Your sex drive, or libido, is your urge to feel sexual stimulation and satisfaction.Sometimes, our libido can feel a bit more like libidon’t. 🙃

While it’s normal to experience changes in your libido over the course of your life, noticing a reduction in sex drive can be stressful and upsetting if you’re struggling to make sense of it. We wanted to normalise this experience and name some of the factors that can affect your sex drive. If you’re concerned about this, it is important that you seek medical and psychological support when you are ready.

Factors that can affect your sex drive:

Physiological factors

Medications e.g. lower libido is a side effect of some antidepressants
Hormones e.g. your sex drive can be affected by the stage of your menstrual cycle, or testosterone levels
Life phase eg. your sex drive can decline as you age
Physical health e.g. overall physical health and fitness, as well as medical conditions can impact your sex drive

Psychological factors

Mental health e.g. depression and anxiety can reduce your sex drive
Self esteem & body image e.g. low self esteem can reduce sex drive, and conversely, feeling good about your body can increase your sex drive
Trauma can have profound impacts on your desire for sex, particularly if you have experiences related to sexual trauma
Grief e.g. the death of a loved one may reduce or increase your desire for sex

Contextual factors

Life events e.g. getting a promotion, or going on holiday may increase your sex drive. Moving to a new city might decrease it.
You environment e.g. being in nature might increase your libido, being surrounded by family may reduce it.

Relationship factors

Increased trust can impact desire for your partner(s) and sex drive
Conflict can reduce sex drive
Level of commitment can make people feel more safe or can make people feel more trapped - this can affect arousal
Emotional intimacy: experiences that bring about closeness and emotional vulnerability can increase your sex drive

Sexual-related factors

Frequency of sex & masturbation e.g. having lots of sex can make you want more sex!
Rich fantasy life i.e. thinking about and sharing things you find arousing can increase your sex drive
New experiences i.e. having new sexual experiences and feeling creative in a sexual space can make you feel increased arousal

If you’re concerned about your sex drive, it is important that you seek appropriate medical and psychological support to help you evaluate what might be going on for you.

At SHIPS, our team of sex-positive psychologists are trained to work through issues related to sexual health and intimacy.

Talk to us

This blog post is a brief exploration of this topic and does not replace therapy. At SHIPS, we have practitioners that are knowledgeable and skilled in a variety of areas including sex therapy, relationships and more. If you may benefit from some support, please check out our website resources, or contact us.

We are also always happy to hear feedback about our blog articles. If you would like to share your experience or feel we may have missed something on this topic, please contact us to let us know.