The Psyche Is to Blame for the Impotence of the Young

5.09.2011 | By: Alex F.

In 99% of the young, impotence is a consequence of psychological factors. How can one tackle the psychological root of the problems with erection?

It’s far from truth that erectile problems are only based on the problems with genitals. Psychological factors usually cause the impotence of the young. (PhotoXpress)

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The incidence of impotence increases with age

Men are aware that the incidence of organic causes of impotence increases with age. Thus, only 2.5% of all impotence disorders that have an organic origin occur between the ages of 30 and 35, a fifth of such disorders occur at the age of 60, and already 75% of them occur at the age of 80. Innate deformations of sexual organs, certain neurological and endocrine damage and disorders, diseases, and the effect of various drugs are considered to be organic causes.

How do you determine impotence?

Unfortunately, there are no effective methods to identify organic causes of impotence. The most effective method is to measure the thickness of the penis during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, or to use EMG (electromyography) and the micro EMG of pelvis floor muscles. A very simple, though not completely reliable, differential diagnosis can be made on the basis of spontaneous night and morning erections: men who suffer from the psychogenic impotence, as a rule, have such erections, while men with organic impotence don’t have them. In older men in particular, a differential diagnosis is very difficult to make, which makes it unreliable. An additional differential-diagnostic aid is to determine erection in masturbation.

What causes impotence of the young?

The cause of impotence can often be attributable to psychological and organic conditions at the same time. In most cases, the problems due to organic causes are associated with the man’s insecurity, which remains long after the basic organic cause disappears.

There are a number of psychological factors that cause impotence. According to psychoanalysis, impotence is always a consequence of a neurotic disorder in a man. Thus, in psychoanalysts’ opinion, the causes result from subconscious problems, conflicts, viewpoints and fantasies that have their roots in the past of a man, particularly in experiences gained in early childhood. Mention should be made of acquired fear of women and the female genitals, fear for his genitals, unhealthy mixing of a sexual partner with his mother and similar.

Psychological causes of impotence of the young

In addition to the psychoanalytical explanation of the psychogenic erectile dysfunction, the explanation based on the theory of learning is mostly used today. According to its supporters, the causes of impotence can be described in terms of a relatively simple scheme: impotence, as they explain, occurs because of one or several events:

- On the one hand, because of the link between masturbation and other sexual manifestations, and on the other, because of the feeling of guilt; in that case, impotence is a consequence of some sort of “negative learning” or “learning of avoidance”;

- Because of fear of a sexual nature that occurred in a situation together with sexual intercourse (fear of pregnancy, fear of being caught, all traumatic events that happened during sexual intercourse, particularly in the first attempts of having sex);

- Because of anxiety of a non-sexual nature, which is directly linked to sexuality (personal insecurity, fear of failing and similar).

Authors of the theory of learning think that sexual behavior is, similar to other types of behavior, a consequence of complex experiences. They make a connection between sexual disorders and anxiety in particular. Namely, they found that anxiety directly hinders sexual behavior (a decrease in libido, erection problems, premature ejaculation and impossible control over ejaculation); greater the anxiety, more hindered the sexual behaviour.

In addition to these causes of anxiety, fear and anxiety as a consequence of the acquired systems of values also have to be taken into consideration (for example, what’s normal and what isn’t normal, what’s descent and what’s indecent, etc.), as well as social and cultural norms in general. Erić states that all sexual disorders are a result of:

- fear of failing,

- excessive interest in erection and the feeling of guilt if the partner is dissatisfied,

- lack of knowledge and skills in sex,

- the partner’s inability to make sex more interesting,

- a weak emotional bond between the sexual partners.

It’s often difficult, or even impossible, to explain what the primary causes of the psychogenic impotence are. As the phenomenon of impotence is very common among men, everyone responds to it in a different way. We also have to bear in mind that there are more familiar causes, such as unhealthy lifestyle, excessive professional activity, poor physical health, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption as well as homosexual tendencies. Non-psychogenic disorders are treated with drugs.