Can regular intake of alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, cannabis, and/or marijuana lead to sexual dysfunction in men? The answer is Yes!! Drugs and alcohol can affect your sexual life for years. Statistics show that substance use is responsible for 8.9% of the total global disease burden, while tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs are responsible for 4.1%, 4.0%, and 0.8% of the disease burden, respectively.
Erectile dysfunction, early/delayed ejaculation, pain during/after intercourse, low libido, and poor response to sexual contact are some of the very common problems seen in men who regularly consume alcohol and drugs.
How does substance abuse affect sexual health?
Misuse of illegal drugs and excessive alcohol intake significantly affects the way your body functions and can sometimes cause serious damage such as:
1. Regular intake of Nicotine is known to reduce sexual desire.
2. Cocaine can cause narrowing of the blood vessels, thereby preventing enough blood from reaching the penis.
3. Although Marijuana may enhance sexual desire, it prevents the relaxation of muscles in your penis, in turn, hampering enough blood to flow in.
4. Heroin decreases testosterone levels and reduces your interest in sex.
5. Regularly consuming Alcohol markedly affects all of the body parts responsible for creating an erection. It decreases the testosterone levels and affects the cells in your testes and gonads that may prevent you from getting or maintaining an erection.
6. Frequent use of Cannabis results in the inability to reach orgasm or too quick or delayed orgasms.
As sex is considered to be one of the most cited reasons for the major relationship and psychological problems. Substance abuse can be one of the main reason for this.
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How to manage sexual dysfunction linked with substance abuse?
Nothing is harmful if done in limits. So, let us now talk on how to manage sexual dysfunction caused due to substance abuse.
1. Abandon the root cause: The sooner you will stop taking drugs, tobacco, and/or alcohol, the better it will be for you to maintain your sexual health.
2. Give yourself sufficient time: Nothing happens in a day. So, give yourself time. If you cannot stop it right away, start by reducing it.
3. Change your lifestyle: Exercise regularly, follow a healthy diet, balance your work life and personal life, and give your family quality time. With this, everything will eventually start getting better.
4. Meditation: The anxiety, guilt, or fear associated with sexual performance can be replaced with positive patterns of thinking and regular meditation.
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5. Psychological therapy: If you think people with a mental disorder are the ones who should visit a psychologist, then you are absolutely wrong. A person who is facing difficulty in coping up with personal or professional life can rather should, consider psychological counselling. Give it a try, it will be effective for you.
Stopping substance abuse takes time and effort, but the results are worthwhile. Do it for your own health, do it for your family.
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