Problems down there

[Shaun00]

Hi all

Can someone please help talk to me about my problem as it is sensitive to me

I have been having some problems for the last few months with erections , I'm not sure if I'm stressed out have a lot on my mind or what it could be. I do get erections when been with my girlfriend but it doesn't feel as strong or full as they use to be, and I don't seem to last as long as before.. Feels like it has shrunk when I get and erection and not as hard or full as before.. Any advice on how to get them back the way I use to I'm 24 years old.

[Heather]

Ultimately, this is going to be the kind of thing you'd have to figure out for yourself. But it also is something where if you put pressure on yourself to get erections, or around them feeling exactly the same at one time as they have at others, is likely to backfire. Erections -- and any aspect of sexual response, no matter what body parts someone has -- don't tend to do very well if and when there's any pressure involved, whether that is coming from a partner or from yourself.

So, your best bet with something like this is to just do what you can to accept and be okay with the fact that our bodies aren't machines, and our sexual responses are actually pretty sensitive. We're not always going to respond the same way, be that from day to day, or just from one time of life to the next. And by all means, stress has a big impact (which is why pressure, which is stress, isn't helpful).

I'd also add that sometimes when people first start having sex, or do with a partner, it can take them longer to reach orgasm because they're nervous, and when they get more comfortable, that can happen more quickly. If that's happening more quickly than you or a partner like per feeling satisfied sexually, all you need to do is find other sexual activities to do that you also both like instead. If it's feeling like the second you start any kind of sex with your penis, it's finished way before you are, you could also try taking longer to do things that involve your penis.

In the meantime, you can just -- in as no-pressure a way as you can -- observe all of this and try to get a better sense of what, if anything, is an issue for you right now. If you're under a lot of stress, then by all means, you'll want to do what you can to reduce it and better manage it: that's important for your mental health, anyway. If it turns out you find out that when you do that, or just think about this a different way, or change up your sex life so it's not so reliant on you having erections like you're used to, then you'll know what changes you need. Make sense?