{"id":9382,"date":"2025-12-09T10:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=9382"},"modified":"2025-12-10T21:34:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T21:34:33","slug":"i-orgasm-but-feel-nothing-how-sexual-anhedonia-is-wrecking-mens-pleasure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/09\/i-orgasm-but-feel-nothing-how-sexual-anhedonia-is-wrecking-mens-pleasure\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I orgasm but feel nothing\u2019: How sexual anhedonia is wrecking men\u2019s pleasure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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‘I thought this was supposed to feel amazing.’ (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘I have never felt what I believe to be a true orgasm<\/a>.’<\/p>\n

These were the words of one helpless 18-year-old on Reddit as he questioned why his climax<\/a>, something often touted as a treasure trove of pleasure, doesn’t feel as it should.<\/p>\n

In fact, there are a few of us who achieve the big-O only to feel… nothing.<\/p>\n

This is known as sexual anhedonia<\/strong>, not to be confused with the likes of anorgasmia<\/a> (difficulty climaxing) or PSSD<\/a>, which refers to sexual dysfunction due to anti-depressants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘I remember masturbating<\/a> for the first time at 12 and thinking \u201cwait I thought this was supposed to feel amazing\u2026\u201d’ he adds. ‘I have a pretty good sex drive and masturbate regularly with no problem getting hard… <\/p>\n

‘When I ejaculate there is no \u201cWOW!\u201d moment, never has been… I wonder if I\u2019m missing out on a key part of life.’<\/p>\n

Another man described a similar experience on Mumsnet. ‘If I masturbate or have sex there is literally no pleasure. It’s a “release” but I don’t experience any pleasure when I orgasm,’ he explained.<\/p>\n

If this experience holds a mirror up to your own sexual experience, we’ve enlisted the help of a doctor to share what might be going on down there.<\/p>\n

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People think an orgasm should be earth-shattering, but that’s not the case for everyone (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is sexual anhedonia?<\/h2>\n

‘Basically it’s sex with no feeling, in particular no feeling <\/em>of orgasm, even though you’re experiencing one,’ Dr Jeff Foster, for Manual.co, tells Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It can affect both men and women but has different names for each. For men, it’s known as ejaculatory anhedonia<\/em>, and for women it’s referred to as orgasmal anhedonia<\/em>. We’re also more likely to hear about men’s experience with the condition because there’s less research into the female side of the condition, according to the GP. <\/p>\n

‘Men do physically ejaculate and women do physically orgasm, but neither experience the normal pleasure associated with a climax,’ Dr Foster adds.<\/p>\n

The doctor has seen patients who also ‘feel sex has no emotion to it’, as well as who lose their libido, have relationship difficulties<\/a>, or past sexual trauma, if they’ve been suffering with sexual anhedonia.<\/p>\n

What causes it?<\/h2>\n

There are two primary causes: physical or psychological. <\/p>\n

‘Physical causes include neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s<\/a> or dementia<\/a>, brain trauma, injury or cancer<\/a>,’ Dr Foster explains. ‘Psychological causes include depression<\/a>, schizophrenia<\/a>, and eating disorders<\/a>.’<\/p>\n

All of these have the potential to alter how our brain or nerves receive those pleasure signals from our orgasm. They trigger sexual anhedonia by ‘damaging the parts of the brain relating to pleasure and sex’.<\/p>\n

‘Or the condition can be part of a wider spectrum of symptoms relating to mood disorders, if you feel very low sex can become less enjoyable,’ he adds.<\/p>\n

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The cause of your sexual anhedonia could be psychological or physical (Picture: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Main causes of sexual anhedonia include:<\/p>\n