Science explained: What’s up with Erectile Dysfunction?
With Valentine’s Day upon us, it’s understandable that large swathes of the student population are getting a little hot under the collar. You’ve (maybe) got a date – maybe a nice meal Nando’s with a couple of refined drinks at Kelsey’s.
After such a sophisticated evening, you might even head back to one of your houses in order to finish off a lovely day with a bit of Netflix. If you then decide to chill, however, some men might have so-called ‘performance issues’ – they can’t get it up.
Although it’s often considered a condition that affects men as they get older, erectile dysfunction (ED) can cause problems for males of any age after they’ve passed through puberty. Although it’s usually physical problems involving blood flow that can cause ED in older men, often it’s psychological issues that wreak havoc for younger men in the bedroom. Both anxiety and depression have been linked to ED, in addition to what the NHS call “relationship problems”.
Other common causes include excessive alcohol consumption; alcohol is a depressant, so it can reduce both the sex drive and the ability to perform. In fact studies show that as little as three drinks per week can make a man more likely to experience some form of ED. Yikes.
So make sure you aren’t caught out this Valentine’s Day: remember, if you’re going on that date, try not to drink too many drinks in Kelsey’s – or you might just find yourself enjoying a bit of Netflix and, uh, Netflix.
Comments (1)
As a senior citizen with type 2 diabetes, I pretty much know what causes my ED problems. And I have no doubt that ED has a number of other potential causes. But, I confess that I’ve always had issues with the word “dysfunction.” Isn’t it also possible that the inability to have and sustain an erection is sometimes a “normal” thing?
Except for easily aroused younger men, the ability to get and sustain an erection depends upon whether or not a man finds a woman sexually attractive. And though it could be related to the “looks” of a long-term partner, it could also be related to the woman’s emotional appeal.
Years ago before I was diagnosed as even pre-diabetic, I was physically and emotionally attracted to my wife. But by the time I divorced her, I was still physically attracted to her but not emotionally attracted to her in the slightest. In my eye, she’d transformed from the “good witch of the North” into the “wicked witch of the west” (grin). She became the last woman I’d want to have sex with … and no, I wasn’t “fooling around.”
In short, my inability to get and sustain an erection in my wife’s case was not a “dysfunctional” thing. It was the result of an attraction issue that manifested itself over time – and made perfect sense to me. And that’s when I divorced her (16 years ago).