Men's Sexual Problems

Sexual problems (sexual dysfunction)

A sexual dysfunction is a problem that occurs for a man during any part of sexual activity and prevents him from getting complete sexual satisfaction or pleasure. These problems may be related to physical issues. For example, erectile dysfunction caused by diabetes or hyperlipidemia.

But they are more often emotional, as when erectile dysfunction is caused by fear, anger or shame about sex. Learn about male psychology here.

Problems involving orgasm and ejaculation include an inability to reach orgasm and ejaculate in men (which is called delayed ejaculation) or a too-rapid ejaculation (which is called premature ejaculation).

(Women too may have problems reaching orgasm. This is known as anaorgamsia.)

In women the orgasm phase may be disrupted by an inability to attain orgasm during sexual intercourse, or indeed to attain orgasm through masturbation. This is known as anorgasmia.

Research has indicated that both female and male sexual dysfunction of one kind or another is extremely common. But these problems are not discussed by the people who they affect.

Almost all sexual dysfunctions are treatable, but many people find them too embarrassing to discuss them with a therapist or doctor.

One of the ways of surmounting that this problem is to seek help from reliable websites which offer self-help treatment programs, and we shall recommend some of the best during our discussion.

Male sexual dysfunctions

These are basically either the result of a physical or and emotional problem. Physical causes include diabetes, blood vessel disease, neurological disorders, kidney or liver failure, and such things as drug abuse and excessive alcohol consumption. In addition, smoking can severely occlude the arteries leading to the penis and cause erectile dysfunction.

The most common sexual dysfunctions in men are ejaculation problems, erectile dysfunction, and inhibited sexual desire.

The ejaculation disorders

These include

• premature ejaculation, which means reaching orgasm and ejaculating ("coming") too quickly.
• delayed or retarded ejaculation, a condition defined by the fact that the man finds it difficult or even impossible to ejaculate during sexual intercourse and sometimes also masturbation.
• retrograde or backward ejaculation, which means that the man's semen travels backwards into the bladder rather than out of the urethra at the moment of ejaculation.

Both premature and delayed ejaculation are caused mostly by emotional issues. For example, they can be caused by emotional and psychological factors such as guilt or shame about sexual activity, past trauma or sexual experience in childhood that leads the individual to see sexual activity as somehow dirty or sinful, and especially relationship conflict.

The classic view of delayed ejaculation has been that the man who cannot ejaculate is withholding his ejaculation because he feels angry towards his partner. A more up-to-date view is that delayed ejaculation reflects an over-concern with the sexual satisfaction of the female partner, to the exclusion of the man's own pleasure during sexual activity.

Men with delayed ejaculation classically show particular personality characteristics which include high performance anxiety, an inability to satisfy self before partner, and a very goal-directed approach to sexual pleasure where the object of the exercise is to give the female partner an orgasm at all costs.

This has traditionally been called impotence, a term which has fallen into disuse. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the lack of ability to achieve or maintain an erection hard enough for sexual intercourse.

There are many causes of ED: these include atherosclerosis, a condition in which the penile arteries are occluded by cholesterol, nerve damage, injury to the penis, or certain surgical procedures such as radical prostatectomy.

There is an emotional component to erectile dysfunction, but it's often hard to separate from the physical. For example, erection problems can be caused by anxiety but they can also produce anxiety.

This is also more commonly referred to as loss of libido.

The symptoms include a decrease in sexual desire or a loss of interest in sexual activity.

A reduction in a man's libido can be caused by either physical or emotional factors; in general it is caused by psychological problems including anxiety and depression; prescription medications including antidepressants; relationship difficulties; and even low testosterone levels during the male andropause.

Any investigation of sexual dysfunction is most likely to commence with a physical examination to rule out medical problems like diabetes and nerve damage, or high cholesterol levels, which may be contributing to the dysfunction. For those men who may be suffering from a low level of testosterone, a complete hormone profile is also advisable to rule out the role of deficient hormones.

Although many doctors have claimed that low testosterone is not a component of erectile dysfunction, the reality is that the administration of testosterone supplements in combination with Viagra is extremely successful in restoring potency to the majority of men who need treatment for erection problems or other erectile difficulties.

It follows from the above that most cases of sexual dysfunction can be addressed by looking at the underlying problems and psychological causes. This opens up a whole range of treatment options, some of which are as follows:

First, the substitution of new prescription medication for the prescription medication which is causing the problem.

Not all medications have the same impact on sexual function, and therefore if you are for example on one brand of antidepressants it is well worth investigating the possibility of an alternative, so as to restore normal sexual function.

Second, medication in its own right can help to resolve these difficulties.

The most obvious example of this is the administration of Viagra for erectile dysfunction. These drugs have been extremely successful in restoring men to full erectile capacity, and a description of their action is given here.

Third, emotional or psychological therapy

This is best known as psychotherapy or sexual psychotherapy in the context of sexual dysfunction, can be extremely effective if the therapist is competent and the client is open and uninhibited about his sexual issues.

Nonetheless it is probably true to say that most men are very reserved about seeking psychotherapy for sexual issues - this is why the use of some self-help treatment for sexual dysfunction such as those available on the websites recommended by us, can be very useful.

Fourth, in some cases there is a mechanical solution to the problem

For example the use of vacuum device to initiate an erection and constricting ring around the penile shaft to maintain it.

Finally, formation about his sexual condition can be helpful.

An example of this would be the case of premature ejaculation in the young man distressed by his rapid ejaculation during sexual intercourse.

If his expectations have been falsely raised by the cultural proliferation of pornography and false information in magazines, then the information that rapid ejaculation is normal for a young man may be more than enough to put his mind at rest and to cause him less anxiety, thereby restoring his sexual function to normal.