There are essentially three aspects - physical, psychological and habitual - which
together are responsible for causing and perpetuating this problem.

Physical Aspect or Over-sensitivity
The head of the penis (called the glans penis) is the most sensitive part of the
penis. The penile sensory perception is supplied by a pair of cavernosal nerves,
which when stimulated will transmit the signals back to the spinal cord and the
higher centre of the brain. A signal is then sent out to eventually cause a chain
reaction culminating in an ejaculation.

It is now recognized that men who have recurrent and persistent PE have a lower
perception threshold than those who do not. The condition is diagnosed by
measuring the lowest recordable vibratory threshold using an instrument called a
biothesiometer.

The lower the threshold, the easier it is to provoke an ejaculatory
response, even with a minimal amount of sexual stimulation. This physical aspect
of PE, on its own does not imply a deficiency or weakness; it's just the way you
are €wired€, so to speak.

Psychological Aspect or Anxiety-induced Response
Once Premature Ejaculation happens more often than it should, men would
naturally feel embarrassed, overly concerned and pre-occupied with the idea of it
happening again. In response to such a psychological stress, the sympathetic
nervous system is activated to €deal€ with the situation.

Such activation in turn, causes an involuntary relaxation of the very €muscle€ that controls ejaculation, called the external urethral sphincter. In other words, performance anxiety or nervousness will activate the sympathetic nervous system and predispose men to having uncontrolled ejaculation. The harder you try to stop ejaculating, an anxiety on its own, the more rapidly ejaculation seems to occur!

Habitual Aspect
After having ejaculated with minimal stimulation, men will learn to repeat this
experience as a €learned€ response with the next sexual stimulation. A €habit€ is
formed, which becomes reinforced over the years, which is difficult or impossible
to break out of without help. It is important to recognize that all three aspects, individually or jointly are responsible for causing PE. Fixing one aspect does not fix the problem.

How Does PE Affect Your Sex Life?
Having Premature Ejaculation makes it difficult for you to fully enjoy your sex
life. Instead of relaxing and enjoying the pleasures of love making, you can
become pre-occupied with ejaculating too rapidly. As a result, there may be a
tendency to avoid lovemaking and other forms of intimacy. This problem may
even affect your confidence in everyday life or impair your ability to socialize.

How Does PE Affect Your Partner?
It would be difficult for your partner to enjoy love making when it's €all over€ too
quickly. Even though there are other ways to satisfy your partner, most couples
prefer to climax as close to simultaneously as possible. They can then relax and
together enjoy the €after glow€. Premature Ejaculation can therefore interfere
with a healthy sex life. Lack of sexual satisfaction can lead to sexual avoidance
and is often a cause of relationship disharmony.

Coping and support
Many men who experience premature ejaculation feel frustrated and even ashamed. It may help you to know that this problem is common and often very treatable. Talk to your doctor if it's causing distress for you or your partner.

While you explore treatment options, consider taking the pressure off the sexual side of your relationship. Some doctors recommend avoiding intercourse entirely for a short time and sharing other forms of physical pleasure and affection instead.

Connecting in this way can help you re-establish a satisfying physical bond with your partner. Taking the emphasis off intercourse can remove the worry about ejaculating too soon €" and it can help lay the foundation for a more fulfilling sexual relationship.