What Are the Causes of Low Level Sexual Drive (Libido,) Both for Males and Females?
By: Bimol Bee
Submitted: 2011-08-18 05:18:59 | Word Count: 978
If we refer to encyclopedic definition of sexual drive or desire to have sex, we will see that it is usually referred to using an academic term of "the libido". Looking at the nature of the libido from a more romantic and eloquent angle, it could be defined as type of sensation or drive or as a form of psychic energy circulation within an individual psyche. According to the leading modern psychologists, this kind of psychic energy plays an important role in enhancement of personal development. It should be also mentioned that there is a different definition of the term libido and its connotations. In this case the libido is considered as sort of natural instinct, energy or force of personal identification. According to this theory, the unconscious portion of ones psyche includes the energy of libido, and, since it is unconscious and contains immense driving libidinal forces, it can lead to collision with behavioral conventions and patterns imposed by the civilized surroundings. Therefore an attempt to resolve the conflict of this collision may be one of the principle causes of low libido.
If we take a closer look at the psychological theory of sexual drive (libido), it becomes obvious that in order to comply with the demands of society an individual is forced to accept the necessity to harness internal manifestations of the libidos. That can become a source of internal disturbance and tension for such individuals. In this way the individual inevitably develops specialized scenarios in order to make use of ego defense mechanisms. The defensive mechanisms of the psyche are meant to combat the psychic energies and drives from within the unconscious part of the mind. Therefore, the necessity to suppress and compress such intense emotions that have been born by subliminal and unconscious needs is transformed into displays of action. In case the conflicting combative ego forces are excessively manifested, the situation may lead to low libido and, as a result, to various neuroses. If the latter actually happens, the individual should resort to psychological therapy. Successful therapy and counselling in most cases resolves the conflict of these battling ego forces and eliminates the unconscious conflicting trends that are contributing to the problem of low libido.
[ advertisement ]
Another interesting understanding of the libido nature and the problems with this phenomenon has been developed by a different school of psychologists. According to their theory, the libido's identity is the one of solely of psychic energized forces from within an individual. The key issue to understanding of the libido energy transformation and the dueling forces is to illuminate the hidden symbolism through and by which it is processed and displayed within an individual. This flow of unconscious energy (or power) within the structure of the individual's self, interpreted as libido, develops and magnifies itself throughout the whole continuity of the individual's life process. Subjectively this manifestation can be perceived as the striving for desires. And, as a result, the problem of low libido is the problem of these natural drives within the self of an individual, which become affected by deterring elements of different nature. In other words, the libido is defined as an individual's driving impulse to become interactive in a sexual manner – this is the most modern and realistically defined approach amid most popular regards. In conclusion it should be underlined that though theories and approaches to the definition of the libido are rather varied, they are quite similar in one regard: if libido is affected by a big enough number of possible and probable dueling factors, this can result in the problem of low libido. And the problem will be inevitably demonstrated by the respectively impaired sexual performance levels of the individuals under consideration.
Since the sexual impulse or the libido plays the key role as the driving factor towards sexual interaction, the low libido problem should be approached accordingly. The reasons for reduced or a totally non-functional libido generally can be diagnosed under two categories: psychological and/or physical. Both kinds of causes can lead to the case of low libido. For instance, among common causes of low libido there is infertility, but it does not always happen so.
A lot of conditions of diverse nature can be found among psychological causes of low libido, for instance atmospheric conditions, circumstances, emotions or some kind of issues. A case of low libido can sometimes be traced to the states of depression, distraction, loss of intimate time, loss of privacy or stress. It may seem strange, but even lengthy or excessive exposure to elements, such as bright lights or increased levels of sound are sometimes determined as causes of low libido. But the most comprehensive list of aspects relevant to the cases of low libido can be found among clinical accounting: issues of abuse, affair, assault, attraction outside of a relationship and body image perception. The childhood abuse, depression, overall fatigue, lack of attraction towards one's partner, lack of interest in sex, poor love-making performance anxiety, aftermaths of sexual abuse, stress or trauma are the most common reasons for development of low libido syndrome.
Low biological fitness, issues related to unhealthy lifestyle, bad habits like excessive indulgence in smoking, alcohol and drugs, including medications are often quoted among the most common physical causes of low libido.
The lifestyle issues related to causes of low libido are not usually limited to the above-mentioned points of unhealthy living and bad habits, but also include significantly excessive weight or extreme obesity, as well as malnutrition among the most critical aspects of the low libido problem.
Unfortunately, such medications as antidepressants, beta-blockers and hormonal contraception prescriptions can also be found among the culprits responsible for low libido development. If this is the case, such condition is clinically labeled as iatrogenic.
