Kinds Of Erectile Dysfunction And Causes

Most do at some point of time or another, experience erectile dysfunction which is basically the inability to achieve an erection and that may be nothing to worry about as an occasional occurrence.

However, when this happens more than half the times when engaging in sexual activity, then this becomes an issue that needs addressing.

Erectile Dysfunction is caused by a reduction of blood that flows into the male organ causing an erection.

This could be due to a narrowing or hardening of the arteries, due to high levels of blood sugar, smoking, substance abuse, and also a variety of psychological issues that could range from stress to guilt and depression.

Medical Causes for Erectile Dysfunction: There may be medical reasons that constrict the flow of blood to the penis and thereby cause ED:

  • Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) or high blood pressure are common causes and ED may actually be a warning sign of this.
  • It isn’t just cardiovascular disease but also medications prescribed for these conditions that could be responsible.
  • Low testosterone hormone levels may be another cause. Though sometimes it could be a simple decline in hormone levels due to age, in other cases, testosterone replacement therapy may be indicated.
  • Being overweight is another cause for ED
  • Diabetes is one of the chief factors also responsible for ED.
  • Drug and alcohol abuse is also a factor causing ED

Emotional / Psychological Reasons: ED is caused by psychological issues about 10 to 20% of the time; as they say, all erections start in the brain.

There could be long standing issues relating to sexual trauma or childhood abuse that causes ED, but more often, the common reasons are:

  • Depression can affect any area of a man’s life, including the sexual sphere
  • Stress and anxiety relating to finances, employment issues etc could intrude or it could be a vicious cycle of performance that some men may get into which causes the problem to reoccur. Guilt at not being a satisfactory partner may be part of it.
  • Low self esteem issues could be a big contributing factor
  • Relationship issues could be causing ED. There could be a stage of indifference that one reaches or there may be other problems that require therapy and need to be worked through.

Whatever be the cause, it needs to be identified correctly in order to reverse ED.