Being Stressful is a way of living in this era. Many times, people don’t learn the reason for their stress and anxiety. They just tend to have it. We often like to resolve our stress by being involved in sexual activity. Some moments of relaxation and intimacy bring a real difference to your stressful world.
But what if the tension you try to vanish by taking your hands on the sexual activity reverses back and causes something that you never want? That you might not get your erection at the right time or ejaculate early? Yes, stress can do that to you. You must be wondering, how does it bring so many problems in your sex life? Does it have to do with your relationship?
This article will answer all these questions for you. Read the article till the end and understand how you unintentionally ruin your sex life by stressing about small things.
Can Stress and Anxiety Cause ED?
Erectile dysfunction is an ordinary problem, and various reasons can induce it. Sometimes, excessive drinking of alcohol causes sudden erectile dysfunction.
However, psychology plays a vital role in your sex life. Do you believe that your mind can ruin your sex life all of a sudden? When stress and anxiety, or depression become the reason for the inability to get an erection, it is known as psychogenic erectile dysfunction.
Find out how anxiety affects your mind in different ways and results in sexual impairment.
Anxiety and Relationship Conflicts
We all come into a situation where we unintentionally fight with our partners, which is normal. Sometimes, the disagreement ignites the love and intimacy. But have you experienced a conflict with your partner that lasted longer than a day or two? It is possible to get into the disagreements that last for multiple days.
These conflicts increase the communication gap, and becomes difficult to talk to each other in the house. These come and go, but you might not know that relationship problems affect your health in several ways.
Research shows that relationship conflicts even lead to physical health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, and headaches.
Chronic stress, if not treated, can cause:
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Obesity
- Sexual dysfunction
- Low libido
- Burnout
- Insomnia
The physical and mental health problems create stress and anxiety. These problems increase when they come right into the bedroom and affect your sex life. Studies support that dissatisfaction in relationships triggers anxiety disorders.
Anxiety and Sex Drive
Long-term anxiety and stress can affect your sex drive. You must have experienced sweaty hands, increased heart rate, and inner discomfort during an event that means a big deal to you. It is called anxiety, and it’s usual to experience.
However, when it stays for a long duration, you start experiencing it within yourself. It feels like it never leaves you. The consistent hearing of a heartbeat, or sudden tension on a small-thud, makes your body and mind tired all day.
Sexual functioning relates to it. When you feel all the rush simultaneously, it becomes difficult to focus on something. Your mind gets stuck, and you feel depressed about having intimate moments or being involved in intercourse.
According to a study in 2014, daily stressors can lead to lower sexual satisfaction for men and women. The consistent stress causes depression and anxiety in the long term, leading to sexual impairment.
Moreover, excessive stress also leads to hormonal imbalance. With chronic stress, eventually, your body starts producing cortisol, a stress hormone. Your body takes all the energy to produce stress hormones instead of the sex hormone, testosterone.
It results in decreased testosterone levels in the body and negatively affects the sex drive (low libido). However, some ways can help you increase your T levels. You can read about it in our guide to “Test Exercises to Increase T Levels”.
Anxiety and Erectile Dysfunction
Anxiety and depression are the most common psychological causes of erectile dysfunction. According to the research, the prevalence of anxiety and depression among ED patients is 38% and 64%, respectively.
Anxiety has a direct impact on the brain, and your brain plays a crucial role in sexual functioning. When you get sexually excited, your brain transmits several messengers to the sexual functions, including sex hormones.
It leads to high blood pressure in the pelvic area, resulting in a firm erection. When the arousal finishes, you lose your erection as the stored blood drains out from the penis. But when you experience anxiety or chronic stress, your brain fails to send the essential transmitters. It leads to a lack of blood flow in the penis, and you are unable to get or maintain an erection.
A study in 2015 took 64 men, among which 12% of men had depressive disorders and 23% had anxiety disorders. They experienced sexual dysfunction like ED and premature ejaculation.
Anxiety can happen due to various reasons. In some instances, ED itself causes stress and anxiety. It creates a loop that you revolve in all the time. To improve your sexual functioning and get rid of anxiety disorders, work on your physical and mental health.
You can read our blog, which focuses on the psychological exercises that can help with ED and PE.
Conclusion
Stress and anxiety can be linked with any of these factors. It can be the problems in your relationship with your partner or any past trauma. Tips that can help you tackle your mental health are physical exercise, mindfulness meditation, and eating healthy. You can also take ED medicines to cure your erection problems. ED medicines like Sildenafil, or Viagra can help you increase the blood flow in the penis and bring your erection back.
But make sure to consult a healthcare professional before taking any medicine. It is vital to find the root cause of the stress to treat stress-induced ED. If you need help, we provide the best ED and PE treatments. You can find a vast number of high-quality medicines with low side effects.