I grew up in an alcholic household. I have all kinds of behavioral problems associated with that upbringing. Some of the problems are sexual confusion and I have been known to act out sexualy. Recently, I was having problems with impotence. I've been cleared medically as being perfectly healthy down there.
The cause of this couldn't possible be physical or attributed to my alcholic household. I'm wondering if this is a side effect of sexual abuse. However, I cannot recollect being abused in any way as a child.

Personally I have no doubt that impotence can be caused by sexual trauma from childhood. It is not for me to say it applies to you. I have known several men who were completely unaware that what happened to them could be defined as sexual abuse. It was not that they couldn't remember incidences but that they didn't concider what happenen to them could be considered sexual abuse. For instance I didn't know being called to my mother's bed to sleep with her throughout adolescence was a form of sexual abuse. I carried a ton of rage and I felt like an ungrateful son and shameful.
I also remember a nurse I worked with who was describing an incident of "entertainment" she and her sister had with her infant son. There is an old Army nurse technique of snapping, with fingers, the base of an erect penis causing it to collapse. This was done in order to "reduce embarassment of a soldier" while she inserted a catheter. The nurse and her sister thought it great fun to repeatedly stimulate the infant to erection and thump it to deflation. I was stunned and said "that's sexual abuse." Her response was "it was not (because) my sister is a nurse." As if that made it not sexual abuse because nurses(women) don't sexually abuse only men. A couple of years later I related the story to a couple of therapists in a social setting. The thoughts that came to their minds were during sexual relations with his future wife he might have inexplicable incidences of impotence. Because it happened pre-verbally he probably will never really know why. The issue of impotence would be something for you and a therapist to explore. ?sexual abuse along with other possibilities as a root cause.

----------- BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF AND YOUR PROCESS
------------ RJD

[ 08-12-2001: Message edited by: RJD ]

[ 08-12-2001: Message edited by: RJD ]

[ 08-12-2001: Message edited by: RJD ]

as a recovering alcoholic and a twisted fram of mind from childhood sexual abuse, i can say for me it has been no problem haveing finding, showing or deminstrating the non-problem with an erection, sorry i cant help.....sex has been my life for a long time, this thinking has caused me to have to take meds to fix chemical imbalances, im thinking an act or something may be at fault..

that toke a long time,,,,,i feel censored....

Thanks thunderbolt and RJD. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with molestation. Of course, I don't really have any means at my disposal.