Preserving health
The best way to maintain health is to preserve it through a healthful lifestyle, rather than waiting until we are sick to put things right.
This state of enhanced well-being is referred to as wellness.
The McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois IL defines wellness as:
"A state of optimal well-being that is oriented toward maximizing an individual's potential. This is a life-long process of moving towards enhancing your physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental well-being."
Wellness promotes an active awareness of and participation in health, as an individual and in the community.
Maintaining wellness and optimal health is a lifelong, daily commitment.
Steps that can help us maximize our health include:
- a balanced, nutritious diet, sourced as naturally as possible
- regular exercising
- screening for diseases that may present a risk
- learning to manage stress
- engaging in activities that provide purpose and connection to others
- maintaining a positive outlook and appreciating what you have
- defining a value system, and putting it into action
Peak health will be different for each person, and how you achieve wellness may be different from how someone else does.
It may not be possible to avoid disease completely, but doing as much as we can to develop resilience and prepare the body and mind to deal with problems as they arise is a step we can all take.
Men who have a problem with their sexual performance may be reluctant to talk with their doctor, seeing it as an embarrassing issue.
However, doctors are used to dealing with potentially embarrassing issues in private consultations; and, erectile dysfunction is now well understood, and there are various treatments available.
This article offers helpful information for people experiencing this problem, or those close to them.
Contents of this article:
Fast facts on erectile dysfunction:
- Erectile dysfunction is defined as persistent difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection sufficient to have sex.
- Causes are usually medical but can also be psychological.
- Organic causes are usually the result of an underlying medical condition affecting the blood vessels or nerves supplying the penis.
- Numerous prescription drugs, recreational drugs, alcohol, and smoking, can all cause erectile dysfunction.
What is erectile dysfunction?
A man is considered to have erectile dysfunction if he regularly finds it difficult getting or keeping a firm enough erection to be able to have sex, or if it interferes with other sexual activity.
Most men have occasionally experienced some difficulty with their penis becoming hard or staying firm.
However, erectile dysfunction is only considered a concern if satisfactory sexual performance has been impossible on a number of occasions for some time.
Broadly, two forms of erectile dysfunction can affect men's sex lives - the main cause is either medical or psychosocial.
- Medical - these are illnesses or anatomical changes that prevent the penis from becoming or staying erect.
- Psychosocial - this refers to psychological influences on sexual performance; it might include problems within a relationship or stress at work.
It is important to note that there can be overlap between medical and psychosocial causes. For instance, if a man is obese, blood flow changes can affect his ability to maintain an erection (a medical cause); he may also have low self-esteem, which can also impact erectile function (psychosocial cause).