My penis is very small

Good day Doc. I have a very small manhood that you can ever imagine for a 27-year-old man. I knew this since I was 14 years of age when I used to bath together with my peers in boarding school. To reduce the embarrassment, I used to isolate myself from the guys by facing the wall, yes it was that bad. I have girl friends but cannot perform with them out of the fear of rejection. Kindly help me.

Shehu (by SMS)

• Benefits of love and s*x

The issue of ‘small manhood’ has become so pervasive that it will appear as if there is an epidemic of ‘small manhood’ in the country. Although there are some real issues of the small male genital that calls for serious concern, psychologists believe that majority of the complainants are suffering from what they call ‘small penis anxiety’(SPA). SPA occurs when men’s preoccupation with penis size interferes with their social lives and causes serious psychological distress. A team of researchers from Kings College London are calling on scientists to develop therapy for men suffering from SPA. The psychological effects can be particularly devastating — as they describe in their recent study on British men in the journal Sexual Medicine — and the so-called “solutions” (pumps, pills, and, well, placebos) offered online aren’t exactly safe. The more helpful long-term solution, the authors write, is to treat the problem at its psychological root with counselling or psychotherapy.