Psychogenic impotence is the inability to have sexual intercourse due to psychological and emotional erectile dysfunction. Psychogenic impotence mainly affects young men, under 40 years of age, who do not suffer from any physiological diseases and are physically able to achieve an erection. What are the causes of psychogenic impotence and how to treat it?

Psychogenic impotenceaccounts for at least 10% of diagnosed erectile dysfunction - this is much less than in the case of impotence caused by organic factors, e.g. hypertension, but its treatment can be for various reasons more difficult. The main cause of this state of affairs is the complex etiology of the disorder, which often consists of deeply hidden complexes, fears and negative patterns of sexual behavior. Getting rid of them requires a man to be open about his problem and to fully trust his partner.

How to recognize psychogenic impotence and what is the treatment of this disorder?

Contents:

  1. Psychogenic impotence - symptoms
  2. Psychogenic impotence - causes
  3. Psychogenic impotence - treatment
  4. Psychogenic impotence - how to help yourself?

Psychogenic impotence - symptoms

The symptoms of psychogenic impotence are the same as those of organic impotence, i.e. a man cannot get an erection despite being sexually aroused. The fact that the cause of the disorder lies in the psyche is evidenced by the appearance of symptoms only in the situation of an intimate relationship with a partner. In general, when a man is alone, he has no difficulty getting an erection - he can easily get an erection through masturbation. Morning erections are also a signal that the blood flow to the penis is going well. Then it can be assumed that the cause of impotence is not a disease, but a mental block.

Characteristic for psychogenic impotence is also the fact that its symptoms usually appear suddenly, almost overnight. If your erection problems are due to illness, symptoms build up gradually and may take several months to develop.

Psychogenic impotence - causes

The causes of psychogenic impotence lie in the male psyche. These can be both transient states of increased nervous tension and very serious personality disorders. From their type as wellthe severity depends on the success of impotence therapy.

The most common causes of psychogenic impotence include:

  • depression, neurosis, bipolar disorder and other mental disorders;
  • chronic stress, inability to relieve emotional tension;
  • burnout, being under constant pressure or fear of losing your job;
  • complexes (e.g. small member complex);
  • disturbed contact with a partner, frequent conflicts, lack of mutual understanding and trust;
  • traumatic sexual experiences (e.g. childhood sexual abuse);
  • failures during the first sexual intercourse, which led to the development of complexes, decreased self-confidence and, consequently, fear of intercourse;
  • "task-oriented" approach to sex and setting too high demands in this area;
  • addiction to pornography and the associated lower sensitivity to visual and tactile stimuli (including conditioned sexual reflexes caused by getting used to one type of penis stimulation, e.g. as a result of combining pornography with masturbation);
  • religious rigorism, the belief that sex is bad, sinful;
  • addiction to alcohol or psychoactive substances;
  • fear of unwanted pregnancy of your partner;
  • concealed or unconscious homosexuality.

Psychogenic impotence - treatment

Psychogenic impotence is treated with psychotherapy. Before that, however, it is worth making sure that erectile dysfunction is not caused by any disease, especially if the man is over 40 years old. For this you should visit your family doctor or urologist and perform basic laboratory tests. In half of the cases, impotence is caused by somatic diseases, the risk of which increases with age (including hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, hormonal changes).

However, if medical examinations and medical history rule out somatic causes, you should seek help from a sexologist or psychologist. In the treatment of psychogenic impotence, individual psychotherapy is used (if the cause are personality complexes or disorders), psychotherapy with the participation of a partner, relaxation techniques, and hypnosis.

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Psychogenic impotence - how to help yourself?

In the case of psychological impotence, taking an erection induction preparation such as Viagra will only help temporarily, but will not remove the real causes of the disorder. The key to regaining confidence is to change your mindset and avoid stress. Excess adrenaline in the blood, caused, among others, by a life of constant tensionnervous, negatively affects the sexual performance of a man. That is why every day you should set aside some time to relax, so that the tired body can return to a state of balance. A very good way to relieve tension is physical activity, you can also have a massage from time to time.

The mental attitude is also important. Many men mistakenly assume that they should be ready for intercourse anytime, anywhere, and as many times as the woman requires of them. This is a harmful and untrue stereotype. You should not set yourself too high expectations, because then each failure causes frustration and mental block.

Category:

Sex problems