MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

The Lowdown On Getting Erectile Dysfunction

The Lowdown On Getting Erectile Dysfunction

Study Finds Link Between Footy Players Who Cop Head Knocks And Erectile Dysfunction

Study Finds Link Between Footy Players Who Cop Head Knocks And Erectile Dysfunction

Four Surprising Things That Can Cause Trouble in the Bedroom

Four Surprising Things That Can Cause Trouble in the Bedroom

The Popular Pastime That Could Help Deal With Erectile Dysfunction

The Popular Pastime That Could Help Deal With Erectile Dysfunction

{headline}

{headline}

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction? It's Not Entirely Your Fault

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction? It's Not Entirely Your Fault

FYI: Masturbating Wrong Can Lead To Sexual Dysfunction

FYI: Masturbating Wrong Can Lead To Sexual Dysfunction

PSA: Poor Oral Hygiene Can Lead To Erectile Dysfunction & Infertility

PSA: Poor Oral Hygiene Can Lead To Erectile Dysfunction & Infertility

{headline}

{headline}

Can Too Much Masturbating Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

Can Too Much Masturbating Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

6 Natural Viagra Alternatives To Help You Rise To The Occassion

6 Natural Viagra Alternatives To Help You Rise To The Occassion

5 Things You Need to Know About Whiskey Dick, the Greatest Curse Known to Mankind

5 Things You Need to Know About Whiskey Dick, the Greatest Curse Known to Mankind

Man Injects Stem Cells Directly Into His Penis To Make It Bigger

Man Injects Stem Cells Directly Into His Penis To Make It Bigger

The Invisible Health Condition Behind Everything From Heart Disease To Erectile Dysfunction

The Invisible Health Condition Behind Everything From Heart Disease To Erectile Dysfunction

How to Diagnose Your Erectile Dysfunction Without Setting Foot In a Doctor's Office

How to Diagnose Your Erectile Dysfunction Without Setting Foot In a Doctor's Office

Can Watching Too Much Porn Give You Erectile Dysfunction?

Can Watching Too Much Porn Give You Erectile Dysfunction?

  1. Home
  2. Sex

What's Happening Upstairs Can Affect Your Downstairs

The link between your mental health and your penis power - by Kieran Kennedy
  • 01 May 2020

Trouble stepping up to the plate and getting hard is something most guys have been through at one point or another. And regardless of what we might call it in everyday life (and whether whiskey’s actually involved here or not) troubles with erections are more common, even for young guys, than you might think.

What's Happening Upstairs Can Affect Your Downstairs

What is ‘ED’?

Erectile Dysfunction (commonly called ‘ED’) is just one of a larger group of conditions affecting sexual function in men. Getting and keeping an erection is a key component to sexual function (as if you needed reminding), and ED is defined as the inability to either get or maintain one hard enough for sexual activity.  Separate from other conditions like premature or delayed/absent ejaculation, ED deals specifically with whether the penis can get hard in the first place, and if so how hard and for how long.

How Common is It?

Trouble getting/staying hard every now and then is actually relatively common (i.e. that big night out, lack of sleep or significant stress) but a diagnosis of ED comes when difficulty starts to routinely impact things. 

While surveys differ slightly from region to region, roughly 10% of men under 40 suffer some form of ED but that can jump up to 25% or even more when we include occasional troubles. As we grow older getting an erection becomes (ironically) harder. Up to 50% of 50 year olds and 70% of 70 year olds for example have at least mild forms of ED. It’s common, and if you’re moving through it you’re definitely not alone.

What Causes it?  

ED can have a number of causes and while (when it’s doing what it’s meant to) hardening up might seem like flipping a switch, the physiology behind your average erection is actually pretty complex. A mixture of hormones, nerves, musculature, heart health and blood vessels combo up behind your everyday hard on.  

A hit to any part of this delicate system can wreck havoc on erections, and some common causes include:

  • Uncontrolled Diabetes
  • Heart Disease
  • Hormone Imbalances
  • Neurological Disorders
  • Injuries/surgery
  • Certain medications
  • Alcohol & Drug Use
  • Anxiety and Depression

What’s the link between erections & mental health?

Particularly for younger men, the mental health side of things can be a significant contributor to ED. And in the absence of cardiovascular, neurological or other causes your mind is the leading cause for troubles down below.  

Getting hard is more than just physical, and it’s difficult for the brain to coordinate the necessary steps that allow for a normal erection to happen when mental health struggles are in play. Anxiety, depression, significant stress and tiredness/fatigue can all offer hits to the system. Longer term, our mental health’s impact on hormones and heart health can also play a role.

Performance Anxiety?

‘Performance Anxiety’ is the common term used to describe the impact that anxiety in particular can have on a lad’s ability to get or keep an erection. And while we don’t exactly talk about it over beers, this one’s relatively common and something many men move through.   

Concerns around appearance or sexual performance, or anxiety provoking memories of past experiences that didn’t go so well, drive anxiety before and during sex that block the brains ability to signal it’s go time. Diving deeper still, relationship troubles, incompatibilities in the bedroom or other factors affecting our mind’s ability to get in the mood can also drive things.

The tricky part comes when anxiety, worries and overthinking build up and get worse each time it happens. When it gets to this point a lot of guys find themselves in a vicious cycle or snowball that’s hard to get out of on your own - anxiety around stepping up to the plate means it doesn’t happen, and that only makes the anxiety (and the difficulty getting hard) worse the next time round.

What do we do about it?

Number one with ED is getting things checked out with your doctor - but I get that this is easier said that done. Anxiety and shame around talking about sexual health struggles block a lot of men from seeking help, but the first step in getting things back on track is figuring out the cause.

It’s important to rule out physical causes for ED, and so a check up, set of blood tests and other investigations might be needed. From here it’s working with your doctor to treat any reversible physical causes, and discussing potential treatments. Medications (like that little blue pill), equipment to assist things and even surgical options are now available but it’s important these are tailored to you and the cause.  

When mental health is felt to be behind things there’s no reason this needs to be shied away from either. Treating depression, drug/alcohol issues and anxiety properly can help get things down below back up and firing, so it’s important these are diagnosed and treated. 

And for Performance Anxiety? 

When it comes to performance anxiety specifically, working through this with a mental health professional has high success rates. When relationship strains or more complex psychological issues are behind things, this is often even more the case and the more severe it is or the longer it’s been going on for the more we might need the extra help. Combining mental strategies with short term use of a medication to tackle ED can offer further benefits, but it’s key that if the cause is anxiety related that this gets addressed.

Tackling performance anxiety in particular means cutting that vicious cycle. Step number one is always acknowledging what’s happening. From there things that can help are talking to your partner openly about it, getting individual or couples support if needed and retraining the brain to relax when it comes to sex.

Practising a simple breathing or relaxation technique daily and (especially) before and even during sex can help, as it’s key that body/brain can relax enough for things to happen. Ramp up your mental health basics by reducing alcohol and drug use, and focus on getting enough sleep and some regular exercise.

Taking steps to slow down and stick to things that bring less anxiety in the bedroom (like foreplay or non-penetrative sex) as a way of ‘building up’ to sex itself can be another technique. Step by step, the anxiety around things and performing itself can gradually reduce.

  • Sex
  • Mental Health
  • Erectile Dysfunction
Kieran Kennedy
Kieran Kennedy
As a medical doctor and psychiatry resident, with degrees in psychology, physiology and medicine / surgery, Dr. Kieran Kennedy sees, first hand, the absolute importance in advocating for mental health. He is also writer & speaker, natural bodybuilder and fitness model.

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

The Lowdown On Getting Erectile Dysfunction

The Lowdown On Getting Erectile Dysfunction

Study Finds Link Between Footy Players Who Cop Head Knocks And Erectile Dysfunction

Study Finds Link Between Footy Players Who Cop Head Knocks And Erectile Dysfunction

Four Surprising Things That Can Cause Trouble in the Bedroom

Four Surprising Things That Can Cause Trouble in the Bedroom

The Popular Pastime That Could Help Deal With Erectile Dysfunction

The Popular Pastime That Could Help Deal With Erectile Dysfunction

{headline}

{headline}

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction? It's Not Entirely Your Fault

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction? It's Not Entirely Your Fault

FYI: Masturbating Wrong Can Lead To Sexual Dysfunction

FYI: Masturbating Wrong Can Lead To Sexual Dysfunction

PSA: Poor Oral Hygiene Can Lead To Erectile Dysfunction & Infertility

PSA: Poor Oral Hygiene Can Lead To Erectile Dysfunction & Infertility

{headline}

{headline}

Can Too Much Masturbating Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

Can Too Much Masturbating Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

6 Natural Viagra Alternatives To Help You Rise To The Occassion

6 Natural Viagra Alternatives To Help You Rise To The Occassion

5 Things You Need to Know About Whiskey Dick, the Greatest Curse Known to Mankind

5 Things You Need to Know About Whiskey Dick, the Greatest Curse Known to Mankind

Man Injects Stem Cells Directly Into His Penis To Make It Bigger

Man Injects Stem Cells Directly Into His Penis To Make It Bigger

The Invisible Health Condition Behind Everything From Heart Disease To Erectile Dysfunction

The Invisible Health Condition Behind Everything From Heart Disease To Erectile Dysfunction

How to Diagnose Your Erectile Dysfunction Without Setting Foot In a Doctor's Office

How to Diagnose Your Erectile Dysfunction Without Setting Foot In a Doctor's Office

Can Watching Too Much Porn Give You Erectile Dysfunction?

Can Watching Too Much Porn Give You Erectile Dysfunction?

MensHealth
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe to Digital
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe to Digital
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Women's Health

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Men's Health

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now