A few months ago, I was interviewed by Yahoo News for an article on Erectile Dysfunction in young men. It was interesting to talk to a young female reporter who knew absolutely nothing about the subject. She sent me a long list of questions and we had several long discussions on the phone. I thought that this was a great chance to really educate the public about a very taboo subject among young men.
Well, as usually happens, my hours of eloquent and illuminating discourse on ED in young men was reduced to two sentences that really were of very little consequence! So much for my scintillating discourse!
The article overall did a pretty good job at bringing this topic to light, however. The reporter interviewed some excellent doctors who had some great input on sexual difficulties ranging from too much cold medicine to bike riding to drugs and alcohol use to stress. My contribution was summed up with the idea that erections are incredibly complex and we should be amazed that they actually work instead of being surprised when they don’t.
The single-most culprit of erectile difficulties I see in young men is stress. Men are under ridiculous amounts of stress when it comes to having sex. The ubiquitous consumption of porn has so badly skewed reality that young men especially have no clue what sex really is. Since men have never been allowed to have authentic discussions about sex or sexuality, there is no peer influence to disabuse them of their porn-formed beliefs. Consequently, young men are trying to recreate porn images, scenes, and behaviors which they think are requirements for good sex.
Not a week goes by where I don’t have to remind men that sex is just a form of play. It’s not a job, a proving-ground, a talent contest, or a competitive sport. When a couple can relax and just play, stress disappears and stress-induced ED is no longer a problem. Yeah, keep exercising, don’t overdo drugs or alcohol, and watch out for those bicycle seats, but mostly, just keep playing.
