ABOUT IMPOTENCE

Thursday, April 23, 2009 7:04

Posted in category Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction

What is it?

A condition in which a man is persistently or recurrently unable to obtain or maintain an erection of sufficient rigidity to have intercourse. It can have a partly physical basis or can be a form of unconscious sex avoidance.

What causes it?

Most impotent men believe that there is a physical cause for their impotence but this is probably not so, and psychosexual therapy can often do much to cure them. However, there is little doubt that zinc deficiency, for example, is much more common than is realized and this provably contributes to the problem. There are scores of causes for impotence-here are just a few of them.

• Any painful condition of the penis, such as a tight foreskin.

• Diabetes is a common cause-about half of all middle-aged insulin-dependent diabetics have sexual problems, the most troublesome of which is impotence.

• Any arterial disease that produces a reduced blood supply to the penis is a well-recognized cause.

• Certain diseases of the nervous system such as multiple sclerosis and paralysis.

• Certain operations, including prostatectomy and pelvic surgery for cancer.

• Certain hormone deficiencies.

• Psychological illnesses such as depression.

• Alcohol.

• Zinc deficiency.

• Smoking.

• Drug abuse.

• Medical drugs, especially those for high blood pressure, and anti-depressants.

• Various psychological reasons, including: the man unconsciously thinking of his partner as his mother; guilt about sex; such a degree of anxiety that he is unable to relax and let an erection occur; a fear of women and their ‘purity’; a fear of VD or unwanted pregnancy (this is especially common in extramarital impotence); misperceptions of women’s sexuality generally; and many more.

• Earlier failures-leading to the belief that he will always fail.

• Old age. As men age they tend to become less potent. Few men in their nineties are potent.

• Any of the reasons that cause a loss of sex drive.

• Doubts about the relationship with the partner.

• Hostility towards the woman (often not recognized consciously).

• Fear of being detected (in the parental home or in a public place, for example).

• Tiredness, either mental or physical.

• Latent homosexuality-the man would unconsciously rather be with another man and not his partner.

• Fear of hurting his partner, especially after a baby or an operation on the woman.

• An over-demanding woman.

• Stress-from, for example, work, money, home, business problems, or worries about children and parents.

Clearly these causes are many and complex and will often need to be sorted out with the help of a professional who is expert in the area.