Your mental health can make the difference between robust erections and erectile dysfunction. Mental health has a lot to do with the erection process and can contribute to erection problems.
Mental health can be a very daunting and intimidating term. Many people incorrectly assume they don’t have mental health issues. This confusion is often caused by not understanding the difference between mental health and mental illness. They are not the same thing.
A mental illness diagnosis requires specific criteria to be met. Common diagnoses include major depression, various forms of anxiety (including penis size anxiety), bipolar, and schizophrenia.
Mental illness does not apply to everyone. You may have a mental illness or a family member with a mental illness. Mental health impacts everyone and is not a mental illness diagnosis. It is more about how you feel and how you manage day-to-day life. This includes:
stress
stress management
self-care
general mood
The Mental Health Spectrum
All people experience these things and are therefore on the mental health spectrum. Good mental health is important for achieving strong erections. Your erections will improve when your mind is less occupied and stressed. The better you feel about yourself, the better your erections will be.
It’s possible to have a mental illness and still have good mental health. It’s also possible to have no mental illness and have very poor mental health.
Somebody with severe depression or anxiety can have great mental health. It’s also true that people without depression and anxiety may experience severe stress and as a result they do not manage daily living very well.
These are normal life experiences. It is part of being human. Sometimes it is more subtle and other times it is more obvious.
Erections Need a Trigger
Erections need a starting point. They need a trigger, something that can get you aroused. Erections will not happen without that. If your mental health is unbalanced, it is difficult to feel the desire and arousal needed for an erection.
It is difficult to be open to things that could excite, or potentially be of interest to you sexually, with poor mental health.
It is a different story if your mental health is in great shape. If you have developed the skills and the tools to be able to manage negative feelings and stress, you will be more receptive to desire, arousal and sexual opportunities that help facilitate better erections.
Not all men respond to stress with a lower libido and erection problems and not all erection problems indicate mental health concerns. This is only a part of what can contribute to erection problems.
Some men respond to stress with increased libido and more robust erections. They may use desire, arousal, and an erection to manage (or avoid) the feelings of stress. This is not a linear, simple equation. Any factors including mental health should not be taken as a simple cause and effect model.
If you have crushing feelings of stress, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, or ruminating thoughts, along with your ED, there is a good chance mental health issues are related to your erection problems. These feelings may also prevent you from reaching solutions to help you achieve your goal of gaining and maintaining an erection.
Addressing mental health factors is a great start to improving erections. Having the skills to be balanced in your mental health is a good way to help yourself. You may be able to better define and understand what is distressing you, or holding you back, through working with a mental health professional.
You may be incredibly surprised with just how powerful addressing some of those mental components can be.
Erection IQ founder Mark Goldberg helps men resolve erectile dysfunction. He offers individual, one-on-one services to men throughout the world through a secure, telehealth platform. It’s 100% confidential. You can visit his website — The Center for Intimacy, Connection and Change — to schedule a free consult.
