Nothing can lower your self-esteem and affect your romantic relationships quite like a reduction in libido. If you’re not familiar with that, it’s simply the scientific term for sex drive. When that decreases, you develop a wide range of emotional and physiological conditions, the least of which may include a negative self-image and depression.
The moment you start to feel you’re taking too long to be aroused might not be much of an issue, but left untreated, it could lead to social and emotional strains that could get worse over time. It pays to be informed about what causes a drop in libido and, more so, the ways you can maintain an active sex life.
What Causes Your Sex Drive to Drop?
Treating a drop in libido requires understanding the typical causes of why you begin to feel less excited about sex. There’s a long list of possible factors but numerous studies point towards causes revolving around a person’s mental state.
Performance anxiety and triggered traumas are some of these factors that inhibit a person’s sexual appetite. People who are constantly burnt out, sleep-deprived, and exhausted are also high-risk groups. Some individuals are more likely to get aroused when the conditions are right, that is when they are relaxed or kept in a less stimulating environment.
The lack of desire for sex can often be attributed to underlying relationship problems. Emotional rifts and differing expectations between partners can cause one or the other to lose interest in love-making. There’s a good chance the appetite for sex is still there but with either partner looking for someone else to satisfy it.
The Hows of Treating a Decreased Sex Drive
Whatever is causing you to suffer a reduction in your sex drive, there are ways you can apply that will help you restore it or, better yet, amplify your desire. Here are a few things that can help you deal with a decreased libido:
1. Learn how to deal with stress
Stress is a major mood killer and when you allow it to take over your life, your sex life becomes one of its initial casualties. It might be difficult to manage work and life, but you will need to realize that preserving your sexual well-being is just as important as making a living. That’s not to say you should retire early and spend the rest of your days making love!
It’s only a simple matter of finding time to slow down and deal with the stressors in your life. Pace your work and avoid clocking in for overtime. You should also learn to say “no” and do things that give you a sense of joy and peace. Learning how to deal with stress is subjective but whatever it is you’re doing to inhibit cortisol and increase sex hormones, just keep doing it.
2. Make lifestyle changes
Boosting your sex drive is always a matter of choice. It requires deciding to improve your emotional wellbeing and enhance your ability to attract a sexual partner. You can opt to change the way you dress or develop a more appealing personality. In some cases, you may even go for modifying your body in ways that will boost your performance in bed as well as your self-esteem.
Many people might not find it an issue, but having a smaller-than-average penis can have a major impact on your ability to satisfy your partner. Dealing with this problem might involve testosterone therapy if it’s hormonal in nature or a permanent penis enlargement procedure in more severe cases.
3. Reach out to a sex therapist
It’s not only stress that keeps you from enjoying sex. For the most, you could be your own worst enemy when you start to look at yourself as unappealing. If your reduced libido is emotional and social, there’s no better way to fix that than to get a sex therapist to help you deal with the problem head-on.
Such a professional is not only adept in understanding sexual problems but they can also dig deeper into the critical causes of a lowered sex drive. With their expertise, they can identify relationship problems as well as physiological issues and come up with fact-based solutions.
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The Takeaway
A decrease in libido could happen even to people who have had constant sexual activity. Hormonal changes can happen along with social factors that could put a relationship to a standstill and affect an individual’s ability to satisfy another. The only good thing is that it’s not permanent. Keep this guide in mind and maintain your sexual wellbeing for the long haul.
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