'A sense of togetherness and intimacy is usually an extremely rewarding experience irrespective of the presence of an erection.'ĭr Fox says challenging the social myths around what enjoyable sex looks like forces us to try new things. Mr Tilley recommends thinking about the holistic sexual experience. Read more A holistic and explorative sexual experienceīroadening your definition of sex will help increase your ability to experience pleasure without an erection. While you may wish to see your GP, sex therapist or other medical professionals to address ED, experiencing it doesn't mean you can't have good sex. 'Psychogenic causes are multifaceted and are likely to result from a complex interplay between beliefs and attitudes, and disrupted thoughts about experiences and sexual performance,' Mr Tilley says. Psychological causes may include stress, relationship issues, depression and anxiety. 'This is a key reason why anyone with erectile difficulties should consult their GP,' Mr Tilley says.

Other factors can include smoking, medications and pelvic trauma. While the risk of ED increases with age, anyone with a penis can experience it.įor physiological causes, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners says ED shares common risk factors with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease and prostate surgery, for example. The common causes of erectile dysfunction (ED) occur within two domains: physiological and psychological, says Mr Tilley. Read more Erectile dysfunction briefly explained So what can sex without an erection look like? We spoke with Mr Tilley and Dr Chris Fox, a senior lecturer in sexology at the University of Sydney, to bust a few common myths. 'For many people, this is extremely satisfying.'

They can still experience high levels of stimulation and pleasure without an erection,' Mr Tilley says. 'A person with a penis doesn't require a full erection to have a pleasurable sexual encounter. The reality is, you don't need a hard penis to experience or give pleasure. 'Sometimes the person can become fixated on the loss of erection further preventing them regaining their erection.' 'People typically overlook the fact that a person's erection waxes and wanes throughout the sexual encounter, meaning they may lose their erection, or partially lose it and then regain it,' explains Matt Tilley, a clinical psychologist and lecturer in sexology at Curtin University.

That puts a lot of pressure on sexual encounters, given 40 per cent of Aussie men will experience erectile dysfunction. Many people with a penis see an erection as an important part of giving and receiving pleasure.

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