Keep in mind that medical therapies for both physical and psychogenic impotence can be much the same.
Research shows the placebo effect works. In one study, patients with raised blood pressure were divided into three groups. Group A went to faith healers who “laid on hands.” Group B did the same, but the faith healers did not touch them. Group C were the control. They were fully aware of this. They knew they had raised blood pressure and were not to receive any treatment.
When the blood pressure dropped, it did so evenly for all three groups. And it dropped equally by 30 percent. The reasons why it dropped in Group A and B are open to debate. Why it dropped in the control Group C is even more of a mystery. The physicians I who monitored the study could only suggest the satisfactory results were due to the placebo effect.
The power of the imagination is stronger than the power of facts. In control group C, participating in the study and just having blood pressure regularly monitored was enough to produce the desired effect. In marginal cases, the placebo effect of just seeking a urologist’s help has been known to restore the ability to erect. It might be worth giving the placebo effect of the consultation a chance to work before opting for therapy. Or, if embarking on therapy, become strongly motivated to believe in its success.
Who’s for Medical Therapy?
The answer would seem to be any man with a problem. Yet this is not always so. Like women, men have different levels of sexual need. Some are relieved to be free of the “turbulent demands of the flesh.” No man should feel pressured by social values or other obligations to undergo therapy unless he himself is strongly motivated to do so.
The following groups may opt for medical therapy:
- Men who suffer physical impotence, including diabetes.
- Men whose impotence is due solely to the aging process – the erection lacks enough rigidity for penetration.
- Young men whose psychogenic (stress) impotence has lasted over two years. They may not respond to self-help because they no longer believe they can sort out their unresolved conflicts.
- Men over age 50 with stress impotence who may feel too angry or defeated to believe they can be helped.
There are many different choices of therapy, some of which may seem totally unacceptable. They lack aesthetic appeal, or sound fiddly and unlikely to work. Try to avoid rejecting one without a trial. Keep an open mind.