Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction (PIED): Recovery Beyond Abstinence

So it's 2 a.m. and you're typing, why can't I get it up with my wife into Google? You stopped watching porn three months ago.

Your wife is asleep down the hall.

The last time you tried to be with her, you couldn't.

And now you're scared.

You did something to yourself that won't ever come back.

We want to say something right at the start here.

Your body almost certainly isn't broken.

What you're describing has a name.

It's called porn-induced erectile dysfunction, or PIED.

It isn't a formal medical diagnosis, but it's a real pattern, and the research on how it works and how men recover from it is getting clearer.

So we're going to walk through what's actually happening in your body, what the flat line is, that term, and why it shows up weeks or months into recovery, the recovery pathway most men in the abstinence-only forums never hear about, and what your wife or partner is likely feeling on her side of this too.

So Berlinda is going to speak directly to that in a section of her own.

And then by the end of this, we want you to walk away with two things.

So a name for what's happening and a path through it that isn't just white knuckling more weeks of nothing.

We've created Normalize Therapy to help you heal and grow.

Our goal is to provide you with sound, research-based wisdom on complex human problems in a way that is easy to understand and relate to.

And we named our show Normalize Therapy because we believe that everyone can benefit from therapy and nobody should be too proud to seek help when they need it.

Caleb and I are both professional counselors who are deeply committed to honest, real conversations about tough topics.

But we speak with empathy and compassion.

Our goal is not just to help you change, but to help you hold your own story with grace and mercy while you listen to us.

And along the way, we have a few good laughs and we love to celebrate the positive side of human nature.

So one quick note before we get into this.

What we're going to share is psychoeducation.

It's not medical advice.

Erectile dysfunction can have a lot of causes, cardiovascular issues, hormonal changes, medication side effects, sleep problems, and others.

If you have any reason to think that yours might be physical, please see your doctor for a workup.

The patterns we're describing here are real, but they don't replace a medical assessment when one is warranted.