While erectile dysfunction (ED) has been largely positioned as a physical health issue, the medical condition has the ability to greatly impact a man’s psychological health and his self-esteem. The emotional effects of erectile dysfunction can be quite damaging and may increase the risk of depression and anxiety, which can further aggravate the symptoms of ED. This can be a vicious cycle that continues until you get treated for the underlying cause of the problem. Keep reading to understand how ED can affect your psychological health.

Depression

Depression can influence every part of your life, including your sexual performance. Unfortunately, the link between ED and mental health is a two-way street, where having depression can affect your ability to perform sexually—and the reverse is also true. Depression is usually associated with changes in your nervous system and brain chemistry. Some of these factors also have an impact on your sex drive and your ability to get and sustain an erection.

Pornography Addiction

Many people struggling with impotence and performance anxiety during sexual intercourse can only get an erection when watching porn. This is because, on a neurochemical level, the brain can learn to anticipate and require pornographic content in order for sexual excitement to occur. Additionally, porn can cause you to have exaggerated notions about your physical appearance and sexual prowess.

Low Self-Esteem

Erectile dysfunction and low self-esteem are two problems that feed into each other. It should come as no surprise that erectile or sexual dysfunction can result in low self-esteem, but the reverse is also true. For instance, men who initially have poor self-esteem may think they are unattractive or not enough. This may result in erection issues when in bed. Furthermore, guilt, despair, anxiety, and the fear of rejection are more likely to affect those with poor self-esteem.

Relationship Issues

There are numerous factors that may result in someone losing interest in sexual activities, especially if you feel that your relationship is monotonous and tense. Dopamine, a hormone in the brain associated with pleasure, enthusiasm, and motivation, is released in large amounts when thinking about sex. However, sexual thoughts are unlikely to trigger the dopamine rush in someone who is uninterested in or bored with sex, which can lead to erectile dysfunction.

Regardless of their physical condition or sexual experience, older and younger men alike can develop psychological effects of erectile dysfunction. There are plenty of medications available nowadays that you can use to treat ED and improve the quality of your sex life. 

Proper treatment can be beneficial in pinpointing the cause or stress factors that contributed to the symptoms of erectile dysfunction rather than concentrating on the outcome. Feel free to contact the experts at Stud RX to learn more about treating erectile dysfunction and other associated side effects.