Why Can’t a Man Reach Orgasm?

International classifications of mental health disorders identify the absence of orgasm as anorgasmia under a common cipher, without dividing it into male and female anorgasmia.

Orgasm may sometimes occur without ejaculation or, conversely, ejaculation may not be accompanied by orgasm.

The term “orgasmic anhedonia” is most frequently used to describe orgasmic disorders such as loss of pleasure while maintaining ejaculation. Sensations experienced by men are described as varying from “insensitivity, insensibility” to “disgust”. 

Orgasm Problems in Numbers

Information on the prevalence of orgasmic disorders varies significantly among different authors. According to some sources, this type of disorder occurs in only 1% to 3% of the male population, while others suggest that in some situations, at least 5% to 14% of men report some difficulty in achieving orgasm.

Why Men Can’t Achieve Orgasm: Causes

Psychopathological factors are the most common cause of the absence of orgasm.

Orgasmic anhedonia may occur as a part of depressive and neurotic disorders, as a background to dissociative or schizotypal disorders, etc.

For instance, among men with depressive disorder, an absence of orgasm can appear in conjunction with lowered libido and suppression of nearly all components of the mental sphere: emotional, intellectual, and behavioral. Some people feel joylessness — the loss of the attractive aspects and joys of life itself, including the intellectual and aesthetic components, involving the feeling of pleasure from new experiences. Ejaculation may be maintained, although there may be no positive feelings associated with ejaculation.

If you notice a lack of orgasm, we recommend you make an appointment with a sexologist or psychotherapist.

Sources: 

Self-reported reasons for having difficulty reaching orgasm in men with diverse etiologies (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10318491/), Sex Med. 2023 Jun; 11(3): qfad030. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.

Disorders of orgasm and ejaculation in men (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20388164/), J Sex Med
. 2010 Apr;7(4 Pt 2):1668-86. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01782.x. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.

Delayed Orgasm and Anorgasmia (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4816679/), Fertil Steril. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 Nov 1. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.

Orgasm Disorder (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sex-pleasure-and-sexual-dysfunction/sexual-dysfunction/orgasm-disorder). Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.