Toxic Family Relationships as a Cause of Psychogenic ED

Erectile dysfunction can be caused by both organic and psychogenic factors. This means that both mental trauma in childhood and current relationship problems can lead to erectile dysfunction.

Relationship of a Man with His Mother in Childhood – an Important Factor of Sexuality

According to Freudian theories, the existence of a connection between sexuality in adulthood and events that took place in early childhood exists, and this has been proved. Recently, modern scientists conducted a survey with the participation of about a thousand respondents. Men were asked questions about relationships with their mothers in childhood, their first romantic relationship, the duration of sex, and any sexual problems they encountered (such as orgasm disorders and erectile dysfunction).

The results were quite interesting. Guys who had negative and unfriendly relationships with their mothers in childhood usually had a serious romantic relationship later than those who had close relationships with their mothers. In addition, men whose mothers were unfriendly in relation to them in childhood, were more likely to suffer from sexual disorders, including premature ejaculation.

In this context, it would be appropriate to mention the Oedipus complex, which is a combination of love and hostility experienced by a child in relation to his parents. It manifests as love for a parent of the same sex and hostility to a parent of the opposite sex. According to Freud, the Oedipus complex manifests most intensively at the age of 3-5 years, i.e., during the phallic stage of development, then it gradually fades and reactivates during the period of child's body maturation into an adult body, existing until the completion of puberty. The ideal scenario is a complete disappearance of the complex, in which there are no conflicting tensions between the basic structural elements of the personality according to Freudian theory (the id, the ego, and the superego). But if the Oedipus complex does not disappear, certain sexual deviations / disorders can occur.

Toxic Relationship with a Partner as a Factor of ED Occurrence

Toxins are poisons, so the term ‘toxic relationship’ accurately reflects their nature. Indeed, toxic relationships poison life: they cause emotional pain and drain internal resources. Such relationships are not only noxious by their nature, they affect self-esteem, yearnings, personality development. If this toxicity is present in sex life, psychologically vulnerable men can develop erectile dysfunction. There are frequent cases when the mockery and bullying from the side of women lead to the development or worsening of psychological erectile dysfunction in men. Such behavior is more common among women from single-parent families (due to widowing or divorcing), to whom many demands were made, and who did not receive due attention. Such circumstances are the root of demanding too much of a partner.

A related article: Erectile Dysfunction and Depression

People with adequate self-esteem and the correct self-perception do not remain in toxic relationships for long. They understand that this state of affairs should not continue. If you understand that your relationships are toxic, if your partner’s desires become higher than your needs and normalization of relationships seems impossible, you should consider breaking them.

Dr. Philip Schein MD

MD Philip Schein is an oncologist and Hematology Specialist primary located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He is over 55 years of experience in the medical field and more than 20 years of practice. He is skilled at the treatment & diagnosis of a large array of ailments & diseases in adults. Board certifications: American Board of Internal Medicine Certification in Internal Medicine / American Board of Hematology Certification in Hematology / American Board of Medical Oncology Certification in Medical Oncology

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