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Psychological causes
Psychological factors account for roughly 10 to 20 percent of all erectile dysfunction cases, and even these can sometimes arise as a secondary reaction to an underlying physical cause. In some cases, the psychological cause of erectile dysfunction may stem from childhood abuse or sexual trauma.
One common psychological cause of erectile dysfunction is stress resulting from one's job, money problems, or relationship issues. Performance anxiety, or fear of sexual failure, frequently occurs once a man first experiences ED and can lead to future problems achieving erections. Likewise, a man may feel guilt that he is not satisfying his partner or low self-esteem because of prior experiences with erectile dysfunction that may inhibit sexual performance.
Depression, a condition that affects people physically and psychologically, can cause erectile dysfunction--as can a number of medications that treat it.
It's important to remember that all men will experience erectile dysfunction at one time or another. You should seek medical advice and treatment if your ED becomes persistent (occurs more than 50 percent of the time). Men whose erectile dysfunction is caused by psychological problems may need therapy.
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