Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction

Can porn lead to erectile dysfunction? The short answer is yes. Is it as dire as everyone makes it seem? I land firmly on no.

When you watch porn you are hacking your brain. You are given an endless supply of dopamine that is only limited by your desire. Every time you watch it you are training your body to respond to the artificial experience of your choosing. For the average person the odd porn fueld jerk off session isn’t going to completely retrain their brain, but when you begin to view it daily for hours at a time your brain acclimates to that level of stimulus. 

Not always, but in many cases this causes you to react less to real, every day sexual stimulus, causing your brain not to send the signals that cause your erection. You aren’t actually impotent, your body functions just fine, but like when you do with any drug, you have built up a tolerance. If you were to stop watching porn, your ability to become hard would return to normal within a few months. 

The only person that can make the choice to do that is you, and there are good reasons why you may or may not.

• If you’re partnered, are both of your needs being met? Do they feel that penetration is necessary for their sex life? 
• If you’re single, are you willing to explain to a future partner that you have trouble having an erection? 

We live in a society that likes to pretend an erection is something of great importance; because of that many men live with fear and shame around their performance. I would argue that in an overpopulated world, that moving away from penetrative sex isn’t actually a bad thing. 

As men age, they are naturally less able to hold erections. Sex changes for straight or gay couples as they age but if you’ve ever been in a retirement community you will know THEYRE STILL DOING IT- like rabbits. That’s because a man’s pleasure doesn’t disappear when he loses his erection- in fact men are capable of orgasming completely soft.

This is why I don’t believe that porn induced erectile dysfunction is the end of the world. ED is a normal part of life, and this kind can be reversed and in some cases even avoided by using moderation. 

As always, there is a point in which too much porn consumption can have negative effects on your life. If you are someone you know is seeking to reverse their PIED and needs help with their porn addiction please seek help here or with a trusted professional.