Every individual has their sex drive, and it can be different from person to person with the changes of their ages and health conditions. But low sex drive or low libido is a common problem for all now in this era, and it can be a short-term problem, managed with several treatments and therapies. In some cases, it lasts for a long time and has led to various complications and other health issues; also, it hampers our relationships, including sexual wellbeing. Let’s dive into comprehensive details about low sex desire and how it can be treated with the right diagnosis.

It’s important to remember that low libido is nothing to feel ashamed of. It can be caused by a range of factors, such as stress, hormonal changes, relationship challenges, or certain health conditions. Recognising how to address low libido is key to preserving a fulfilling and healthy sex life.

What happens when you have a low sex drive:

It is a condition related to your sex life when you lose interest in sex for any reason. Your sex drive may change and decrease with hormonal changes, or due to any diseases, infections, or inflammations, stress, anxiety and many more. 

Sometimes, you feel uncomfortable discussing it with your family, partner, or anyone, but if it lasts for a long time or causes trouble in your sexual life, you may contact your doctor and ask them for treatment. A thorough treatment recognises your causes and symptoms of low libido (low sex drive), helps in treating it and curing it.

What Can Cause Low Sex Drive in Men & Women?

Many things or factors may decrease your sex health. It also affects changing your behaviours while having sex, including being unwilling to do activities with your partner, losing interest in sex, and many more. The most common causes that higher the risks of low libido include:

Diseases like:

Various health complications and chronic diseases can lower your sex drive or affect your sexual life. Diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high cholesterol can cause sexual dysfunction in men and women.

Conditions like:

• High blood pressure or Hypertension
• Chronic headache
• Hormonal imbalance (low testosterone)
• Arthritis

Mental health disorders:

Do you know, not only physically, but also, that your mental well-being affects your sex life? Mental disorders like stress, anxiety, palpitation, overthinking, depression, low ability to think, and losing interest in intimacy due to extreme fatigue may lower your interest in having sex with your partner.

Side effects of medication, supplements:

If you are having different medications, antidepressants, or steroids, these can reduce your sexual ability. In patients with high blood pressure who are taking blood pressure medications, this affects their ability to engage in sexual intimacy and creates dysfunction.

Alcohol & smoking:

If you are addicted to alcohol or intake excessive alcohol daily, and also if you smoke at an extreme level, it can cause low testosterone levels. It increases the risks of a low sex drive.

Symptoms to recognise your low sex drive:

The primary symptoms can be a lack of interest in having a sexual relationship or a lower sexual intimacy than what you are used to.

The other symptoms may include,

• Feeling irritating
• Having fewer sexual relationships
• Changes in sexual behaviour
• Losing interest in sex
• Mood swings
• Feeling anxious or depressed
• Erectile dysfunction

Low libido in men:

Low sex drive or lesser sex desires in men can affect both health and relationships for various reasons, such as:

• Relationship tensions or emotional disconnect
• New parent fatigue
• Overload from work or daily stress
• Pushing the body too much — or not moving it enough
• Certain medications like antidepressants, blood pressure pills, or epilepsy medicines
• Personal life struggles or emotional burnout

And yes, over 60, it’s normal to experience a natural decline in libido in males.

Low Libido in women:

In women, sex drive or intimacy may drop due to several causes, including

• Menopause
• Perimenopause
• Hormonal deficiencies
• Infections like UTIs, STIs
• Diseases related to the women’s reproductive system, like PCOS, endometriosis, and many more.

Is Low libido common for men or women?

Low libido, or reduced sex drive, is more common than you might think. It affects around 1 in 5 men — and an even higher number of women — at some point in life. While hormonal shifts and biological factors do play a role, low libido can impact anyone, regardless of age or gender. Many people experience fluctuations in their sex drive multiple times throughout their lives.

Lifestyle adjustments for compulsive sexual behaviour:

A healthy lifestyle helps in maintaining your healthy libido and also improves your sex drive and well-being. If your health is good and fit, your libido works sufficiently. Some tips are given below for improving your low libido condition:

• Regular exercises, yoga, body stretching, and aerobic exercises can improve your stamina. It may be able to improve your whole body’s blood circulation, which increases your libido.
• Search the ways that decrease your stress, anxiety, or depression, which helps in increasing your sex desires, and boosts your sexual urges higher level. High libido may also affect your sexual life.
• A healthy diet, along with avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking, alcohol intake and many more, can increase your ability to have sex with your partner.
• Spend your time with your partners and share your emotions with him/her to break the shyness, in many cases, it is the main cause of low sex drive

Pathology tests related to decreased sex drive:

To check your hormone level for managing your low libido condition, simple blood tests may be recommended by your medical professionals.

Testosterone blood test, lipid profile, and several hormone-related blood tests can be recommended for checking your sexual disorders.

Contact Nirnayan Pathology Lab in Kolkata for any kind of blood tests or any other tests with accurate reports.

Conclusion: 

Low libido isn’t something you have to silently endure or brush aside. Whether it stems from stress, hormonal changes, relationship issues, or underlying health conditions, acknowledging the shift is the first step toward reclaiming your sexual well-being. You don’t need to hit rock bottom or wait for a “medical threshold” to take action. If it’s affecting your quality of life, it matters — and help is available. With the right lifestyle changes, open communication, and professional guidance, you can reignite your drive and rebuild a fulfilling, confident, and intimate life.