexual performance
- Fear of failure, sometimes leading to the avoidance of sexual intercourse
- Depression, accompanied by a lack of interest and sexual pleasure
- Affective lability with excessive shyness
- Psychic traumas related to the onset and evolution of sexual life
- Feelings of self-blame in the case of extramarital relationships
- Physical and mental fatigue, marked by exposure to excessive stress, overwork
- Lack of quality sleep
- Sexual abstinence for a long time
- The use of withheld or interrupted coitus (coitus interruptus refers to the withdrawal method) represents a possible stress factor for men
- Overstressed or conflictual states in the couple.
In the psychogenic dysfunction, there are nocturnal and morning erections, normal sexual acts that alternate with failed sexual acts, the selectivity of the performance depending on the partner.
Most of the time there is a combination of determining factors, having both the organic etiology involved, but also the addition of psychogenic causes. The treatment of mental disorders and the modification of external factors of a psychogenic nature that determine sexual dysfunctions can be done both with medication and through psychotherapy or sexological counseling.
How can psychogenic sexual dysfunctions be overcome?
Regardless of whether the sexual dysfunction has an organic cause or if its source is a psychological problem or a combination of the two, sexual dysfunctions can easily become a source of stress and emotional exhaustion for both men and their partners them.
Among the most common "errors" that men who suffer from sexual dysfunction fall into are: focusing on the idea that it is a long-term problem and for which no solution will be found, not involving their partner in the search for a solution, ignoring the disorders emotional.
What can be done to overcome sexual dysfunctions based on psychological factors?
- Occasional erectile dysfunction does NOT reflect a permanent and irreversible pathology. An "unsuccessful" episode does not automatically mean that the situation will be repeated in the near future, such thoughts only increase anxiety.
- Medicine has progressed a lot in the last decades, including erectile dysfunctions due to vascular causes have a solution. ESWT therapy is successfully applied, having long-term results for patients. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is available in the Medicover The Bridge clinics in Bucharest and Medicover Republicii in Cluj Napoca .
- Schedule a visit to the urologist for a medical evaluation . Once the pathological causes have been eliminated, you can request the support of a doctor who has competence in sexology or a specialist in the psychotherapy of sexual dysfunctions .
- Before a first consultation, try to prepare a list of all the signs and symptoms that come to mind, even if they seem unrelated to sexual dysfunction. Write down the medicines you take, both prescription and over-the-counter, including vitamins and supplements.
- Involve the partner in this process. In many situations, the partner can also feel guilty, she can feel responsible, believing that she is the source of the lack of sexual appetite because she is no longer as attractive, for example. Discuss this issue openly. Free communication between partners helps in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
- Do not ignore stress, anxiety or any other emotional disorder. Seek specialist support - psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Several studies and researches, some still ongoing, carefully investigate the relationship between stress and its impact on health.
