Premature ejaculation is one of the most common male sexual dysfunctions today, yet very few men go to a doctor or mental health professional to express their crisis openly and in confidence.

Premature ejaculation

Silence is the greatest enemy in these cases; not knowing how to share the problem in time can lead to great conflicts that are difficult to deal with in the future.

What is Premature Ejaculation?

It consists of the persistent and recurrent expulsion of semen in response to sexual stimulation before, during or after penetration without the person’s desire to do so . This disorder, according to sexual health professionals, is one of the most experienced by men. Professionals estimate that 30-60% of men have had it at some time. Premature ejaculation can be related to several causes, for which the doctor or psychotherapist must obtain all the information possible for good treatment.

Causes of Premature Ejaculation

To discover the main cause of premature ejaculation, it is advisable to see a doctor to rule out any organic anomaly that is resulting in this disorder. Sometimes, ejaculation is also the result of infections that usually occur in the urogenital areas of the urethra and prostate or also of hormonal imbalances.

If the problem is not organic, it is advisable to go to a mental health professional so that through an evaluation they can find out what the origin would be.

Among the psychological factors associated with premature ejaculation are anxiety and depression, which would be the most frequent non-organic causes of the disorder, stress related to the economic and family environment, etc. also plays a very important role.

Some professionals point out that alcoholism, smoking or drug use also play a role in the occurrence of premature ejaculation.

What kind of problems does Premature Ejaculation cause?

  • Low self-esteem
  • Anxiety in the couple and in the male
  • Low levels of sexual satisfaction
  • Depression
  • Distress
  • Nervousness

Many times sexual relations become tense as the male is more concerned with containing ejaculation than enjoying the act of sex. But it is not only the man who is affected, the couple also suffers the consequences in the psychological as well as the organic field, the latter being often manifested in their diminished experience of sexual pleasure during relations.

Diagnosis of Early Ejaculation

For a good diagnosis, the professional should take a complete medical history to understand the problem fully. The professional will ask about the frequency and duration of premature ejaculation and the type of relationship the patient has with his partner.

All these points are important for a good diagnosis, many men in the consultation often omit certain details because of the embarrassment they have to relate, even though in reality this information is often very important when establishing a good diagnosis. The omission of information can hinder the design of the most effective treatment in each case, so it is important to create a good climate of trust to assess the case fully.

Early Ejaculation Treatment

Once the diagnosis is made, we can observe the severity of the case and what type of treatment we can use. The techniques that can be used range from pharmacological to psychological therapies.

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies have proven to be very effective in treating these problems. It is important to know that putting oneself in the hands of a competent professional in this area also helps in effective treatment with positive results.

Within psychological psychotherapies the most important thing is to give the patient and his or her sexual partner all the correct information about the problem he or she is suffering from, that the patient learns to identify the sensations that precede orgasm and that he or she is able to adequately regulate his or her sexual arousal and therefore control his or her ejaculatory reflex.

On some occasions, pharmacological treatment is recommended, as long as it is prescribed by the specialist. It is very well known that couples self-medicate with products (creams, pills, gel that are sold on the internet, TV, or media not endorsed by the health authorities, bringing difficulties in the body in the person who uses it and not solving the underlying problem.

The most effective techniques, as mentioned above, are those based on cognitive behavioural psychotherapy . There are many articles and manuals that talk about and explain the techniques in detail. One of the authorities in this specialty is Dr. Helen Kaplan , who through her manuals has offered a fundamental contribution in the fields of psychiatry, psychology and sexology.

Bibliographic references:

  • Caballo, V. (2006) Cognitive-Behavioral Manual . Faculty of Psychological Sciences of the University of Guayaquil.
  • Kaplan, H. (2010), Illustrated manual of sex therapy