How to stop an erection

Changing your position when you have a random erection might sound self-explanatory, but it actually has two functions.

Firstly, if you get a random erection at a potentially embarrassing or unwanted time, you can try and manoeuvre yourself to hide the erection and reduce how self-conscious you feel. This could include crossing your legs, for example.

But certain positions may also help to move pressure away from the blood vessels that supply the penis and induce an erection. The way you’re sitting may also inadvertently be stimulating, so changing position could help to reduce the effect of stimulation.

Another thing you may want to try if you have a random erection is changing your train of thought or distracting yourself.

For example, – try thinking about something serious like your rent or mortgage, bills or work deadlines. Or you may want to think about something completely random or even humorous.

Meditation is an ancient practice derived from Buddhism. Research shows that regular meditation can be beneficial in a number of ways because it focuses on breathing techniques, the self and forgetting the material. Practicing mindfulness through breathing or chanting helps to cultivate ‘awareness of how the mind works and the ability to maintain focus.’

Meditation may also help with random erections because it shifts focus from the physical and external to the mind and the internal. This might sound hard to grasp in practice, so here’s a good way to get you started:

1. If you have a random erection, shift the focus to your breathing.
2. If you can, close your eyes.
3. Sit with your back straight and inhale through your nose for four seconds.
4. Hold your breath for seven seconds.
5. Exhale through your mouth for eight seconds.
6. Try to do this with a completely blank mind, don’t think of anything at all. (It’s harder than it sounds).

This is known as the ‘4-7-8 technique.’ It might not always be practical to meditate fully, but focusing on your breathing alone is a subtle way of practicing meditation without drawing attention to yourself.

It has been posited that random erections which occur in the night may act as a mechanism to prevent you from urinating while you sleep. However, more research on the subject is needed. Most experts believe nocturnal penile tumescence is associated exclusively with the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, and has little to do with bladder function.

Either way, if you have a random erection, going to the toilet is a good method to try and help it subside. This is because you’re concentrating your mind on something else.

There’s actually quite a simple explanation for why it’s difficult to urinate with an erection. When you have an erection, the internal urethral sphincter contracts. It does this to prevent semen from entering the bladder, but also stops urine from passing through the urethra.

As your erection subsides, the internal urethral sphincter will relax and dilate, opening a passage for urine once again. This is why it’s possible to urinate while ‘semi’ erect.

If you go to the bathroom with a random erection, concentrate on going to the toilet. If it helps, you can press (gently) and massage your bladder to promote the need to pee. Sooner or later, your mind will recognise that your bladder needs to empty, and the erection will naturally subside.

If you have a random erection and you’re able to take a cold shower, this is another good way to help an unwanted erection subside. A cold shower will give the body a mini shock which triggers an evolutionary ‘fight or flight’ response.

You may also have heard of ‘winter penis’, where the penis supposedly shrinks in colder weather. Some sexual health experts claim this happens because the blood vessels temporarily shut down when we’re exposed to colder weather. Taking a cold shower may have a similar effect.

Your erection should naturally ease up in a cold shower. However, if you’re experiencing priapism – a painful erection that won’t go away – avoid cold showers altogether as they could make the situation worse.

A downside to this method is that taking a shower isn’t always practical, especially if you have a random erection in a public setting.

Another method to help alleviate a random erection is to simply sit and wait. Moving may inadvertently feel stimulating, and so not moving at all and waiting patiently might help the erection subside.

Just sit, relax and focus on your breathing – and remember, nobody is more conscious of your erection than you. So don’t panic, wait it out.

Erections happen because blood flows into the penis. One there, vessels at the base of the penis constrict which induces lasting firmness. This is all well and good, except when you don’t want it to happen and it does.

To try and get rid of an erection, focus on basic exercise. Exercise will get your blood pumping and the circulatory system will divert blood to other areas of the body, specifically those you’re targeting through physical activity. So, a brisk walk would divert blood to the legs, pushups to the arms.