This is a follow on post from our article on men’s sexual health and how sexual dysfunction affects them. We also wrote a post about different sexual performance drugs that you can take for erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.
What’s special about this post? Well it focuses on talking about sex with your partner, in particular about how sexual dysfunction affects your relationships. The idea is to encourage openness about sexual issues. Opening up to your partner about these issues can go a long way to helping build your relationship and recovery levels are often dependent on it. Bad sex and sexual dysfunction can affect you psychologically and as well as physically. It can also have an effect on your partners’s self-esteem. Often they can feel that you are not attracted to them or that they are doing something wrong.
Here are some tips to tell you talk about sex and sexual health openly with your partner. If you suspect that your partner is experiencing sexual dysfunction then these tips can be useful for you too:
- Find a comfortable or intimate setting to start the conversation. Sex is a sensitive subject and picking the right setting can help steer the conversation into something helpful rather than hurtful.
- Before you approach your partner make a list of all the things you wish to bring up. When faced with emotional stress you can often forget to put things in context or even forget to mention vital points. This list will give you some security and prompt you on topics or feelings to bring up.
- Include the main sexual dysfunction issue at the beginning of the conversation. For example, “honey, I’m having some issues. I’ve been putting off talking to you as I’m embarrassed but I really need your support. I’m having trouble maintaining erections”.
- Try to reassure your partner that they are not the cause of your sexual issues and refrain from placing blame on people or specific incidents. Instead, assure them that you think this is a medical issue and you want to seek some professional advice.
- If you are in a new relationship then have a sex talk before you get in the bedroom so you can talk about your medical issues are before you get intimate. For example “I really want to take our relationship forward but I want you know that I sometimes have trouble getting intimate. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to think that you don’t arouse me or that you are doing something I don’t like. I sometimes have trouble getting erections”.
- Once the conversation gets going, talk openly and get your partner to contribute their feelings to the conversation. They may have suggestions or give you valuable feedback. You may find that the premature ejaculation that you feel so badly about doesn’t bother them as much as it bothers you!
The most important piece of advice we have is to make an appointment with your doctor! Many sexual dysfunctions can be helped with medication. Sometimes daily medication is needed but sometimes pre-activity medication is needed. You can only start dealing with sexual dysfunction once you get to the route of the problem. Taking your partner along to the appointment can give you a tremendous amount of support and it will help them to feel involved. In many cases, both of these can lead to more intimacy and a stronger relationship.
Helping your sex life naturally and with little effort too:
You can help improve your general health, relationship and sexual performance naturally at the same time…. and with little effort. Getting an erection and sustaining it depends a lot on the health of your heart and level of blood pressure. Self-confidence after some sexual failures is also an important factor as men can often feel deflated emotionally when suffering sexual performance issues.
The below 5 natural solutions can help to improve blood pressure and circulation, which in turn translates into better sexual performance in the bedroom. Talking about them with your partner can help you both find a way forward. Better still, join forces and try some of them out together. It can help build the closeness of your relationship and improve her sexual health as well. Working through bedroom issues together can only be a good thing.
Exercise – doing 30 minutes of exercise a day can help your body, mind and heart stay in shape. This is very important when it comes to sexual health. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym or do 40 lengths swimming. 30 minutes a day can mean a brisk walk around town or riding a bike to the subway instead of taking the bus. It can even mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The key is to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. That’s how you know that your body has exerted itself. Keeping up a steady exercise regime not only helps a healthy heart and your libido but also helps your weight management. Also, where possible try to get outside in the fresh air. There’s a lot to be said for sunlight and an increase in libido so try to get outside even in the winter! Leading an active lifestyle leaves you feeling energized and more healthy, which in turn translates into a better feeling in the bedroom.
Food – Eating a healthy and balanced diet is a given but there are also other food that specifically help in the bedroom. Onions and garlic, for example, helps circulation and good circulation is essential for increasing blood flow to the penis and maintaining erections. Potassium rich foods, like bananas and sweet potatoes, are good for blood pressure and the heart. Lowering blood pressure can be a benefit for sexual performance. Eggs, spicy foods like chilies and peppers and foods rich in Omega 3 and vitamin B1 can also help to achieve stronger erections.
Stress – Not only does high stress affect your blood pressure and general health, it also affects your libido and relationships. The three issues are closely linked. Try to reduce the amount of stress in your life or find a way to manage it.
Smoking and alcohol consumption – Excessive smoking and alcohol consumption can lead to narrowed blood vessels and are not good for sexual health. They are fine in moderation but consuming them daily can be a cause of reduced sexual performance. The urge to engage in these unhealthy habits is suppressed when you work on maintaining a healthy lifestyle (exercise and diet) and reduce the stress in your life so try and engage in these healthy habits and see if it helps reduce these unhealthy habits.
Partner satisfaction – The main focus of this article is to emphasize the importance of relationships and working through sexual dysfunction together. One way to help things go better in the bedroom is quite simple really. Pay more attention to your partner’s needs. During relations it’s easy to get carried away by your own insecurities and needs. Focusing some, or more, of your effort on your partner means that you are building on the foundations of your relationship and are enjoying the arousal. Watching the closeness of your partner enjoy themselves because of your actions can be stimulating in itself and can lead to stronger arousal and better sexual performance on your own part.
You can find out more about these natural solutions on Healthline.