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Male Sexual Impotence: What Women Are Thinking

When a relationship is confronted with male sexual impotence, both partners experience myriad emotions that may challenge their ability to regain a healthy and satisfying sexual relationship. Men who experience sexual dysfunction are often plagued by feelings of self-doubt and may even experience severe depression as a result of their condition. Women too experience strong emotions. Here are six things that a woman may think of when confronted by her partner's sexual dysfunction.

1. "I'm not attractive to my partner any more." Many women's first reaction upon confronting her partner's sexual dysfunction is to question their ability to "turn on" their partner. Women may begin to doubt their ability to appear attractive to their partner, and may practice feelings of self-blame. Of course, this is almost never the case. Male sexual impotence is usually triggered by a combination of physiological and psychological causes. A woman and her sense of physical attractiveness can never be directly responsible for triggering male sexual dysfunction.

2. "My partner is angry with me, and that's why he can't perform." Some women may ascribe their partner's sexual dysfunction to an unresolved conflict in the relationship. While it's true that a man's psychological state of mind can influence his ability to perform sexually, it is rarely the case that sheer anger can cause a man to experience erectile dysfunction.

3. "There's something wrong with our relationship." Again, sexual dysfunction can be strongly influenced by a man's state of mind. If there is a problem with your emotional relationship, this may come into play in the bedroom. But male sexual dysfunction tends to be more complicated than that. Erectile dysfunction is usually caused by a combination of factors. A "bad" relationship cannot be solely responsible for erectile dysfunction.

4. "My partner must be suffering from a medical problem." This is perhaps the most rational response a woman can have when confronting their partner's inability to perform sexually. In fact, a great number (roughly 85 percent) of all cases of erectile dysfunction are caused by diagnosable medical conditions. Many, if not most, of those medical conditions can be treated so that both partners can regain their sexual relationship.

5. "Although I feel sorry for my partner, I am secretly relieved that he cannot perform sexually as in the past." Some women may find themselves feeling relieved that their partner is no longer capable of performing at the same level as they once did. Why? Some women just don't desire a sexual relationship at the same level that others do. They may find their emotional connection to their partner more sustaining than an active sexual relationship. They may view male sexual dysfunction and related disorders as welcome relief, and as an opportunity for strengthening non-sexual emotional bonds between both.

6. "My partner is getting older, so he can't perform like before." It's true that sexual dysfunction becomes more prevalent with age, but that doesn't mean you can't have an active and healthy sexual life if both partners desire it so.