Question:
I’m 15, turning 16 within a few months. I hit puberty around late 13 – early 14. Lately, I’ve been thinking about girls a ton. Like an absolute ton, for seemingly no reason. Normally I may have thought about it sometimes but not much. But suddenly, that’s what I’m thinking about a lot. Did I get hit with a wave of hormones or something? If yes, do you know which hormones it could be?
As a side note, I’ve noticed that my erections have become far stronger recently for seemingly no reason, which is a big plus, but I think it could be related to this. As a side question, does that mean my penis is growing as well?
Answer:
All your development is due to increasing hormones in your body, particularly the androgens (male hormones) like testosterone. The amount of hormones in your body fluctuates significantly during adolescence; those changing levels tend to amplify your moods.
However, what I suspect is that your reproductive glands are functioning now. When a male’s seminal vesicles get full, it causes him to become more interested in sexual things. The term for that is being aroused. Heightened arousal causes more frequent and stronger erections. This builds until he ejaculates. Then, the cycle begins again as the seminal vesicles continue to produce more semen.
Your penis grows in length mostly during stage 3 — the same stage as when you quickly grow taller in height. Then in the next stage, as your growth in height slows back down, your penis gains girth, making it bigger around when you are erect.