Erectile dysfunction is fast on the ascent among otherwise healthy men, affecting an estimated half of those in their thirties and giving rise to an influx of pharmaceutical quick fixes. But as little blue pills become ever more prevalent, might the hard truth be that the problem is in our heads?
Erectile dysfunction (ED), once considered an older man’s malady, is reportedly skyrocketing among millennials. Researchers claim that one in four new ED patients are now under 40, and a recent study found that half of those in their thirties had difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection – more than men in their forties or fifties. In medical terms, this makes little sense. Millennials are healthier, fitter, more nutritionally switched on and far less likely to suffer from heart disease than their fathers. Thirty somethings run more, drink less and, by and large, don’t smoke. If there was a checklist of ways to avoid ED, an average member of this generation would tick every box. But doctors are even encountering people in their teens suffering from ED. So, if we are seeing a rise in healthy men unable to get it up, what is getting us down?
Before I get into the specifics, let me first tell you about this amazing program – Juicing for your Manhood – by my friend Olivier Langlois, which reveals the hidden cause of erectile dysfunctions and the technique to use to vastly improve your sex life. NOTE: This program was NOT created by me.
To understand why something is broken, it’s useful to know how it works.
While an erection might seem simple enough – arousal plus stimulus equals go time – it is the result of an intricate process requiring the harmonious interplay of chemistry and the nervous system, involving multiple biological instruments that are each prone to hitting a bum note.
First, there’s the penis’s capacity to retain blood. Failure here is common, and this is known as the inability to maintain an erection. There can also be hitches getting the blood there in the first place – often tied to cardiovascular issues or metabolic syndrome. Physical trauma to the groin, or nerve compression (as a result of too much cycling, say), can have an effect, too. So, is there an epidemic of young men getting kicked where it hurts? But nine times out of 10, looking for a physical explanation for ED in a young man is barking up the wrong diagnostic tree. Their penises aren’t broken. That’s more likely in older men, who might smoke, have diabetes or be on medication. It’s something else.
Mind Games
Popular culture often presents ED as a joke. For this, we can, in part, thank the ill-considered sad man with his head in his hands next to his disappointed wife image on cigarette packets and medical pamphlets in recent years. These depictions have perpetuated the narrative that to be unable to achieve an erection somehow makes you less of a man – regardless of whether you’re a 20-a-day smoker or just seriously ill. That’s doubly problematic when you consider what many experts believe is the true cause of ED’s rise. It simply cannot be a coincidence that there is also an epidemic of mental health issues in young men. I’d be fascinated to know, of those people presenting with ED, how many are also suffering from a mental health problem. I would wager the number is high. There has definitely been an increased uptake of psychosexual therapy services. Young men make up a large proportion of those seeking advice, and we are also seeing high numbers struggling with erectile dysfunction and rapid or delayed ejaculation.
That is important.
Your psyche holds your penis as if by a marionette string. As soon as you start to over-analyze things, it can be game over: stress and anxiety are the ultimate mood killers. Men I see often describe feeling that they are very much present in their heads, but not in their bodies, or that they struggle to focus when it comes to sex. Sex requires a degree of mindfulness to be enjoyable and, indeed, possible. But the younger generation is often too neurotic to zone in. The mental health connection is there, you just have to look at the medication. Premature ejaculation medication is so similar to many antidepressants as to be almost indistinguishable. It regulates serotonin, which, when imbalanced, can cause you to come too quickly. That tells you everything you need to know about the link between your mental state and sex.
So, what are you unhappy about?
Performance anxiety is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s the fear of performing badly: not lasting long enough, not being hard enough, not satisfying your partner. And if the focus is on these goals, then it is not on our enjoyment. But sex has always been sex. It has been agonized over since time immemorial. To get to the root of the problem, experts have been asking what, exactly, has changed? Two minutes on Google and one theory will rise as surely as morning glory: the impact of our unbridled access to hardcore pornography, which makes you feel more inadequate than ever.
Hot kisses,
Gabrielle Moore
P.S. Do you want to reclaim the stiff as steel manhood you had in your late teens totally naturally? My friend Olivier Langlois’ most recent program – Juicing for your Manhood – has the solution to stop all erection problems in their tracks. Check it out if you don’t believe me. NOTE: This program was NOT created by me.
