Stress and ED

Stress not only affects you emotionally, but can also cause directly related medical problems. These physical effects occur because stress is part of our instinct to escape danger. Faced with pressure, challenge or danger, our bodies release hormones such as adrenaline, which increase heart rate and blood pressure, restricting blood flow to non-essential areas of the body and reducing stomach activity. Stress also triggers the release of cortisol, another hormone which releases sugar and fat into your system to give you energy.

Symptoms of stress include:

• Panicky feelings, anxiety for no apparent reason, and an inability to cope
• Heart palpitations, dizziness, blurred vision and fatigue (tiredness)
• Frequent heartburn, diarrhoea, stomach cramps and loss of appetite
• Headaches, muddled thinking, negative thoughts and angry outbursts
• Disturbed sleep patterns, and feeling agitated or hostile
• Loss of sex drive

How can stress affect your erections?

Stress can stop you having an erection or make it disappear too soon. This has a knock on effect. If you have trouble having sex one day, next time you may worry that you’ll fail again. This performance anxiety is in itself a form of stress which only adds to the general levels of stress you are suffering.

So how can you cope with stress?

Because stress triggers a physical response from your body, the first thing to consider is exercise to burn off all that adrenaline. If you can’t exercise, take a short break to relax when possible. Try to reduce tension in your body by breathing deeply and stretching. Or if you find yourself worrying throughout the day, take a minute to breathe and concentrate on something in the present, such as the scenery around you.