10 Reasons Why Women Lose Their Libido
By ASTROGLIDE Team
Sexual Health
Why do women lose their sex drive? What causes low libido in females?
There are several different factors regarding what causes low libido in females. Female sexual dysfunction can include problems with desire, arousal, achieving orgasm and sexual pain that causes significant distress in your life. More specifically, decreased libido is when you don’t want to engage in any type of sexual activity, including masturbation, and you don’t want to have any sexual thoughts or fantasies.
Sound like someone you know? Let’s review some reasons why a woman’s libido has diminished or whyyou may not want to have sex with your significant other:
1. Bad Relationship.
Fighting with your partner is an easy way to kill your sex drive.
When you are angry or hurt, sex is the last thing on your mind. Fix your relationship — go to couples’ therapy, and potentially fix your reduced libido.
2. Stress.
It doesn’t matter where the stress comes from, all of it can cause your libido to drop.
It doesn’t matter if you’re stressed out from financial problems, from trying to get pregnant, or from worrying about your job – it all negatively impacts your libido. Stress can also lead to you being fatigued, which worsens the arousal problem.
Meanwhile, if you’re trying to conceive, stress can impact your fertility. Find ways to chill out, ladies – meditating daily to deal with stress works for many people and might work for you, too.
3. Alcohol and Smoking.
Both of these drugs have been shown to decrease sexual desire and satisfaction.
While alcohol in moderation is okay, when you binge drink, sexual dysfunction starts to occur. On the other hand, any kind of smoking is bad – just quit!
Easier said than done, right? You have to know why you are smoking. Substitute that why with something else. For example, if you smoke because you are bored, instead of lighting up go to the gym.
4. Mental Illness.
Mental conditions such as depression and anxiety can also cause your libido to drop.
Talk to your doctor and get treated. Sometimes medications used to treat these conditions can also cause a drop in libido – but not every medication does, so talk to your doctor.
5. Birth Control.
Hormonal birth control or other hormonal contraceptives have been shown to decrease testosterone in your body, which could lead to a reduced libido.
This is because testosterone is one of the hormones that make you horny.
Other medications such as antidepressants, anti-seizure meds, opioids, medical marijuana, antihistamines, and hypertensive medications can also decrease your sexual desire and testosterone level. Talk to your doctor about switching your medications if you think any are giving you a problem. Your healthcare provider can also potentially switch you to a non-hormonal birth control option outside of the birth control pill, like the Paragard IUD.
6. Trauma in your Past.
Negative sexual experiences in the past can cause issues with decreased libido.
Women who were raped or have been victims of domestic violence may, understandably, have issues here. Going to therapy to work through your pain can help.
7. Poor Body Image.
In a world full of fake butts and boobs, it isn’t hard to imagine women struggling with their body image.
Not thinking you are sexy enough can cause your sex drive to plummet.
If you don’t like something about yourself, change it – in a healthy way, of course. Eat clean, drink water and exercise – though, keep in mind that a lot of times this is something that you have to work out in therapy.
8. Medical Conditions.
Sometimes, you need to see a doctor to find the source of reduced sex drive.
Medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disease, congestive heart failure, or cancer can all affect libido and can contribute to a hormonal imbalance. They can alter hormones that have an impact on your sex drive. Proper treatment of the underlying disease can often improve libido.
9. Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.
Hormones fluctuate during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which can decrease a woman’s libido.
Being pregnant can cause you to be tired and not feel sexy, which certainly doesn’t help your libido! Fortunately, there are ways to increase libido during pregnancy.
Do your best to focus on intimacy with your partner — also, when you have the baby, get help. Let those grandparents help out with babysitting! Learn how to make time for sex as a new parent.
10. Aging.
In menopause, estrogen levels drop drastically because the ovaries aren’t working anymore.
Low estrogen causes, among other things, a dry vagina, which makes sex painful. This can lead to decreased sexual desire in menopausal women.
Arthritis in the aging population can make having sex less fun. When vaginal dryness makes sex uncomfortable, use lubricants (try a free sample of ASTROGLIDE Liquid or ASTROGLIDE Gel, which temporarily relieves dryness during intercourse). Some women find using vaginal estrogen also helps.
While some people simply have lower libidos than others, a sudden drop in your sex drive is a sign that you should see your doctor.
Have you increased your libido?
What worked best for you? Let us know on Twitter, @ASTROGLIDE!