Erectile dysfunction can cause psychological distress, including depression and social withdrawal. It can be caused by a combination of factors, including high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, stress, and diabetes. Treatment may require psychotherapy, relationship counseling, and antidepressant medication. Partners may also require counseling to cope with the emotional pain.
The effects of erectile dysfunction on a man’s psyche are numerous. In most cases, worries about this issue only intensify the problem by increasing levels of performance anxiety and producing depression as well as social withdrawal. Physically, impotence can be treated with performance-enhancing drugs, but the psychosocial effects are much more difficult to treat.
Once thought to be purely psychological, researchers now know that the causes of erectile dysfunction can also be rooted in biology. While this fact is most commonly associated with age or disease, any man at any age can suffer from erectile dysfunction. This is because it is often a combination of factors that decrease a male’s sexual performance. Some of the main causes include high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, stress and diabetes. Some drugs can also harm a male’s sexual performance.
When help is needed to understand and treat erectile dysfunction, psychological factors can sometimes prevent these efforts. This is especially true in men who are in denial about their condition or who are too ashamed to let a doctor know. Even when the effects of impotence start due to an organic cause, over time, the psychological effects can become an obstacle and, therefore, require more intense treatment options.
The effects of dysfunction almost always include some level of psychological distress. Even in cases where the causes are completely physical, a man is likely to feel harmed or experience a sense of loss. These feelings are quite commonly reported as one of the many side effects of erectile dysfunction. Such feelings not only affect a man’s self-esteem but can also create hard feelings within his relationship with a spouse or significant other.
When men feel stressed or overly anxious about sexual performance, unsatisfying encounters can make him feel depressed and he may even start to withdraw emotionally and physically or reject his partner. In some cases, a man may even become so depressed that he withdraws from normal social activities and other hobbies he previously enjoyed. As a result, research has shown that partners involved with men with the condition also suffer emotionally and psychologically.
Experts find that the negative effects of erectile dysfunction often require a man to undergo additional surgeries beyond the usual medical treatment for impotence. Such treatment includes psychotherapy, relationship counseling, and may also require antidepressant medications. Experts also recommend that intimate partners of men suffering from the effects of impotence also seek counseling to help understand and heal from the emotional pain suffered as a result of a male partner’s reaction to this condition.
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