Trocaventure

After the excitement of early adulthood, most people settle down as couples. This may be in marriage or simply a stable relationship. Under normal circumstances, two can live more cheaply than one. It’s economically convenient to live together assuming, of course, this is not a couple living with one set of parents. That produces a completely different set of psychological dynamics and, unless there are careful adjustments on all sides, such relationships often fail under the pressure of living as a single family unit. But couples who set up their own homes tend to be far more successful. The divorce and separation rates remain relatively steady with first relationships lasting an average of eight years.

So most sexual activity involves a relationship and stresses in that relationship may contribute to any sexual difficulties. One of the more common causes of erectile dysfunction is performance anxiety. This may start for a number of reasons but, if the man’s self-confidence is low, he may find failure becomes more common. This is not something that may readily be cured by taking one of the erectile dysfunction drugs. For sex to work, the mind must be willing. If libido is low, say because of depression, the erectile dysfunction drugs will not help at all. Therapy is the best form of treatment. There are two problems. The first is cost. Although some health plans may cover different forms of physical therapy and rehabilitation, sexual therapy is still faintly controversial. Insurers tend to be suspicious. Paying out of your own pocket can therefore be expensive. The second problem is that the activity of sexual therapy is not regulated. Anyone can put up a shingle claiming expertise (one of the reasons for insurers’ suspicions). You need to look for a registered clinical counsellor, preferably certified by the American College of Sexologists. Such therapists must have a masters degree or comparable qualifications from a recognized university, and have spent at least 100 hours with clinical supervision, usually in a hospital environment.

It’s better to go for counseling as a couple so that you can discuss how you feel sex fits into the relationship. It’s important to understand issues of intimacy vs privacy. Are there activities you prefer not to share? Do you really trust each other? Although it might sound strange to discuss your lives with a stranger, it’s important to be able to find someone who will listen without judging and offer specific advice. Quite often, such discussions reveal long-standing problems that have been causing unhappiness. Once you learn to be more open with each other, trust is re-established and you can go on to create a better, stronger relationship. Only then can you move on to the practical mechanics of sex. [...]

Suffering from a condition like erectile dysfunction can be very distressing for some men. Although most men realize that this condition is relatively common amongst men, particularly middle aged men, those suffering from the condition can often feel alone and very depressed about their problem. One of the major things about ED is that it is a problem that not only affects men physically in terms of being able to achieve and maintain and erection but it also affects them psychologically in terms of their self confidence levels, their self esteem and their stress levels. For some men their overall quality of life can be severely affected because of this condition. [...]

For many men the thought of losing their hair in their thirties or forties is a dreadful thing. There are men of course who are not bothered about losing hair and bald spots. However, there are many others who are very proud of their mane of hair and are not pleased at the prospect of seeing if fall out. Sadly, baldness and hair loss is a problem affecting plenty of men, having them to use bald patches or shave their hair off altogether. [...]

Going bald early on is something that happens to many men and is also something that many men dread happening to them. Whilst women tend to manage to hang on to their hair until they are relatively old many men start to lose their hair early on in life, such as their twenties, thirties and forties. Having to deal with hair loss and bald patches leaves many men feeling extremely self conscious and can really hit their confidence levels. [...]

Let’s start with the less obvious phenomenon of BDSM which involves a range of physical activities sometimes involving the infliction and acceptance of pain. This all spills over from the notions of dominance and submissiveness in sex, but it’s not as uncommon as you might imagine. About 10% of the population engage in BDSM fantasies. Then, depending on sexual preferences, a significant number move on to practical experimentation using masks, blindfolds, handcuffs, and so on. The most common use of pain is through spanking. Even though the mainstream might not understand how voluntarily experiencing pain can be considered sexually stimulating, the reality is that there’s a small but active community that finds it so.

At the other end of the spectrum are people who flinch even at the thought of pain. As a nation, we take more painkillers than any other group of people. This has nothing to do with the US having one of the largest populations in the world. It reflects a culture that largely rejects the idea of pain and wants a quick fix if even the slightest discomfort comes its way. The result is the consumption of vast amounts of painkillers starting with the over-the-counter medications and working up to the heavy-duty opiates. Given this, it might not surprise you to learn that more people die from the abuse of prescription painkillers than from heart attacks. It’s a depressing thought that one of the most common causes of death in our country is avoidable if only people would treat drugs with more respect.

This national obsession with medication is a result of direct marketing by the pharmaceutical industry. In other countries, Big Pharma is only allowed to sell to the healthcare services industry. So, although there are inevitably stories in the newspapers and magazines about new developments, the general public’s awareness is not constantly reinforced by ads. More importantly, government regulators limit the choice of drugs that doctors can prescribe. There’s a value-for-money test. If there’s no evidence of significant improvements from using a particular drug, the doctors cannot prescribe it through the public system. Desperate patients must rely on private health insurance or pay out of their own pockets for these drugs. The results are easy to see in the pharmaceutical industries’ profits from foreign countries. Where there’s effective regulation, profits are down. Our market is the most profitable in the world. [...]