Can erectile dysfunction result from depression? Here is all the information you require.
Despite the stigma associated with mental illness, depression is a highly widespread condition. In the United States, an estimated 21 million persons went through a depressive episode in 2020.
Numerous elements of your life might suffer from depression, from making it difficult for you to perform simple tasks to lowering your quality of life as a whole. So, if you’re having both erectile dysfunction and depression, you might wonder: Can depression induce erectile dysfunction?
Below, we’ll examine the relationship between depression and erectile dysfunction, as well as how to treat each ailment.
An Introduction to Depression
Can erectile dysfunction result from depression? It’s helpful to have some background knowledge on depression in order to respond to this question.
A prevalent mental health condition is major depression, commonly referred to as clinical depression or just sadness. Other mental illnesses like anxiety or physical ailments like cancer, chronic pain, or heart problems can coexist with major depression. if you are suffering from erectile dysfunction or male impotence then you can take Fildena 100 mg. it is the best remedy to cure erectile dysfunction.
Depression symptoms may not be as obvious as those of other disorders, such as those of a panic attack, which include shaking, perspiration, or chest pain.
Typical signs of depression include:
- A constant sense of melancholy or emptiness
- feeling helpless or thinking things won’t get better
- A negative or hopeless attitude
- Feelings of irritation and annoyance on a regular basis
- Fatigue and overall lower energy levels
- Having trouble falling asleep or sleeping too much
- losing enthusiasm for pastimes and other past interests
- thoughts of suicide or attempts at suicide
The level of depressive symptoms can range from moderate to overpoweringly severe depression. The sort of depression can also affect them differently. Manic episodes (times of a high, elevated mood) and depressed episodes are both common in people with bipolar illness, for instance.
Depression can have an impact on your sex life in addition to your attitude and view on life, which begs the question: does depression cause erectile dysfunction?
Depression and Eating Disorders: A Connection
What Connection exists between your sex life and depression?
You may have erectile dysfunction if you have trouble attaining an erection or keeping one that is strong enough to engage in sexual activity.
ED symptoms include:
- not being able to erection when you want to
- Having the capacity to erect but being unable to keep it up during sex
- despite wanting to have sex, only occasionally being able to get an erection
We go into more depth about typical symptoms of erectile dysfunction in our guide on how to tell if you have ED.
Numerous reasons, including Medications like blood pressure medications or long-term medical disorders, might lead to erectile dysfunction. Additionally, psychological factors like depression might have an impact on erectile function. Buy Vidalista 20mg, is used to treat erectile dysfunction in men.
An analysis of multiple studies conducted in 2018 on the relationship between these two disorders revealed that men who are depressed are more likely to experience erectile dysfunction. According to the analysis, men with depression had an elevated incidence of erectile dysfunction by 39%.
Researchers think sexual performance anxiety or antidepressant therapy may be the causes of depression-induced ED even if the link between the two conditions is not entirely known.
Significant Depression Reduces Sexual Desire
Low moods and negative thoughts, which may result in low self-esteem or performance anxiety, are examples of depressive symptoms that can cause erectile dysfunction. Your desire for sex could decline if you’re depressed.
Antidepressants’ Sexual Side Effects
Another potential factor in erectile dysfunction is antidepressant medication. Antidepressant medications are one of the many efficient therapies for serious depression.
Antidepressant drugs are prescribed for mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. They function by altering the concentrations of specific organic compounds (neurotransmitters) in your body and brain.
Depression and ED treatment
Although it may appear as though you must pick one or the other, you can receive therapy for both depression and erectile dysfunction.
It should be mentioned that you shouldn’t quit taking your antidepressant right away if you just started taking one and start suffering antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction. This may worsen your depression or result in withdrawal symptoms known as antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.
Explain your symptoms to your healthcare provider. They may advise switching to a different antidepressant, changing your medication’s dosage, or having a “drug holiday,” which is just skipping or lowering your medication’s dose on the days you intend to have sex.
If you have been prescribed a short-term treatment, your doctor may advise you to postpone sexual activity until your treatment is complete.
It might also be advised to take an ED medication together with your antidepressant. Many men who use antidepressants have discovered that sildenafil can assist to enhance erections and other aspects of sexual performance.
Antidepressants, which are discussed in greater detail in this page, can be used in conjunction with other popular erectile dysfunction treatments.
Psychotherapy or talk therapy is an additional option for treating depression with erectile dysfunction, particularly if the root of your ED is due to depressive thoughts. Cognitive behavioral therapy, which teaches you to identify unhelpful thought patterns and how they influence you, is among the most successful forms of therapy.
A Review of Depression and Erectile Dysfunction
Can erectile dysfunction result from depression? There’s a significant likelihood that despair contributed to your ED.
Lack of interest in your typical activities, low self-esteem, unhappy thoughts or mood, and decreased energy are symptoms of depression. All of these might undoubtedly lead to problems with sexual function, such as a decline in libido or decreased sexual desire, and make it difficult for you to achieve or sustain an erection.
Or you might be having sexual side effects, including erectile dysfunction, if you’ve been using antidepressants to treat your depressive symptoms.
Fortunately, there is no need to choose between treating erectile dysfunction and depression. Either through conventional erectile dysfunction drugs, online mental health services, or both, you can get relief from depression and erectile dysfunction.