Brief overview
- What is loss of libido?: Lack of desire for sex and disturbance of the sex drive.
- Treatment: Depending on the cause: therapy of the underlying disease, sex or marriage counseling, life counseling, etc.
- Causes: e.g. pregnancy/birth, menopause, testosterone deficiency, heart, vascular or nerve diseases, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver or kidney insufficiency, but also depression, psychological stress or certain medications.
- When to see a doctor: If the sexual unwillingness is distressing or symptoms are added that indicate a disease.
What is loss of libido?
If sexual desire is absent for longer than six months, doctors speak of an appetence disorder. In this case, the libido can either be completely absent for six months or return again and again and then disappear again.
Frequency
In various surveys, an average of about 30 percent of all women between the ages of 18 and 59 express a lack of interest in sex. Thus, decreased libido is the most common sexual dysfunction in the female sex.
Among men between the ages of 18 and 59, between 14 and 17 percent report decreased libido, depending on the age group. Men are even more likely to cite only premature ejaculation among sexual problems.
What helps with loss of libido?
If the loss of libido is based on a psychological or social cause (e.g. partnership problems, stress), sexual, partner or life counseling may also be useful. Seek advice from your doctor.
The goal of therapy is by no means to have a constant desire for sex, but rather to return to a comfortable level.
Tips: What you can do yourself
Read more about how to increase libido in the article “Libido”.
Loss of libido: causes and risk factors
There are many reasons why the desire for sex dwindles. Possible causes of libido loss in both sexes include:
- Hypothyroidism: This is an underactive thyroid gland. The thyroid gland produces too little thyroid hormone, which results in a loss of libido, among other things.
- Neurological diseases: Sometimes diseases that affect the nervous system (such as stroke or multiple sclerosis) are the cause of loss of libido.
- Diabetes: Diabetes can also contribute to a person having little or no desire for sex – sometimes due to sugar-related nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy) or vascular damage (diabetic angiopathy), but sometimes also because those affected suffer mentally from the disease.
- Kidney weakness: Decreased libido can also develop in the context of kidney insufficiency, as the formation of sex hormones may then also be disturbed.
- Depression: They are often accompanied by a loss of libido. Sometimes the lack of sexual desire is a symptom of depression, as this sometimes violently affects emotional life. In other cases, medication for the disease is the reason for the loss of libido.
- Social causes: Job and family pressures, stress, as well as relationship problems can be other possible reasons when someone doesn’t feel like having sex anymore.
In addition, there are still gender-specific causes of libido loss:
Causes of libido loss in women
Gynecological diseases such as endometriosis, vaginal dryness or pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia) can also cause women to no longer feel like having sex.
During menopause, the ovaries gradually stop producing estrogen. The level of female sex hormones thus decreases, often causing a drop in libido in affected women.
Causes of loss of libido in men
Other sexual disorders such as erection problems are also possible causes of libido loss.
Loss of libido: examinations and diagnosis
Various examinations often also help to determine the cause of the loss of libido. These include laboratory tests such as measuring hormone levels in the blood, physical examinations (e.g., measuring blood pressure), a gynecological or urological examination, and imaging procedures.
Loss of libido: When to see a doctor?
The first point of contact is often the family doctor, but sometimes also a gynecologist (for women) or a urologist (for men). If a psychological cause for the loss of libido is possible, a psychotherapist can also help. If you are unsure, you can also go to a sexual counseling center to find out how best to proceed in the event of a loss of libido.