Sexual performance anxiety affects between nine and 25% of men. It’s a real issue, but one that often gets swept under the carpet as it can be pretty embarrassing to address.
However, there’s no shame in getting sexual performance anxiety treatment — it can help you make the most of intimacy with your partner and improve your overall sexual health.
What exactly does the treatment entail? It’s a question that you may have before seeking it out, so we’re here to explain what it includes. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about what sexual performance anxiety treatment includes.
Identify and Address Triggers
It’s important that you reduce triggers.
What’s causing your anxiety? You may already know or be unsure, but when you know what your triggers are, or what could be triggering, do your best to avoid them.
At the same time, try to be open and honest with your partner about how you feel, as this can lessen triggers too.
Using Therapy
Often, one treatment that will be offered to you is therapy. This may be with a sex therapist, or with a more general mental health counselor.
During sessions, you might work on communication techniques, ways to reduce anxiety, and exploring barriers too. Here, you’ll focus on the psychological side of treatment rather than the physical — we’ll go into this in the next section.
What About Medication?
When you think about sexual performance anxiety treatment, medication might be what springs to mind first. ED treatment can be a great option and is often recommended to help you out.
PDE5 inhibitors include Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, and they improve your sexual response. Most people take pills, but there are also injections and urethral suppositories too.
Meanwhile, erectile dysfunction that’s triggered by anxiety can sometimes be treated with medication too. Hence, medication to address anxiety is an option.
However, some medications used to treat mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can actually make the problem worse. Be sure to take that into account when weighing up options too.
Current Guidelines
Guidelines from the American Urological Association suggest that an individual’s approach should include a variety of treatments, both mental and physical.
Hence, someone’s treatment can include ED medication but also counseling and lifestyle changes. If there’s an underlying medical issue aside from anxiety, this can be addressed too. A combination of treatments like this has a better chance of tackling the condition head-on.
Choosing Sexual Performance Anxiety Treatment
Different sexual performance anxiety treatments will be more effective for different people. There’s no straightforward answer if you’re wondering what route to go down.
Medications like Viagra are effective in improving your sexual response. However, they won’t help in getting to the real root of the problem when your erectile dysfunction stems from anxiety.
In contrast, mental health-focused will go further in addressing the root causes, but won’t give you a quick fix. In this context, the AUA’s guidelines seem sensible. Different treatments will work for different people, and combining treatments makes sense too.
If you’re looking for more health advice, make sure to check out some of our other posts.
