Low libido? It might be your hormones… or it might not…
“My libido sucks, it must be my hormones. Can we check on those?”
This is a common phrase I hear from patients when they’re concerned about their libido.
The truth is, hormones are one aspect that are important for your ideal libido. Though it also may not actually be your hormones at all! There’s a few other things we need to look into.
Here’s a look at the most common things that can be impacting your libido.
PHYSICAL HEALTH - HORMONES
Hormonal changes during perimenopause / menopause can impact your libido, due to physical changes that are happening in the body. The drop in estrogen during this time period can cause hot flashes / night sweats, mood changes, insomnia and changes to vaginal tissues.
These tissue changes include the thinning of vaginal tissues with loss of elasticity, decreased secretions and lubrication. This in turn can cause pain with sexual activity (& pelvic examinations), ultimately impacting one’s libido.
PHYSICAL HEALTH - STRESS
As humans, we go through periods of stress over the course of our lives. Hopefully, these times are short and we can manage them well! However, it’s important to acknowledge that stress does impact our libido! In times of stress, our brain is more focused on our survival rather than pleasure. Brain imaging done during times of stress have shown that the pleasure centres are actually turned off! So it’s no wonder our libido is low when we are experiencing stress!
MENTAL HEALTH / MINDSET
Our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves, about others + about sex also impact our libido.
These thoughts and beliefs start to form when we are young - by what we were taught about sex growing up in school / family, are impacted by our peers + societal beliefs, and further influenced by our own experiences. All of these may have had a positive or negative impact (or a combination of both) on our views of ourselves, others & sex. The combination of these messages & experience impacts our libido, some of us more than others.
MEDICATION
Different medications can also impact your libido. The most common categories of medication that can impact libido are those for: mood support, birth control, blood pressure, or pain.
Please note: if you are concerned your medication is impacting your libido, please talk to your healthcare provider. It can be dangerous to stop medication that has been prescribed to you without their knowledge / a plan or supervision!
So, what does this all boil down to?
Libido issues may be more than just your hormones! It could also be more than one area that is impacting you!
You deserve a thorough investigation as to what is going on for you to ensure a plan is made that specifically focuses on your unique needs!
If you’re concerned about your libido and would like to start investigating what is going on for you, I encourage you to book a meet & greet with me to learn more about getting started!
Wishing you the libido you desire!
