British psychosexual therapist says easy access to porn ‘damaging men’s health’

Younger men are showing up with what is usually an older man’s health condition. An increasing number of men in their late teens and early 20’s are being diagnosed with erectile dysfunction, according to a report on BBC Newsbeat.

In older men with erectile dysfunction, the condition is typically related to diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or cardiovascular disease. British psychosexual therapist Angela Gregory, however, reports seeing young men with ED more often than expected and the rate is increasing.

“What I’ve seen over the last 16 years, particularly the last five years, is an increase in the amount of younger men being referred,” said Gregory. “These younger men do not have organic disease, they’ve already been tested by their GP and everything is fine,” Gregory continued. “So one of the first assessment questions I’d always ask now is about pornography and masturbatory habit because that can be the cause of their issues about maintaining an erection with a partner.”

BBC cited the case of a young man who started watching porn at age 15 when he got his first laptop. He progressed in a short time to daily sessions. “At my peak, I was probably watching up to two hours of porn every day.”

He said that when he realized that his porn addiction was interfering with his ability to have sex, despite attraction and availability, he sought help. “At first, I went to a doctor and she said, ‘I don’t think there’s enough evidence to suggest it’s a thing, however, I do have a lot of young men coming to me with this problem.'”

The young man in the BBC article reportedly abstained from watching porn for 100 days and that did the trick. He now volunteers on online forums trying to help others. His message is, “You should tell your friends, tell people who are close to you or just a couple of people you trust. And don’t worry, there are many of us in the same boat.”

Gregory, however, advises those who think they have a porn-related problem to talk with their doctor.