Questions and Answers

Your Brain and Premature Ejaculation – Is There a Connection?

Mind body

When men seek help for premature ejaculation, doctors first focus on his physical health. Risk factors such as extra weight or a sedentary lifestyle are often highlighted as being the prime triggers for this and other performance conditions. Mental issues such as stress and anxiety are also addressed, but they typically aren’t given the focus they should be. Today, many experts believe the connection between brain and body may play a larger role than previously believed.

Mind and Body – The Connection is Real

The connection between mental and physical health is nothing new but today experts do agree that it hasn’t traditionally been given as much weight as it should have. In fact, today many clinicians are focusing more on the mental and emotional triggers to premature ejaculation as opposed to focusing solely on physical factors.

Most men who have sought help for sexual performance issues have been told to focus first on their overall physical health. The thinking behind this approach is simple – ensure everything else is working as it should and that can reveal problems which may be contributing to issues in bed.

While this approach is based on sound science, it doesn’t account for factors which simply can’t be measured with traditional tests. Stress, anxiety, depression, manic episodes and even a state of over stimulation can all have an adverse effect on a man’s health and performance, even when he is otherwise perfectly healthy.

Treatments today tend to focus first on what’s happening in a man’s life – how he’s doing at work, the state of his relationship with his partner and even how well he gets along with family and friends. If he’s been dealing with a difficult or life altering experience (from getting a divorce to moving to a new home) these issues are dealt with first, before much attention is given to anything else. That’s because more and more often, issues like early ejaculation and even erectile dysfunction are rooted in the brain.

But That Doesn’t Mean Physical Health is Unimportant

This doesn’t mean that physical issues should be ignored when diagnosing and treating premature ejaculation. What it means is that greater care and attention must be given to ALL potential triggers as opposed to focusing solely on specific issues. Essentially it’s the advancement of a more comprehensive and whole body approach to sexual health. This has been the case in other chronic conditions, including research that shows ties between mental health and the success rate of treatments such as chemotherapy.

By taking this comprehensive and multi-pronged approach, doctors are better able to develop a treatment plan that deals with every aspect of their patient’s health as opposed to attempting to compartmentalise things. It can also open up new avenues of treatment, including the introduction of anti-depressants which can not only treat a depressive disorder, but which also have the side effect of delaying ejaculation – the perfect combination for man dealing with both depression and premature ejaculation.

Just because a man is having problems with sexual performance, that doesn’t mean the root cause is a physical issue. In many cases, the issue lies in his brain where problems with work, relationships and other stressors can easily manifest as physical ailments. These triggers were often overlooked by both patients and their doctors for many years but, today, more and more attention is being given to them as men learn more about the condition. As a result, doctors and patients are better able to work together to understand each man’s unique issues and develop a treatment plan that encompasses not only a man’s physical symptoms but the mental and emotional components which often need to be resolved in order to make a treatment truly effective.