Most guys with erectile dysfunction have it backwards. They see or are told about increased effects of having lost control of their erection & sexual energy – the impulses & sensations within their body – and mistakenly believe these same effects are causing their weakened erection.

The effects of aren’t linear – they can definitely add to and even speed up what the cause of erectile dysfunction is doing. But mistaking them for the cause is what stops an effective erectile dysfunction treatment from making any difference.

Let’s look at a handful of common examples.

Erectile Dysfunction ‘Cause’ #1: Medical Conditions (like diabetes and hypertension)

Anywhere between 35-50% of guys with diabetes suffer erectile dysfunction. It’s attributed to high blood-sugar levels where something called arteriosclerosis, the thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, can come about. Around 15% of men with high-blood pressure from hypertension suffer erectile dysfunction.

Now, there are diets that help diabetes, for example, as demonstrated in the documentary “Raw for 30 Days” (even though it’s not recognized by mainstream medicine). However, if someone applied that particular diet and their blood-sugar levels dramatically reduced, they would still most probably respond to the sexual impulses in their body in the same way that led to them to indulge in high-sugar foods.

The more common effect of this mistaking tension for ‘strength’ and weak erections follows.

Erectile Dysfunction ‘Cause’ #2: Drugs

Indulgence in drugs that are an effect of ED include pharmaceutical and recreational, and also combining the two. Read that again.

I was pointing out that guys are compelled to take drugs of any kind because they have lost or are in the process of losing control over the sexual impulses in their body, which will make a flailing erection worse. Like, for example, taking Viagra and Ecstasy together.

What about other drugs that apparently relax the body? Marijuana, while it’s natural and relaxes the body, and in the moment it might make you feel more horny where you’re willing to indulge in your senses more than normal, will make your penis limp in the long-term.

It’s just like heroine, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, barbiturates and many others that can feel good in the moment and seem like they increase libido – eventually they will take their toll and train your body to rely on external forces rather than the natural systems within your body.

Erectile Dysfunction ‘Cause’ #3: Smoking & Alcohol

Of course, these are just another form of drug. But they are the most prevalent because they are legal (even though, statistically, they kill more than all other drugs combined!).

Cigarettes harm and hamper circulation and blood supply and contribute to hardening of the arteries, including those in the penis. Aside from the obvious lung cancer, they also increase disorders of the blood vessels.

And like other recreational drugs, alcohol can temporary relax you which may seem to help your erections but, long-term, it depresses your central nervous system and impairs your sexual function – ‘drinkers’ droop’ is a real long-term effect.

It seems that because sometimes there is a seemingly immediate positive effect after consumption, the tendency to try to recreate and increase the resulting feeling causes guys to over-do it and they stuff up their natural libido.

Erectile Dysfunction ‘Cause’ #4: Hormonal Imbalances

While testosterone doesn’t directly dictate libido levels (think of young boys who get erections yet have close to zero testosterone) it does affect dopamine levels which can tend to artificially trigger the erection chain-of-command.

By age 40-50, testosterone levels begin to decline until 70 years old where it’s about 30% of what it was. This seems to correlate with increased instances of erectile dysfunction in older men. Yet, only about 5% of men who seek medical treatment for erectile dysfunction are testosterone deficient.

Again, there is a gap in perception about an ED cause and a consequential effect.

Erectile Dysfunction ‘Cause’ #5: Psychological Factors

Stress, anxiety, guilt, depression, low self-esteem, fear of sexual failure, all represent 10-20% of cases of men with erectile dysfunction. But nobody points out or even asks about the root cause of why these negative mental states come about in the first place and apparently sustain themselves.

They are treated as self-standing.

It’s true that with performance anxiety your brain releases chemicals that constrict the smooth muscle of the penis and its arteries. This decreases blood-flow into the penis and, also, increases blood-flow out of the penis, which equals a reduced erection.

But as stated above, the effects aren’t linear – that is, they can definitely add to and even speed up what the cause of erectile dysfunction started. They are still just effects though.

The question is: Effects of what?

What Is This Cause Of Erectile Dysfunction?

Well, often if there is an existing physical problem then mental tension, in whatever form, will make it worse (and vice versa), which brings up the crux of the conflicting information on erectile dysfunction.

You don’t have lack of control over your penis and sexual libido because of some other problem… you have some other problem (or two) because you’ve gradually lost control of your penis and libido. After all, sexual energy is the most powerful and potent force available to man.

The effect of having lost control over your sexual energy spreads and materializes to other areas of your life, like the 5 points listed above (although we could name many more). But the root problem or cause of erectile dysfunction is how you physically and mentally relate to impulses within your body, or more specifically, the lack of impulses.

The extreme case of this is a public figure who holds a powerful position, who is more than wealthy enough, and who has a lovely wife & kids. Then one day a ‘scandal’ breaks out that he was fooling around with his personal-aid. And he loses everything he had.

He was compelled to react to his impulses despite the obvious risks of being ‘caught’ because, like guys who suffer erectile dysfunction, the public figure had lost control over his sexual energy. Now, he might patch things up with his family. He might recover politically and bounce back financially.

However, unless he becomes conscious of the connection he has with the sexual impulses & sensations in his body, he’s in exactly the same boat as a man with erectile dysfunction – he is dealing with effects and his negative sexual history will only get worse.

In Conclusion

I’m not saying one should ignore the effects of things like smoking cigarettes, over-consumption of alcohol, diabetes, others listed above and more because the nature of a weakened erection is cyclical – effects help to feed into the cause, just like mental and physical factors, which is where confusion comes in.