Everybody falls victim to feelings of anxiousness every now and then, especially if you’re dealing with overdue bills, financial problems, deadlines at the office, family issues, and relationship concerns. But for many, anxiety is not just a temporary state of mind. It’s a debilitating condition.
Sexual performance anxiety, in particular, can make sex something to avoid and be afraid of, which means it can destroy your sex life. Learn more about the effects of anxiety on your sex life, and how you can overcome it.
Loss of Confidence
One thing that suffers when you’re dealing with anxiety is your confidence. If you’re feeling anxious about your sexual performance, it can make meeting someone new a daunting challenge.
Even generalized anxiety disorder, a condition wherein almost everything can make you feel worried, tense, and nervous, can have a huge negative impact on your confidence. And when you’re not feeling confident about yourself, you’re less likely to feel and come across as sexy, thus also impacting how you relate with others on an intimate level.
Loss of Libido
Your self-confidence isn’t the only thing that you lose when you suffer from anxiety. When you’re always worried about whatever it is that’s making you anxious, it can greatly impact your interest in sex, causing you to lose your libido.
What’s even more frustrating is that certain antidepressants that are also commonly used to treat anxiety disorders can further reduce your sex drive. This usually happens when you’re taking SNRIs and SSRIs, the most common classes of medicines that are used for depression and anxiety.
This doesn’t mean, though, that you shouldn’t take those medicines or that you’ll lose your sex drive completely if you’re on antidepressants. Of course, the effects of the medications are different for everyone, and your libido may not be affected as much as what other people suffer.
This simply means that if you’re overwhelmed with anxious feelings, there may be no more room for sexy thoughts in your brain. And that can be frustrating not only for you but also for your partner.
Aside from all the anxious thoughts that fill your mind, anxiety can also make you worry and panic, which also have physical effects on your body. You start producing more adrenaline, which makes you feel tensed and on edge.
This means you probably won’t feel any sexual enjoyment since you can’t fully relax, and because such tension can prevent you from enjoying sexual sensations. It can even hinder you from reaching an orgasm or having a fully satisfying orgasmic experience. In fact, anxiety is also considered one of the causes of delayed or inhibited ejaculation.
Male Sexual Performance Anxiety
Sex is supposed to be a positive and enjoyable experience. But if you’re worried about how well or how poor you think you’ll perform in bed, that can railroad any feelings of enjoyment you may be experiencing during sex, if you can actually get yourself to engage in sex at all.
Sexual performance anxiety can actually make you lose both your drive for sex as well as your ability to achieve erections, which means you may not even be able to successfully engage in sex when you’re too anxious about your sexual performance.
In most cases, it’s the fear of not being able to satisfactorily perform in between the sheets that’s causing sexual performance anxiety. This isn’t just a case of the idea that you won’t be able to make your partner orgasm fleeting through your mind. It’s actually a persistent and pervasive worry about your perceived lackluster sexual performance.
The more worried you are about how well you’ll do in bed, the more severe your sexual performance anxiety will become. And the effects will be more severe, as well, such that it can make you want to avoid having sex altogether or hinder you from getting hard when you’re about to have sex with your partner.
A lot of men who suffer from sexual performance anxiety have a poor body image, meaning they’re not entirely happy about how their body looks. In many cases, they’re also unhappy about their penis size, as well as their weight.
Relationship problems, concerns over taking too much time before climaxing, worries about not being able to make their partner orgasm, concerns about ejaculating prematurely or before their partner climaxes, and worries about not enjoying the sexual experience also contribute to sexual performance anxiety.
The problem is that when you’re too stressed over these concerns, your body will start producing cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, which are hormones that affect your sexual desire and function.
In addition, your blood vessels will start to narrow, which means you’ll have problems getting blood to flow into the erectile tissues in your penis. This can then result in difficulties in achieving or maintaining penile tumescence. In short, sexual performance anxiety can lead to erectile dysfunction.
Dealing with Anxiety-Induced Erectile Dysfunction
One way to reduce anxiety symptoms is by taking supplements that contain Tongkat Ali, Ashwagandha, and maca. Not only are these three scientifically recognized to have adaptogenic or stress-lowering and anxiety-reducing effects, but they’re also known to have positive effects on male sexual performance.
Ashwagandha and Tongkat Ali, for instance, have testosterone-boosting properties, which means that they can help revive your sex drive. Plus, both Tongkat Ali and Ashwagandha are also potent aphrodisiacs and erection boosters.
In addition, maca, Ashwagandha, and Tongkat Ali are also great energy boosters, which is why they’re often used in energy drinks, as well as energy-boosting supplements. On top of that, these three impressive herbs are also known to improve male fertility. They can increase your sperm count and semen volume, as well as improve your sperm quality.
Of course, the best thing about Tongkat Ali, maca, and Ashwagandha is that by boosting your sexual performance and reducing your anxiety symptoms, they can alleviate your sexual performance anxiety. Just knowing that these three amazing herbs can improve your bedroom performance can very well boost your confidence already.
