Young, Single, Not Ready to Mingle: Relationships, Mental Health, ED

A study ties depression, anxiety and lack of a partner to erectile dysfunction in younger men.

Author: James Anderson
Published: February 20, 2023

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Giddy

Edited for content. The opinions expressed in this article may not reflect the opinions of this site’s editors, staff or members.

Key Points

‧ The quality of a relationship will have an impact on sexual performance.

‧ Anxiety can lead to low libido and ED.

‧ Problems arise when anxiety medication side effects add to sexual performance issues.

A single man in his late 20s occasionally dates but hasn’t been on a date in some time. He has sex infrequently. That’s been the case for a few years, maybe about a decade.

He has developed depression and anxiety. He has struggled with those mental health issues for a while, and now he has problems getting erections. When he does get hard, his penis doesn’t remain that way for long, certainly not long enough to enjoy penetrative intercourse.

He’s been saying to himself, “Man, I’ve been single for so long. I feel broken because of my mental health issues, and now I can’t even get it up or keep it up. Nobody is going to want to be with me.”

Any young guy experiencing mental health issues and erectile dysfunction (ED) should know there’s hope. Their situation is not as dire as it might seem, according to Ravi Hariprasad, M.D., M.P.H., a psychiatrist with Intuitive Psychiatry in San Francisco.

“His first step was recognizing the problem and seeking help and taking the steps required to make the situation better,” Hariprasad said about the hypothetical young man.

Relatively young single men who suffer from both a chronic mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression, and ED are not alone, contrary to what they might fear. There’s not only hope for them, but also help and coping strategies available.

Risk factors for depression, anxiety and ED

Authors of a study first published in 2020 in the Journal of Urology found an association between relationship status, mental health and ED. The mental health and ED link appeared common among a sample of 2,660 sexually active men between 18 and 31 years of age. About 14 percent reported some form of ED. Anxiety and tranquilizer use were associated with greater odds of moderate-to-severe ED; antidepressant use was associated with more than three times the odds of moderate-to-severe ED. Married men and those with partners were 65 percent less likely than single guys to experience it in moderate-to-severe form.

“This information may not necessarily function the same way when reversed and used as a predictive model of whether a young single man may be at risk of having or developing ED of any severity,” according to Joshua Poole, M.D., a psychiatrist in California who works with Open Mind Health, a virtual mental wellness network. “It more so tells us that those surveyed who were already partnered were less likely to have moderate to severe ED.”

We don’t yet have definitive data clarifying just how relationship status, mental health and sexual dysfunction relate to each other, however, Poole said.

“Clinically, I have witnessed that the quality of the relationship frequently has more to do with sexual dysfunction than the presence or absence of a relationship,” he explained. “There are many instances where a relationship can be the source of both mental health issues and sexual dysfunction. In speaking to therapists who specialize in sex therapy, I have often been told that a great deal of sexual dysfunction is actually the result of emotional dysfunction in the dynamic of a relationship.”

For young men, the major risk factors for developing anxiety and depression include genetics, stress, and drug and alcohol problems, said Eric Yarbrough, M.D., a psychiatrist based in New York City. Like Poole, though, he doesn’t consider the relationship between partner status and mental health clear-cut.

“Some people have relationships which are healthy and supportive,” he said. “Others might have relationships which cause them stress and do more harm than good. There are reasons to be single and reasons to be in a relationship, but they are highly individual and relative.”

Nevertheless, several factors might account for the association observed in the study.

Ways mental health interferes with sexual health

Anxiety and depression can both lead to low libido, ejaculatory dysfunction and ED, Poole explained.

Those mental health conditions, Hariprasad suggested, can keep someone from being present and can interfere with their ability to focus when trying to have sex.

“This can make it more difficult for men to achieve and maintain an erection, leading to erectile dysfunction,” he said in an email. “Additionally, single men may be more likely to be in sexual relationships with less familiar partners, which can lead to increased feelings of anxiety, further exacerbating erectile dysfunction.”

There’s nothing mysterious regarding the comparatively lower prevalence of sexual dysfunction among men in emotionally supportive, multidimensional and close partnerships vis-à-vis young single men, Hariprasad said.

“I’ve seen over these years of our Tinder culture—our hookup culture—people are losing these other dimensions of friendship and intimacy in relationships, and that’s leading to some of this difficulty,” he said in reference to struggling single men. “Contrary to what the media says, the novelty of having sex with a partner you don’t know is not universally arousing. It can be terrifying to some, and it can activate feelings of insecurity and anxiety in others, none of which are very sexy.”

In contrast, as Hariprasad stressed, arousal can emerge from intimacy.

Conversely, frequent masturbation and excess ejaculation can exacerbate the cycle of mental health issues contributing to relationship difficulties and vice versa, he said, adding that porn consumption often gets paired with incessant masturbation, and that can cause another vicious cycle. Watching a lot of porn can desensitize someone to the amount of stimulus needed for arousal, which could result in ED, Hariprasad explained.

“Often, people are not watching the entire clip,” he said. “They’re just fast-forwarding to the components that are highly arousing, and that’s leading to an inappropriate mental patterning of the sexual response cycle that’s not often conducive to a normal sexual response cycle with a partner.”

Therapy and coping strategies

So what can the young, single guy dealing with ED as well as anxiety and/or depression do to address his problems?

Yarbrough would advise the man to prioritize treating his anxiety and depression since the conditions can affect myriad facets of life, from work to family to friendships to romance. He should also see a primary care physician to rule out any potential health problems that could be causing the mental health difficulties.

“After all of this, a person can explore their sexual history and views on sex to understand how they might be affecting his ability to maintain an erection,” he said.

Poole cautioned that the gold standard for treating both anxiety and depression has a reputation for contributing to sexual dysfunction. These are typically antidepressants derived from the family of medications that includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).

“It’s a tricky thing when the treatment for a problem can also cause the problem,” he acknowledged.

If ED results as a side effect of antidepressant medication, Poole recommended decreasing the dose or switching to a medication that doesn’t worsen the patient’s mood disorder.

Nonpharmaceutical strategies, including practicing breathing techniques to help in the moment and writing a journal to identify and alter spiraling negative thoughts, can help some people cope with anxiety and depression.

Certain physical activities, done regularly, have been shown to be potentially helpful, such as the following:

‧ Practice stress-management techniques, such as meditation and yoga
‧ Engage in mindful movements like tai chi
‧ Adopt a proper sleep schedule
‧ Avoid excess caffeine
‧ Eat a balanced diet

CBD oil might be a mild therapeutic option for some folks struggling with anxiety and depression. Assistance from professionals in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be a talk therapy tool worth exploring to pinpoint triggers and manage symptoms.

A new lens for sexual behavior

Hariprasad affirmed talk therapy and lifestyle changes as treatment possibilities.

“Then, in parallel, we’d need to change your sexual behaviors and hygiene so that you’re more likely to succeed,” he said.

Depending on the person, that could involve cutting back on masturbation and time spent viewing porn.

Since a lack of exercise for the muscles in the pelvic floor can make them lax, potentially leading to problems like premature ejaculation and ED, Kegel exercises can be useful, he added.

“A lot of literature and common knowledge has been about Kegel exercises for women,” Hariprasad said. “And what’s not appreciated is that the same set of exercises can be used by men to enhance their performance. I think it’s one of the single-most helpful things that someone could do as a practice, is [to] learn to isolate those muscles and exercise them so they’re stronger.”

Doing Kegels, together with exercise for the abdominal muscles, might enable men to improve the quality of their erections and their ejaculatory control, he added.

Hariprasad further suggested that guys in their 20s and 30s could begin to address the entanglement of issues that stand in the way of good psychological health, erections and relationships by learning how to form close, meaningful connections.

“That means forming friendships and then learning to have intimacy in those friendships—not necessarily seeking sexual encounters—and allowing the sexuality to arise organically from within those intimate, connected, safe relationships,” he said.

“Taken all together, this strategy has helped countless men I’ve worked with over the years reboot their sexual life and get their life and self-esteem back in order. But [men need] to understand that the situation is hopeful. [The work] just needs to be done methodically and patiently,” Hariprasad concluded.

It’s not always easy for men to seek help, especially for something as personal and sensitive as erection troubles. Plus, a lot of people don’t have a therapist they see regularly, so it’s not always intuitive to take that first step. Video visits have become a viable option for most people, and more physicians and therapists have added them as a service. Giddy telehealth makes it easy to get connected to a qualified healthcare professional who can help with a variety of mental and physical health conditions.

Biohacking for beginners: The 4 basic things a doctor wants you to know before thinking about biohacking

Posted by Chloe Gray for Wellbeing

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Stylist

Edited for content. The opinions expressed in this article may not reflect the opinions of this site’s editors, staff or members.

Our Takeaways:

· Research and a medical check up should be performed before engaging in biohacking

· There’s been a greater than 8-fold increase in Google searches for biohacking information

· Focusing on strengthening the foundation should be a priority over niche treatments

If you’re curious about biohacking, here’s what a doctor wants you to know beforehand.

The term “biohacking” came into the public consciousness a few years ago via Silicone Valley execs who sought to improve their efficiency by attempting to hack their biology. Their habits ranged from taking slightly obscure supplements to adding microchips into their body to “improve their magnetic field” and life span (yes, really).

Now these habits have gone mainstream (OK, maybe not the microchip one) and it’s easy enough to land on the term with a two-minute scroll on social media. Google searches of “biohacking for beginners” have increased 850% over the past 12 months, and many of us have tried something a little obscure that’s promised to improve how our body functions, whether that’s fasted exercise or SAD lamps.

But things have gone too far. At least, that’s according to Dr Adrian Chavez, who is fiercely anti-biohacking. His concern? “It’s marketing. People end up spending time doing these things that are half-truths when they could have spent that time actually doing the things that people need to do to improve their health,” he tells Stylist.
Why anti-biohacking?

Dr Chavaz’s anti-biohacking journey began after he fell for the trend himself. “I started being interested in nutrition because of a health issue that I had. I went to a doctor and they didn’t really help me out very much, so I changed my diet and I was able to improve my digestive health.

“At that point, I started googling information and I landed on a lot of fringe sites. I was in my early 20s, getting a master’s degree in exercise science and I believed a lot of the obscure ‘biohacking’ stuff I was finding, so I completely shifted my degree to nutrition. But as you do a PhD programme, you learn science. And I learned that a lot of the stuff that I believed before is pretty ridiculous in some cases, but oftentimes dangerous.”

The real frustration for him is that we want to (or believe we should) start with the niche treatments before we’ve even nailed the basics. And when things like greens powders or cryotherapy don’t work, people give up at improving their health.

“The evidence for cold water exposure, for example, is a few poor papers. But we know that and have the evidence for 30 minutes of exercise every day reducing your risk of almost every chronic disease known to man. We need to be doing more of that than we do getting into a cold pool and seeing how that might hack our biology,” he says.

So why don’t we? Why do some people feel that “nutrigenomics” (eating in line with your genes) is more important than just eating their five a day? “The basics are boring,” he says. Meanwhile, bio-hacking ‘experts’ have sussed out the Instagram algorithm to excite us with new buzzwords that mean we forget about broccoli and bedtime in favour of expensive solutions.

In fact, that’s why Dr Chavez focuses his content on the concept of anti-biohacking. “​​I realised a long time ago that if I said, ‘Hey guys, eat fruits and vegetables,’ there’s no way people would respond. So I try to frame my content in a way that will take off, but all I’m saying is focus on the basic stuff before spending money and time worrying about the extremes,” he said.

What exactly is that basic stuff then? What should we be doing, if not taking IV vitamin drips?

The four basic elements of health

Sleeping

“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met that claim they are lacking energy and are trying to find the solution when they just need to sleep more,” says Dr Chavez.

Around three-quarters of people in Britain get less than eight hours of sleep a night, according to YouGov, and a recent study from Southampton University found that one in four also suffer sleep problems (mainly impacting women and people from marginalised backgrounds).

The scenario is similar in America, where 35% of people report less than seven hours of sleep. Yet 40% of people in the US have tried CBD. But the toughest pill to swallow is that the sleep crisis is real, and we can’t hack our way out of our biological need to sleep.

Hydrating

Dr Chavez jokes: “I think you guys in the UK get more hydration because you drink tea.” But in any case, he recommends drinking half your body weight in pounds in ounces of water (this is an American customary calculation, but you can work it out with a digital converter or stick with the average recommendation of two litres of water a day).

“A lot of people complain about constipation or headaches who just don’t drink water. Not always, but often some of that stuff will go away when you just drink more – ideally non-caffeinated – water,” he says.

Eating well

71% of UK adults take food supplements, according to the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially as we need to top up on essential minerals like vitamin D. The problem is when we compare that to the stats showing only 27% of us eat our five a day.

“Nutrition is the most complicated area of all,” Dr Chavez says. “But my general recommendation is to focus on having balanced meals throughout the day – it doesn’t matter if it’s two, three or four,” he says. “Just make sure that you have a decent amount of protein, some vegetables, some carbohydrates that are high in fibre (or not, depending on how many vegetables you have) and that all of your meals are set up to meet your energy needs,” he says.

That sounds simple enough, but in a world that recommends excluding a lot of main food groups or adding in obscure ingredients, it’s actually pretty hard to ignore the noise and eat the basics. “Less processed food, more fruits and vegetables, not too many fatty meats,” Dr Chavez summarises. You can walk away from the £50 greens powder for now.

Exercising

“I always recommend this is the one everyone starts with because it’s the easiest and has the biggest knock-on effect on all of the other elements,” he says. “Simply move every day. It doesn’t have to be a crazy workout routine – the bare minimum should be a 30-minute walk around the block. But make it any type of movement you enjoy – running, chasing around your kids, anything!”

Around 39% of people in the UK don’t hit their recommended 150 minutes of activity a week, and a lot of the people who are missing out are from poor or minority backgrounds. But one huge issue is that our lives are designed for inactivity, Dr Chavez says.

“Many of us are sitting for work and then we sit in a car and then sit at home to watch television and then go to sleep and we’re just getting no movement whatsoever. Going from that to 30 minutes is a massive benefit for most people,” he says.

Personalised additions

I ask Dr Chavez if, when those four basics are nailed, there’s anywhere else to go. Are these basics the upper threshold of health-promoting habits and everything else a biohacking lie, or can we still implement additional behaviours?

“One million percent there is more you can do,” he says. “I can get into all of the nuances of nutrition that someone might try for various reasons, but that’s specific advice that doesn’t suit the whole population. The problem is people get too lost in the details and on tailoring their habits before focusing on sleeping, exercising, etc and it’s just a waste of time. There’s a time for the extras, but you have to start with the basics.”

It’s important to emphasise the “personalised” aspect of any extra habits, he says. They need to be figured out based on your health or illness and ideally with an expert or at least an inquisitive eye so you can monitor what is working and what isn’t. “But there are 175 other things I’d recommend before cold exposure,” Dr Chavez concludes.

An at-home DNA test promises to tell you what strain of weed is best for you, and what kind will make you paranoid

Many people swear off weed after taking too much of an edible on one occasion. Ending up anxiously couch-locked is no one’s idea of a good time, but what if there was a test to tell you a better way to get high?

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Insider
Andrea Michelson - October 4, 2021
Edited for content and readability Images sourced from Pexels
  • Endocanna Health offers a DNA test that tells you how to use cannabis better.
  • The analysis looks at genetic hallmarks that may influence how you respond to drugs.
  • With those genes in mind, the company says it can recommend a personalized profile.

Endocanna Health is offering a DNA test that claims to do just that for $199. Its team of scientists have identified 57 genetic signatures that may influence someone’s response to cannabis. From there, the company can recommend certain doses or formulations of cannabis for a customer’s specific needs.

Users can swab themselves at home with an Endo·dna test kit or send in data from another service like 23andMe for a smaller fee.

The company markets itself as “the future of personalized cannabinoid therapeutics,” founded with precision medicine in mind. Other companies such as HaluGen have created similar tests that screen for sensitivity to ketamine, mushrooms, and other psychedelics that are now being used for therapeutic purposes.

Your genetics affect how you respond to drugs

The Endocanna test considers a person’s response to THC, the compound in cannabis that’s associated with the high, along with the other parts of the plant. While some people feel relaxed or giddy after consuming THC, approximately 31% of the general population has reported an adverse reaction to the drug, according to Endocanna.

Studies have hinted at a genetic basis for how people respond to drugs: whether they’re predisposed towards anxiety and psychosis, or if they might have a greater tendency to become addicted.

Scientists haven’t identified a specific piece of genetic code that predicts a bad trip, but they have named some genes of interest. The AKT1 gene, for one, has a variant that’s been potentially linked to a higher risk of psychosis in people who use cannabis.

Other genes may be connected to unhealthy use of cannabis and other drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 30% of people who use cannabis do so problematically, with some cases qualified as addiction. The gene CHRNA2 has also caught scientists’ interest as a potential factor in cannabis use disorder.

The test might tell you to avoid THC completely, or opt for a cannabis strain with higher levels of CBD, another cannabinoid that won’t get you high. Someone who tends to get anxious when using weed might opt for a high CBD to THC ratio for pain relief without the psychoactive risks.

Endocanna also says it considers terpenes, another type of cannabis compound that may affect the brain, when creating a personalized cannabis profile based on genetic information.

Ask a Stoner: Do Marijuana Sex Products Really Work?

Ask a Stoner: Do Marijuana Sex Products Really Work?

By Herbert Fuego

* This article is a repost which originally appeared on Westword

Dear Stoner: Can these marijuana sex products really help? I’ve seen some weird-looking shit at dispensaries.
Krafty

Dear Krafty: Haven’t we all? If you can put it in your body, chances are good that someone’s tried to put weed in it first — and don’t even get us started on where CBD is being introduced. But we’ll limit our answer to the birds and the bees.

Sexual enhancement and pleasure products have indeed invaded dispensaries and the hemp industry, with pills, lubes and even suppositories infused with cannabis offered to allegedly ease sexual anxiety or pain in our privates, or just make us better at sex.

We can’t tell you from experience whether CBD lube really does ease vaginal pain from menstrual issues or during sex, or if THC or CBD anal suppositories “enhance erotic play,” as their maker, Foria, says they do.

We also don’t have experience with THC-infused herbal male enhancement pills, like CannaMojo, which claims to be an aphrodisiac. Reviews online go both ways, but I get enough stoner jokes as it is, so I prefer to buy my lube at a Walmart self-checkout with my head down. Like a real man.