Depression and Erectile Dysfunction

(Article medically reviewed by Dr. Zac Hyde M.D)

If you’re suffering from depression and erectile dysfunction, I want to encourage you to read this entire blog post.

Especially the section on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his Flow State, which is just a scroll or two down.

I’ve advised many men dealing with depression and the ED that usually goes along with it and nothing works better or faster that this particular method.

So do yourself a very big favor and stay with me for just a few minutes.

Let’s go…

Engaging in hobbies can be an excellent tool for treating depression. 

When you’re depressed, it can be difficult to find the motivation to do anything, even things that used to light you up.

Any hobby that engages you will help combat depression by providing a sense of accomplishment, purpose, and enjoyment.

Creative things like painting or writing, physical activities like running or hiking, or social endeavors like joining a book or wine tasting club will all work.

The main reason hobbies are so effective in treating depression is because they provide a sense of accomplishment. 

When a person is depressed, even simple tasks like getting out of bed can feel overwhelming. 

Hobbies can get you out of bed and into the real world, and back to engagement in life which will definitely make you happier.

In addition to providing a sense of accomplishment, hobbies can also provide a sense of purpose. 

When you’re depressed, you may struggle to find meaning or direction in your life. 

Hobbies can provide a sense of purpose by giving you something to work towards and to look forward to. 

For example, a person who enjoys gardening may feel a sense of purpose in nurturing and caring for plants. 

This sense of purpose can help alleviate feelings of hopelessness and give you a reason to take action and do something.

Another benefit of hobbies is that they can provide enjoyment and pleasure, which can be hard to come by when a person is depressed. 

For example, a person who enjoys painting may find that the act of creating something unique or beautiful is a temporary respite from their depressive symptoms.

Hobbies can also help combat social isolation, which is a common symptom of depression. 

Many hobbies involve interacting with others, whether its wine tasting or playing a pickup game of basketball.

Social interaction can provide a sense of connection and belonging, which can be especially important if you feel alone or disconnected from others.

Now…

If you can get involved in your hobby and achieve Flow State, you’ll put this anti-depression system into overdrive.

And what is a Flow State? Read on…

Using Flow to Treat Depression and Erectile Dysfunction 

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian-American psychologist, introduced the concept of “Flow State” or “being in the zone.” 

Flow state is described as a state of complete concentration and focus on a task, to the point where time seems to stand still and all external distractions fade away. 

Achieving a flow state has been found to lead to a sense of happiness, accomplishment, and increased well-being. 

Csikszentmihalyi discovered this concept in a unique way…

His primary method was to give people pagers, which was obviously done before the cellphone era.

And at random times, he would page the subjects and ask them what they were doing, and most importantly, if they were happy.

And he found that people who were involved in Flow State activities were consistently happy, while those involved in passive leisure were not.

Passive leisure defined in this case as watching TV, playing video games, etc.

So the big question here is, what exactly do you need to do to achieve a flow state and get this happiness yourself?

Here are the 3 steps needed to achieve Flow.

How to Achieve Flow

Number 1:  Set Clear Goals.

As an example…

Let’s say you found a cheap Volkswagen Bug on Craigslist and decided to restore it in order to make some cash.

You day one goal be very clear and specific, such as, I’m going remove all the trash and junk out of the car and armor-all the interior.

BAM, objective one achieved.

Number 2: Get Immediate Feedback.

To achieve a flow state, you need immediate feedback in order to show progress and feel a sense of accomplishment.

In the case of the car, you’ll be able to see your progress.

You could also take before and after pic’s in order to view your progress on the interior.

Number 3: Create Balance Between Challenge and Skills

To achieve flow, the task must be challenging, but not too challenging.

If it’s too hard, you’ll give up and quit.  

If it’s too easy you’ll quit out of boredom, so make sure you challenge yourself.

Then, focus on the things you are capable of doing. And educate yourself or get help with tasks that are currently out of your reach.

For example, say the carburetor needs to be rebuilt and you have no clue how to do it.

Either make it one of your goals to watch some youtube videos and learn how to do it.

Or take it to a mechanic and let him take care of it.

Once you’ve ticked these 3 boxes, you can easily monitor the situation to ensure that you’ve achieved the flow state.

Signs that You’ve Achieved Flow:

Here are several clues that indicate that you’ve achieved a Flow State of mind.

First, action and awareness are merged, meaning your brain and your body are totally synced.

Distractions and outside thoughts disappear entirely. 

Worry and fear of failure, along with self-consciousness disappear as well.

The next stage is, time either speeds up or slow down, often quite dramatically.

At this point, the activity becomes an end to itself, where your mind is engaged in one thing and one thing only, the task.

Which obviously leaves no room for depression of any kind.

You can find Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow on amazon, and I highly recommend that you read it if you’re suffering form depression yourself.

I’ve been using his method successfully to achieve a greater state of happiness for more than 20 years, and I can assure you, it works like magic.

A few examples of hobbies I’ve started myself are:

I learned how to play blues harmonica and can now sit in with a band and hold my own.

I started taking pic’s of wildlife, which you can see here.

I started a drawing habit recently which I do on most nights these days.

I’m still working on this one, but here’s my latest sketch…

I’m going to wrap this section with this…

Since you’re here reading this now, what you’re currently doing is clearly not working.

And your biggest obstacle moving forward is going to be getting off the dime and starting.

So make this promise to yourself and stick with it.

“I will do one thing today that will lead me towards a Flow State.”

A Flow State is The Answer.

Because once you achieve it, biochemical changes inside your brain will occur by default.

Feel good hormones and brain neurotransmitters will take the lead role and those that cause anxiety and depression will disappear.

And the key that will unlock this pot of gold goes by the name of action.

So head over to amazon and order the book Flow right now.

Then, spend some time thinking about what hobby you’re going to use to get there.

And tomorrow, clean up the Volkswagen. 

And when you’re finished, take note of how much better you feel today than you did yesterday.

Once you do this, day one of your new life will begin.

Good luck.

Depression and Erectile Dysfunction Part 2

I decided it was time to update this page on depression and erectile dysfunction for two very important reasons.

First off, the number of emails I’ve been receiving from men complaining of depression has skyrocketed over the last several years.

When I first started blogging about ED nearly 14 years ago the subject of depression rarely came up.

It was always blood flow issues, low testosterone, nitric oxide, etc.

And it’s interesting, because the first iPhone was introduced 18 months prior to the launch of my first website.

And within about two years, pretty much every dude out there had a portable walking desktop hitched inside his back pocket.

Which brings me to the second reason I decided to update this page.

Research conducted over the last 5 years has conclusively proven that there is a direct correlation between smart phone usage and declining mental health.

Coincidence? I think not.

A 2018 study published in BMC Psychiatry titled…

The relationship between addiction to smartphone usage and depression among adults found…

A significant positive linear relationship was present between smart phone addiction and depression.

And…

The positive correlation between smartphone addiction and depression is Alarming (source).

Studies have also come out with findings about sleep disturbances, anxiety, stress and loneliness.

And if you really think about it, this all makes perfect sense.

For example, compare a 90 minute session watching other people have sex on a tiny electronic screen…

To You having sex with a real-live-warm-body.

Which one of these scenarios is going to make you feel good and which is going to make you feel bad?

Or how about a 90 minute social media session of you looking at other people hiking, surfing, socializing, living life in the real world.

Too you putting the cellphone down and getting outside to hike or hit the waves and live life in the real world yourself?

Think this lifestyle modification alone would improve your mental health?

Hell yes it would.

In the article below we discuss several ways you can upgrade your mental health, which will have an immediate impact on the quality of your erections.

And my suggestion to you before you move on to any of these protocols is, slash your screen time by 90%.

Check out of social media entirely and logoff all those websites with the funny movies.

Then move your brain and your body into the real world and start living life away form the virtual world. 

And at night, take you and your erection into the master bedroom and put it to use with a real, live, warm body.

Do this, and depression probably won’t be a thing for you anymore.

Not only that, but she is going to find the mysterious new you more attractive, which is going to give you even more opportunity to use that erection.

Now, I’m not claiming that this lifestyle hack is going to cure every man out there who’s dealing with depression.

But I do claim that for the vast majority of you, it will have a significant impact.

And for many of you, breaking this addiction is all you’re going to need to get back on track.

Depression and Erectile Dysfunction

When you’re suffering depression, either acute or chronic, sex is probably the last thing on your mind.

But the scary thing is, even if it was on your mind, you might not be able to do anything about it.

Why?

Because there’s evidence that depression can cause erectile dysfunction (as if you didn’t have enough problems).

To make matters worse, the common cure for depression, a series of drugs called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs, is confirmed to cause ED as a side effect.

In this article, we’re going to dive into how depression causes ED, why SSRIs can exacerbate the problem, and three ways you can treat your depression naturally to get your morning wood back.

Here we go…

How Depression Causes Erectile Dysfunction

First, let’s get something clear…ED and depression and undeniably linked.

Depending on what study you consult, there’s a comorbidity rate of up to 82%, with studies regularly finding between 50-70% (source).

Basically, if you ask 100 men who have depression, between half and three-quarters of them are going to suffer from ED too, and vice versa.

Now the question of cause: does depression cause ED, or does ED cause depression?

That’s a little complicated. There’s definitely a biochemical case to be made that depression does cause ED though.

Depression inhibits your brain’s ability to fire neurotransmitters correctly, and to get an erection, your brain has to fire neurotransmitters to trigger the biological reaction.

The erection starts in your brain – if something is wrong there, it makes sense that your penis would be affected.

But there are other factors as well. In particular, low T levels in older men are associated with both depression and ED.

So it might be a case of a third party causing both problems.

Of course, suffering from ED is sure to send anyone on a downward spiral emotionally. It’s only natural that there would be significant overlap between depression and ED.

Regardless of which way the relationship goes, here’s the important part – if you have either ED or depression, the other one is much more likely happen.

And the worst part? The cure most doctors prescribe will actually make your ED worse, as we’re about to see.

Antidepressant Medications and ED

Most depression is treated today by using SSRIs. SSRIs are drugs that affect serotonin levels in the brain.

They work by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, so there’s more of it in your brain.

This increases overall serotonin levels and can help ease the symptoms of depression and stabilize your mood.

SSRIs are incredibly common today. In 2014, 8-10% of the US population was on SSRIs, often for off-label uses.

To put that number in perspective, that’s between 25,484,800 and 31,856,000 people.

That’s a lot of prescription drugs.

Why is this a problem?

Because the link between SSRIs and ED is extremely clear. Here are some of the ways that SSRIs can cause ED:

• SSRIs reduce dopamine levels. Dopamine is a key ingredient in triggering the biological process of getting hard. Less dopamine means that it’s more difficult to get an erection.
• Penile sensitivity and ejaculatory potential are both reduced. This makes it more difficult to maintain an erection or have an orgasm.
• It’s more difficult to get psychogenic erections (erections from thinking about sexy stuff).
• It’s more difficult to form emotional bonds with your partner. A key part of feeling sexually aroused by them.

To top all of this off, the problems don’t stop when you stop taking the SSRI.

Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) can linger for months or even years. In some cases, full functionality and sensitivity never return.

So what can you do? You’re damned if you have depression and you’re damned if you try and treat it!

Fortunately, there is a solution: treat depression naturally.

Here’s how….

How To Treat Depression Naturally

There’s lots of different approaches to treating depression without medication, including therapy, diet, spending time outside, mental exercises, and more.

But we’re going to focus on the three ways that are most effective for most people.

It’s worth noting here that depression isn’t like breaking your arm…

When someone breaks their arm, pretty much no matter who they are, the problem (broken bone) and how to fix it (a cast) is the same.

Depression, on the other hand, affects everyone differently.

Most people need to combine a number of natural treatments to get the best result. So play around with these until you find the right mix for you.

1: Exercise To Treat Depression Naturally

Using exercise to treat depression falls under what’s called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT.

CBT is a psychological-based method that aims to change how people behave so that it will eventually change how they feel.

The rationale is that when you’re suffering from depression, you’re prone to a negative internal monologue, or thought process.

For example, not seeing your friends and then internally thinking ‘I am super isolated. It must be because no one likes me.’

By changing the behaviour (e.g. ‘this week I’m going out for a coffee’) you change the internal thought process (‘I saw someone I liked today.

People must like me’). Thus, depression symptoms and eventually depression itself is reduced.

The basic method is that patients will go and talk through a problem they’re having, and work with a psychologist to overcome that problem.

These problems are often symptoms ( like not exercising enough) of depression, rather than what would normally be considered the root cause.

This structured, goal-orientated way of addressing symptoms means patients tend to feel better, regardless of what ‘caused’ the depression in the first place.

Exercise in particular is an effective execution of CBT to treat depression.

Very early case studies from the 1900s first identified this relationship, but more scientific studies since then have confirmed it.

A meta-analysis completed in 2004 summarized these findings, citing examples like:

• A study where depressed patients were assigned randomly to either an exercise group, a social support group, or a control group. The exercise group was by far the most effective.
• A study compared exercising to an active placebo effect and found exercise more effective.
• A study had participants walk on a treadmill for just 30 minutes a day for 10 days and recorded a significant improvement in depression.

What’s clear is that depression can be alleviated by exercise, and the impact of exercise on depression is both rapid and long-lasting – it doesn’t take much to make a big difference (source).

2: Sunlight Exposure to Treat Depression

In the same vein as the CBT-driven recommendation to exercise to cure depression comes our second natural cure – sunlight.

First, lack of sunlight actually has its own medical diagnosis, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is essentially a seasonal bout of depression that settles in in winter and alleviates in the spring.

An estimated  20% of Americans suffer from SAD every year.

Of course, more sunlight can treat those suffering from SAD. But what about other forms of depression?

Turns out, sunlight can help those sufferers too.

First, sunlight provides vitamin D. Low levels of vitamin D correlate with higher levels of depression.

So right out of the gate, there’s a biochemical reason for the sunlight-depression link.

This finding has been confirmed by studies that show that vitamin D supplements can help cure depression in those with low levels of vitamin D.

Second, sunlight impacts our bodies in a number of ways beyond simply providing vitamin D.

Different molecules are absorbed through your skin from the sun which goes on to have a huge variety of complex interactions in your body.

In particular, some of these interactions involve the production and use of ATP, the most common form of energy your body uses (it’s like gasoline for cells).

Lack of sunlight makes ATP less effective, leaving you tired and lethargic – key symptoms of depression.

3: Stop Consuming Porn To Treat Depression Naturally

Porn is often used by those suffering depression as a short-term fix.

They’re feeling lonely and isolated, and porn gives them a brief dopamine boost, which makes them feel better, but only temporarily.

However, while it might seem harmless to seek some short-term relief, the reality is that there are long-term consequences. When you watch porn, you get a massive hit of dopamine.

But over time, you need more dopamine to feel the same effect.

If you’re already suffering from depression, eroding the effectiveness of the little dopamine you do have will only send you deeper down the rabbit hole. 

What’s more, higher levels of porn consumption correlate to higher levels of depression.

It’s not clear if depressed people watch porn more often, or if watching porn more often makes you depressed.

But what is clear is that watching porn frequently is a crutch that makes it more difficult to form solid, emotional bonds with those around you – bonds that can help you alleviate depression or even prevent you from developing it in the first place.

Depression and Erectile Dysfunction- Conclusion:

The question of depression causing ED or ED causing depression is really a chicken and an egg situation: it’s hard to know what comes first.

But this much is clear: depression and ED go hand in hand.

The common cure for depression, SSRIs, only exacerbate any existing ED problems, reducing sexual function, eliminating spontaneous erections and destroying libido.

While both depression and the most common depression treatment can actually cause ED itself, you might feel like the situation is hopeless.

However, there are solutions out there. CBT and the variety of treatments that derive from it do nothing to induce ED and can even help reverse it.

Things like exercise and spending time outside and in the sun can help you fight depression without ruining your sex life.

And if you can keep off the porn, you’ll give yourself an excellent chance of fully recovering.

So maybe the silver lining is this: because depression and ED go hand-in-hand, so to do their natural cures.

Fix one, and the other should soon follow.

Update: When Natural Methods Aren’t Enough

This section was written by Emily Mendez a former Psychotherapist and medical writer. See her linkedin profile Here.

When is it time to do something about erectile dysfunction (ED)?

Unfortunately, far too many of the 30 million men who suffer from this condition decide to put off treatment because they aren’t aware of how many treatment options they have to explore. 

It’s important to understand that erectile dysfunction is often tied to other physical causes within the body. Most cases of ED may be connected to conditions like diabetes, heart disease and obesity. 

We also know that some lifestyle habits are linked with ED. For instance, things like smoking or drinking alcohol heavily can be tied to ED in men. 

Those are the right places to start if you’re trying to investigate how to live a healthier, happier life without ED. 

However, you may be feeling even more confused and hopeless if none of those conditions are factors in your life. It may be time to peel away at the psychology of why you’re experiencing ED.

A Look at the Link Between Erectile Dysfunction and Mental Health

First, it’s important to say that many men have success with natural treatments for ED. 

Even men who aren’t aware of any underlying conditions often discover that using natural treatments helps to correct the problem. 

That doesn’t mean that some psychological factors aren’t in play. Let’s look at some of the factors that often contribute to ED either directly or indirectly.

Depression, Erectile Dysfunction and Stress

You’d have a hard time finding someone who isn’t feeling stressed about something right now. Unfortunately, stress can dramatically impact your sexual health and performance. 

A looming problem or task can take away mental energy and physical stamina to decrease your sexual performance. 

Some men dismiss the idea of stress contributing to ED because they don’t “feel” stressed. 

However, it’s essential to explore how stressors in your life could be robbing you of your ability to participate in sexual activity.

Anxiety and Erectile Dysfunction

Anxiety can interrupt sexual performance on a genuinely physical level. 

That’s because anxiety often manifests physically through higher blood pressure, fatigue or increased heart rate. 

These things can all interfere with a man’s sexual desire and performance.

Depression and Erectile Dysfunction

Depression can be both desire suppressing and physically depleting. 

More than 6 million men in the United States currently have depression. Unfortunately, things like social stigma and a lack of awareness cause many men to go without seeking treatment. 

Depression can impact all aspects of a man’s life. 

However, ED that’s linked to depression can be especially devastating because it impacts both physical health and the ability to maintain an intimate relationship.

Interpersonal and Relationship Issues Can Cause ED

ED that stems from psychological or emotional issues isn’t always necessarily tied to a diagnosed condition. 

Feelings of insecurity or unrest within a relationship can impact desire and confidence levels. 

Things like arguments, poor communication, loneliness, anger, frustration and fear of abandonment can also impact a man’s ability to perform sexually.

Poor Self-Esteem/Sexual Insecurity and ED

Unfortunately, one “disappointing” experience in the bedroom can precipitate chronic erectile issues. 

It’s not uncommon for men to experience spontaneous erectile dysfunction due to being stressed or tired. 

However, some men develop a fear of not being able to perform that essentially leaves them “paralyzed” in intimate settings. 

Yes, fear or anxiety surrounding sexual dysfunction can cause sexual dysfunction. It is not a pleasant cycle to get caught up in. 

Fortunately, working through the problem with help from a counselor often makes it possible to regain sexual performance.

What Should You Do If You Suspect Your ED Is Linked to a Psychological Cause?

Men have more resources than ever before when it comes to talking to counselors about sexual issues. 

You may find that your “sexual” dysfunction has very little to do with your actual sex life. Your ability to attain and keep an erection may be linked to a mental-health issue or imbalance. 

The best thing you can do is talk to a professional to try to get to the root of what is contributing to your ED. 

Being aware of the links between your brain and body is the first step to overcoming ED for many men!