Understanding
How to Get Rid of ED: Start With a Doctor
If you want to know how to get rid of ED, here is the short version. Erection problems deserve a visit to a doctor in their own right. This page can’t tell you what applies to you.
I’m a clinical psychologist, not your prescriber, and I want to be careful here. A lot of what gets written about ED online is either selling a supplement or selling a story.
Get it checked before you try to fix it
Start with a doctor. I know that’s the least exciting sentence in this article, but it’s the most important one.
So book the appointment.
Where pornography fits — and where it doesn’t
Many men arrive convinced that porn caused their ED. If that’s you, I want to be straight about what the evidence does and doesn’t show, because the popular story is more confident than the science.
Cross-sectional data on younger men found no robust link between how much porn a man used and erectile difficulties (Landripet & Štulhofer, 2015). And a review pulling the observational studies together concluded the evidence is inconsistent, largely correlational, and not strong enough to say pornography causes sexual dysfunction (Dwulit & Rzymski, 2019). So I’m not going to tell you porn broke your body. As a blanket claim, the data doesn’t support it.
Frequently asked questions
Can pornography cause erectile dysfunction? The evidence is mixed and does not support a clean causal story. Several studies found no robust link (Landripet & Štulhofer, 2015).
Will quitting porn fix my ED? Don’t let the quitting-porn story stop you from getting the physical side assessed.
Is my ED physical or psychological? It’s not something to self-diagnose. Get it assessed rather than guessing.
Do I need medication like Viagra? That’s a decision for your prescriber. Discuss it with your doctor.
This article is educational and reflects clinical best practice as of the last review date; it is not a substitute for individual clinical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call your local emergency number now, or find a free crisis line in your country at findahelpline.com.
Sources
- Landripet I, Štulhofer A (2015). Is Pornography Use Associated with Sexual Difficulties and Dysfunctions among Younger Heterosexual Men?. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsm.12853 Link
- Dwulit AD, Rzymski P (2019). The Potential Associations of Pornography Use with Sexual Dysfunctions: An Integrative Literature Review of Observational Studies. Journal of Clinical Medicine. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8070914 Link
More on The Essentials
Every published guide in this topic.