An Emotional Hard-on

2014-05-13

Remember the days when you were in school, would look down and realize you had a huge hard-on for no reason at all? You prayed that you wouldn’t be called to the board that day. Embarrassing as a surprise erection is, it usually subsides once adolescence is over. Some guys think that as an adult however they only get erect when they see someone they find sexy (askmen.com). But the truth is lots of guys get what is called an emotional hard-on. The first time saying “I love you” with a partner can bring it on. Staring deeply into each other’s eyes may wake up the beast within. Proposing to someone and having them say yes, hearing your partner profess their most profound love, or even finding out that they want to have a family with you can make your soldier stand at attention. Though some guys find it perhaps confusing or slightly worrisome, it’s actually a very natural reaction to an attractive emotional state. One problem however is often women don’t by the sentimental stiffy. Women can be suspicious of it. In fact, they suspect there is another reason for the male member rising to the occasion, which though would make a hilarious Sitcom plot can also put a damper on your love life. It could lead to an argument. There is an old saying that a “Stiff prick knows no conscience.” But this isn’t always true.

Men’s Health Ontario primary physician Dr. John Aquino states that when we consider an erection we have to consider the mind-body connection. Of course blood flow, hormones and other biological reactions have something to do with it. But within two centers of the brain is where it all begins. The temporal cortex, the part that works and evaluates the stimulus of the senses, is a big part of the erection process. You see a gorgeous, half naked person and the temporal cortex gets things into action. The next thing you know you’re saying to yourself, “What’s happening in my pants?” But the second part of the brain, somewhere between the paralimbic area and the frontal cortex also plays a role. These areas are the home of motivation and our emotions. Dr. Aquino said of this “Sometimes a guy can’t get an erection if he has too much on his mind, even if he is looking at something sexual.” If you’ve ever been grieving, extremely anxious or really stressed out, you know this to be true. Of course, just as in class when you were a teen, the opposite can be true too according to Dr. Aquino. “If the emotional center becomes very active for whatever reason or a man is in a very deep state of relaxation, the whole erectile process can get started from this area all by itself even without sexual stimulus. It’s not as common, and it can take a lot of guys by surprise.” Director of the Toronto Institute of Psychoanalysis Don Carveth summed it up this way, “Most psychiatrists agree that human sexuality is 99% in the mind.”