How to Actually Trigger an Erection

Every man suffers from erectile dysfunction (the inability to reach or maintain an erection) at least once in their life. With the ever-increasing rise of stress-inducing factors and porn consumption in our society, this problem is getting more and more common over time.

I don't intend to present every single cause underlying erectile dysfunction. Rather, I would like to bring clarity on what supresses or promotes erection.

First, we need to clear a very common misunderstanding. Men associate erection with orgasm, and orgasm with ejaculation. As a result, they intuitively think erection and ejaculation are triggered the same way.

But if you read my blog, you know that in reality orgasm and ejaculation are two distinct processes. A man can experience arousal, erection, pleasure and even orgasms without any ejaculation.

The biological reality is that erection and ejaculation are not triggered the same way. To understand that, we need to understand how the nervous system work.

A Bit of Biology

The sympathetic nervous system promotes ejaculation and inhibits erection, while the parasympathetic nervous system promotes erection and inhibits ejaculation.

The sympathetic nervous system controls the body's responses to a perceived threat and is responsible for the "fight or flight" response. The parasympathetic nervous system controls homeostasis and the body at rest and is responsible for the body's "rest and digest" function.

To put it overly simply: the sympathetic nervous system is triggered when we are tense, while the parasympathetic nervous system is triggered when we are relaxed.

Men Use the Wrong Triggers

Now, what does a man do during sex when he wishes to induce an erection? He tenses his legs and buttocks, and increases the rate of his movements, breath and heartbeat. In other words, he triggers the sympathetic nervous system, which inhibits erection—the exact opposite of what he's trying to achieve.

This leads to a vicious circle: his attempt at inducing erection won't work, which will make him more anxious and frustrated, which will stimulate the sympathetic nervous system even more, resulting in even more inhibition of erection.

The next time he will attempt to have sex, he will be in fear of "not performing" again, and this fear will make his failure even more likely. After a few failed sex sessions, this man will label himself as impotent, as suffering from erectile dysfunction, and this mindset will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The Solution

Thankfully, this problem can easily be avoided. All men have to do to avoid it, is to stop using the wrong triggers and instead start using the right triggers.

• Instead of contracting your body, relax it.
• Instead of taking quick superficial breaths, take long deep breaths with your abdominals engaged.
• Instead of over-stimulating your penis, be slow and gentle. The slower the touch, the more intense it is felt.
• Instead of focusing only on your penis, focus on the sensations in your whole body.

To put it simply: relax, don't tense, breathe deeply, take your time.

If using these triggers doesn't work for you, you might try consulting a doctor because sometimes erectile dysfunction has a medical cause. You might also try consulting a therapist, they will help you find the psychological cause if there is one and teach you how to work on it.

In any case, it never hurts learning how to relax during sex. Give a try to these techniques and let me know how it went.