Peter, age 47, is a highly paid and highly successful journalist, who has noticed a gradual reduction in the hardness of his erections over the past 2 years. Then, 6 weeks ago, after a particularly difficult argument with Edward, his partner of 7 years, he found himself unable to have an erection at all, and his morning erections stopped.

His doctor found he had high blood pressure, which might have caused the reduced hardness, but Peter was told that the sudden change was probably due to psychological causes, and sent him to a therapist.

During discussions with the therapist, Peter began to see that for some time he had been hiding resentment from Edward. He felt that expressing anger was a bad thing in a loving relationship, although Edward had no problem expressing his anger to Peter. This difference had led to a build up of bad feelings, and was the cause of the argument. Because of Peter's belief that expressing anger was wrong, he now felt very guilty, which could easily have caused the loss of erections.

The therapist suggested he discuss the matter with Edward, who was very understanding, and apologised for not realising how hurtful his anger had been. As a couple, they came to an agreement about the most fair way of letting each other know if they were feeling angry or upset.