Sexual performance anxiety refers to the very common experience of distressing thoughts and/or feelings prior to and during sexual activities. In many cases sexual performance anxiety takes the form of negative thoughts and self talk about not being "good enough" as a sexual partner, not being able to "perform," or otherwise being sexually "inadequate."
For many men, sexual performance anxiety focuses on the penis and erections. Men worry that they won't be able to get an erection, that their erection will go away, or that they may ejaculate and orgasm before they or their partner wants to stop having sexual intercourse.
For people of all genders, sexual performance anxiety is often tied to unrealistic expectations that every sexual encounter must meet a set of external evaluations (e.g., it needs to be a certain length of time, everyone must have an orgasm, it must involve intercourse, etc.). While sexual performance anxiety is not considered its own mental health diagnosis, it is noted as a part of many other sexual disorders documented in the DSM.
