Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction Cures & Explanation
In this article, we’ll be answering the questions “Does Porn Cause Erectile Dysfunction?”
“Is Porn-Induced ED Real?” And “
Over the years there have been many rumors and speculation about why ED is becoming more prominent. ED has been known to affect men for many reasons, including physical and psychological causes such as performance anxiety, depression, or poor physical health. However, have you ever heard about the relationship between erectile dysfunction and watching pornography? No? Well, here’s what the research shows.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) has become much more common in sexually active men under 40, and the assumed reason for this is due to internet pornography. Doctors are becoming more and more worried that porn is causing a rise in numbers of sexually active men. These studies have been showing a correlation between porn and ED.
It can be said that high exposure to internet pornography videos can result in lower responsivity within a male and an increased need for more extreme or kinky material for him to become fully aroused, or simply aroused at all.
While this may not seem a dramatic problem to many, porn-induced EDs are causing some men to no longer become aroused in the presence of a partner. They begin to experience ED and can only become sexually aroused when watching pornography.
Nikki Martinez, PsyD, LCPC, says that due to the increase in smart technology among society, males are becoming more exposed to a wide array of adult material which can make it difficult for a man to become aroused with their partner or to involve themselves in sexual activities as they usually do.
“They have unleashed their true desires and proclivities, and now they struggle to become aroused when this is not involved,” she says. “The other partner feels rejected, and as if they are not attractive, and the first partner is most often too embarrassed to tell them what is really going on.”
If you suspect that you may have an ED, it is very important that you know how everything works inside that brain of yours. If you’re interested to know the details of how ED works then you’ve come to the right place. When a person watches porn, their brain is flooded with dopamine. Too much dopamine can cause problems for your body, ultimately affecting your sexual arousal abilities. The brain becomes overwhelmed by the overload of chemicals, and it automatically takes away some of the dopamine receptors.
Yes, the brain will continue to release the same levels of dopamine in response to the porn you are watching, however, eventually, there will be fewer and fewer receptors to receive these messages. This undoubtedly leads to a man no longer becoming slower to react to any arousal. In their order to obtain the original sensations that they once felt, they then have to look at more porn or search for stronger porn to trigger arousal.
Sexual activities that would normally give someone a small burst of dopamine and make them satisfied are no longer enough. They, therefore, need to be constantly looking at porn to achieve the sensation they desire. This can ultimately lead to ED.
There’s no avoiding it, porn is designed to capture attention. However, in these porn films, the actors often perform certain things that would not typically translate into real life. Therefore, the men watching this type of porn can become conditioned to the type of sexual arousal which does not replicate into the reality of sexual activity. Ultimately, regular sex can no longer meet the person’s expectations, resulting in a decline in dopamine. This can cause some men to no longer be “in the mood” as many would say.
PIED (Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction) can also lead to other health problems that many people do not want. Quite often, many men recognize that there is a problem in their arousal ability but are somehow unable to break the cycle. This is where one knows that they have an addiction to internet pornography. Men can become embarrassed or depressed when they are unable to perform with their partner, and what’s worse, is that this makes porn much more inviting.
Alexis Conason, PsyD, who practices in New York City, has a different view on the problem, however. She says that she doesn’t think porn causes erectile dysfunction. What she does say though, is that it is very important to look at HOW someone views pornography. “For example, compulsive porn viewing, or watching several scenes at once, or quickly switching from one scene to another, create a lot of stimulation not typically experienced in real life sexual encounters. This may create ED issues,” she says.
ED can often be very embarrassing for some men and therefore they do not attempt to find medical treatment to fix the problem. PIED was only recently discovered. Therefore, a medical or mental condition amongst men has been believed to be responsible for their erectile dysfunction. It should also be noted that there are other porn-induced issues that can come about, including:
- Sadly, studies have shown that some men have to go to extreme lengths when engaging in sexual activities with their partners. This includes many men having to use porn to trigger arousal when they are with their partner. Many men have even developed negative feelings toward partnered sex.
- Risky behavior: It should also be noted that; multiple sex partners, more alcohol, drugs, and other risky endeavors are a side effect of men watching porn. For example, when engaging in sexual intercourse with their partners, they will often not worry about using protection as they are aware but simply do not care about the pending consequences of their actions.
Of course, scientists and doctors have looked deeper into the issue. One recent study of 350 sexual people, 26.7% reported that they had significant issues with erectile dysfunction.
Another study which was smaller in scale shows comparable outcomes. A study found that sexual dysfunction was evident in 16.7 percent of individuals who participated in the study. For the most part, this research is limited to a range in which individuals who qualify as sexually compulsive, indicating heavy porn usage.
However, it should also be noted that it appears that lower levels of usage by porn addicts can also potentially create, in some men, erectile dysfunction and other forms of sexual dysfunction.
It is important for people to understand that most of the time, this dysfunction comes about with real-world partners but not with pornography. This ultimately suggests that the problem is emotional/psychological instead of being a physical issue. Therefore, it can be seen that online pornography is affecting many men, even those in their sexual prime, causing an emotional and psychosexual disconnection which is ultimately affecting them physically in the real world with their partners.
This, of course, is awful not only for the men but the romantic partners who love them. After all, it’s no secret that if a guy can’t achieve an erection, maintain that erection or even reach orgasm, then their partner’s sexual pleasure will also be affected in a negative way.
Natalie Finegood Goldberg, LMFT, CST, believes that porn can create unrealistic expectations in the mind of the viewer. Therefore, this is translated into reality when expectations of what sex should look like and what their partner should be able to do are at the standards of professional porn actors and actresses. She says porn can inflict shame on the individual when they potentially realize that they are not performing to the standards of the actors/actresses in these pornography films that they have become accustomed to seeing.
Porn addiction is a serious problem and should not be pushed aside or regarded as “normal”. However, all is not lost, guys! There are treatment options available to help men with this condition. Quite often, those males who use pornography frequently find that if they step away from watching porn for a few a few months, their sexual performance will return to what it used to be.
If we want to get technical about it, when one removes the Pavlovian stimulus (taking porn away), the individual’s neurochemical and physical settings are able to return to baseline functioning – responding as they used to (before the porn). That is the good thing about this type of erectile dysfunction – it is easily treatable. Even for those who have spiraled out of control and become very much addicted to porn. However, for these types of men, the process may take a little longer than usual.
So, what are you to do if you’re in this situation? Well, first of all, if you believe that any of these aspects of porn may be affecting your sexual function in a negative way, Goldberg recommends removing oneself from pornography for approximately 90 days. The reasoning behind this theory is that; removing the eyes from the pornographic material will soften visual cues that can become overdeveloped (become used to) through frequent pornography viewing. Instead, she encourages addicts to explore their sexuality through other bodily senses such as touch and sound during their break of porn.
“This [exploration] can also include arousal through visual cues, but the visual cues must be 3-dimensional,” she says. “Formal partner exercises like sensate focus are very helpful in restoring a person’s connection to a more robust sensuality.”
To achieve regular sexual abilities, Goldberg recommends and encourages masturbating to bodily sensation instead of recalling images from pornography viewed on the internet. The imagination is a powerful tool and can be used as a major advantage for men attempting to cure themselves of PIED.
“I encourage people to dig deep and explore their sexuality by also making an inventory of their turn-ons outside of the porn and visual realm,” she says.
3 Step Process: Natural Cure for Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction
So, here’s what you’re going to want to do. Below are each of the steps in detail that you must follow in order to achieve regular sexual functioning – (the way you performed before watching porn).
Step 1.
You need to stop watching and jerking off to porn. Yes, this is obviously going to quite a struggle. However, if you’re desperate enough to be researching about this type of ED, then you’re going to want to follow our instructions. Your body needs to unlearn everything that you’ve been teaching it for however long it has been, (how long you have been masturbating to porn for). What you’’ want to do is find something else to do with that time you use for masturbation. The underlying lesson here is to break any connection between pornographic images and getting a hard-on.
Now…the first part of this step is obviously going to be extremely hard to do for many people. You need to stop masturbating for a month. Whether you choose to believe it or not, this is an essential step in breaking the connection and resetting your body to it’s original performance structure. However, all is not lost, if you’re having sex with somebody, you can continue to do so. Just make sure you are not masturbating.
Step 2.
After that terribly difficult month without porn and without jerking off has ended, you are allowed to start masturbating again. Yes, we give you permission. However, there are still rules. DO NOT do it every day. An appropriate amount would be leaving 3-4 days in between in masturbation session. The same applies to other aspects of life. If you’re an athlete returning from injury, you need to make sure that you start training again slowly. You do not want to push yourself too hard on the first few times returning to your “me time”. Take it slow, be patient, and the results will show.
And here’s another rule for you. This one we know you’re going to find difficult, but you’re just going to have to trust us. DO NOT begin to watch porn again. It is important that you use your imagination and explore with your whole body – the same way in which your partner might touch you. There’s no need to go to extremes like lighting candles and putting on music, but if you feel comfortable and are willing to experiment with this, then go for it!
The logic behind this method is that with a live partner, you may, or may not, keep your eyes open and you’re undoubtedly going to be touched. By closing your eyes, imagining sex and touching various parts of your body to stimulate arousal, you can help to retrain your body into recognizing arousal through the sense of touch, rather than sight.
You may encounter a few roadblocks as jerking off with this method may be quite a challenge at first. But it is important to know that this is okay. You’re in training obviously you’re not going to pick this up right away. It takes time, this is training remember. It’s important to achieve the basics first before moving on.
Now, this next part may be quite foreign to many people but trust us on this. If all is good after two weeks of masturbating again, it’s time to change your motion. What do we mean by this do you ask? Changing of hands, grip position? No. The build-up to orgasm during sex comes from the motion, right? However, this motion isn’t in the wrist most of the time. It’s all in the hips. Like dancing. Therefore, instead of moving your hand back and forth around your shaft, try using your hips to push your penis into your hand. This creates a similar motion that occurs during sex and we’ll retrain your brain to reach orgasm using this motion.
Another technique you can use after two weeks of successful masturbation is to stop part way through the process. Here’s what you’ll do. Get hard, then begin to count slowly to 10 with your hand off your penis, then continue. If you are able to stay hard, then next time try counting to 15 or even 20. This method is important as you will need to be able to stay hard during sex with your partner when putting a condom on or changing positions.
Step 3.
This is the final step, you might as well do this one as you’ve made it this far! After you have been jerking off for two to three times per week for a month, and you’re still not watching porn, it’s time to change it up a little bit. For example, if you’ve only been masturbating in one position, try something different. Another thing you can do is get hard, stop, grab a condom and put it on, then continue, just like you would in real life with your sex partner. This step should be more like real sex rather than just tugging your little friend in front of a computer screen.
If none of these steps or techniques have worked for you then you need to consider other possibilities such as seeing a doctor about any medical conditions you may have. You may also want to see an individual therapist to work through some issues regarding sexuality.
That was our article on Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction. We hope you learned something new from this article, and if you have any questions regarding the topics talked about in the article, please do not hesitate to contact us! Thanks for reading!
Photo 2: http://www.vueweekly.com/porn-induced-erectile-dysfunction/
Photo 3: http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/europe-almost-banned-all-of-your-wonderful-porn-still-might
Photo 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAhgaohDdco
Photo 6: http://www.bulenttiras.com/en/sexually-transmitted-diseases
Photo 7: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/age-40-recovered-40-year-old-misery-happiness