Sexual desires in women are tossed in the air, just like a coin changes its sides, sometimes heads and sometimes tails. Just like this, we can see a greater fluctuation in women than men. These usually happen to both of the extremes. Both the high and the low sex drive extremes keep on changing. The higher extreme can be seen from the beginning of the relationship (first 6 months to over the span of 2 years), while the lower extreme is when a woman is in her pregnancy, having menopause, or any kind of severe illness. Having low libido is one of the major causes due to some psychological, relationship, physical and hormonal factors.

Now, to ponder upon one thing - sexual interest or arousal disorder. If your interest in sex is declining and retreating day by day, you must consider that he or she is facing this kind of disorder, which he/she might not be aware of at all.

Now, after diagnosing and deciding on the fact that you might be the one facing the sexual arousal disorder, you do not need to switch to any kind of medication from the very beginning. If you are facing the issue of low sexual desire, you can adhere to changes in sex techniques as well as lifestyle changes.

SYMPTOMS OF LOW SEX DRIVE IN WOMEN

All the women out there, do you seriously feel the lack of sex drive with your partner nowadays and have a question for yourself you are right on this or not? Worry not! Let me give you a relief. If your lowered sex drive is after a generous amount of time in your relationship and is very recent after the span of 3 to 4 years, it is normal to happen and will remain fluctuated. 

But, yes, it is a thing to worry about if you have a low libido within a year of your relationship or marriage. Let us gain some knowledge about the lowered sex drive in the early stages of your relationships.

Symptoms of low sex drive in women can be as:

• Having no libido or absolute negative interest in having sex (masturbation included)
• Having a complete curtain on the arousal of any kind of sex-related thoughts or fantasies
• The approach of your partner touching you does not feel appropriate
• Anger issues sum up even on the topic of sex raised by your partner

CAUSES OF LOW LIBIDO IN WOMEN

The major arousal of sex can be an amalgamation of various aspects affecting the sensation of intimacy. These can be wellness of your emotional, psychological and physical health, external factors such as experiences, lifestyle amendments, certain beliefs, and majorly your existing/prevailing relationship. If you find that even a bit of these are getting affected and is lowering your desire for sex, you might need certain kinds of changes in your lifestyle, mind and surroundings.

Low sexual desire can be caused due to the underlying reasons listed in the table, for you:

S No.	Types of cause	Issues
1.	PHYSICAL CAUSES	Sexual reasonsVarious medicationsSurgeryChanges in lifestyle habitsMedical diseasesfatigue
2.	HORMONAL CAUSES	MenopausePregnancy and breastfeeding
3.	PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES	Mental problems like depression and anxietyStress like work, relationship or financesLow self-esteemPoor body imageSexual abuse or physical torture in the pastSexual experiences of the past that are unpleasant
4.	RELATIONSHIP CAUSES	Connection with the partner is laggingUnresolved conflicts or fightsSexual needs or preferences are not communicated properlyTrust issues with the partner

In the elaboration on the causes of low libido in women, we have gathered an ample amount of information for you to discuss below:

1. Physical causes:

There are a few factors that can lead to lower sex drive which are explained for your sex drive being lowered are stated underneath:

• Sexual problems: Women generally has to face abundance of pain during sex which unintentionally does not lead to an orgasm. This can lead to a low sex drive in women.
• Medical diseases: There are approximately thousands of non-sexual diseases that can be responsible for a lowered sex drive which are: arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, various kinds of neurological diseases, coronary heart disease, etc.
• Medications: Certain drugs that are prescribed for the relief in stress, i.e., the antidepressants, which are also called the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be also a major reason for low sexual desire in women.
• Lifestyle habits: People might have a belief that sipping out some alcohol can be great for sensuous sex. Sometimes, taking a bit of it does not harm but as we all know excess of everything is bad, especially alcohol and street drugs. Even smoking is injurious to health which can be a result of decreased flow of blood, which in turn can lead to a very sapped sex arousal.
• Surgery: If any kind of surgery is being undertaken, related to your genital tract or your breasts, it can be a major turn down on your sex drive. The body image and the sexual fantasy get dampened gradually along with low libido in women.
• Fatigue: Being a woman isn’t easy at all. She has all the responsibilities of a wife, a mother, a daughter-in-law, and a daughter, which can be very hectic for a female. She ought to care for everyone, except for her own self. This sometimes can make a female really worn out till the end of the day, when she is finally with her spouse or partner on the bed. The woman becomes so exasperated and exhorted, completing all the chores, that she is left with no or low sex drive. The only thing that might come to her mind is rest.

Fatigue which is a result of some kind of illness or surgery can also be one of the reasons.

2. Hormone changes:

There are various changes and alterations in your hormones throughout your life. This can have a direct impact on the arousal of sexual feelings. These can be a result of a woman being pregnant or breastfeeding and also when she is undergoing menopause.

Let us look at some of the elaborated reasons for the same:

• Menopause:

Menopause brings with it a reduction in estrogen levels in a woman. Due to the estrogen level decline, the vaginal walls tend to become relatively dry and thus, can lead you to an extremely low sexual desire. Even if the woman tries, the sex will end up being unpleasant and painful due to the dried-up vaginal walls. A lag in libido is generally common in women after menopause, while some women too have a well-settled sexual life after it.

• Pregnancy and breast-feeding: 

There are end number of changes in the woman's body after giving birth to a baby. The duration of time, till the new mother is feeding the baby with breast milk, can lead to a woman having a deficient sex drive. The woman’s body is left with absolutely zero vigour and strength to have any more sexual intimacy with the partner, especially in the earlier few months after the pregnancy.

This fatigue and changes in the body as well as the hormonal imbalance, causing different mood swings, can also be a reason for the low sex drive in women.

3. Psychological causes:

State of mind is also a major factor that can be an effective reason to affect the sexual desire in women. Physical causes may be cured within a certain period of time, but what about the mental health of the person? Do not undermine the mental issues of a person which may be one of the major causes of low libido, which are:

• Mental health issues like depression or anxiety
• Stress related to work or finances
• Poor body image
• Low self-esteem
• History of physical or sexual abuse
• Previous negative sexual experiences

4. Relationship causes:

There are various women the whole intention of having sexual intimacy is not the only concern in building up a relationship. The woman also needs a very intimate and special bond of closeness and comfort with her partner to feel free to go ahead with sexual intimacy. If there are issues engulfed within your relationship, you might not feel right being physical with the same person with whom you earlier felt safe. These can be some of the reasons for low sexual desire:

• Fights or conflicts that have remained unresolved
• The connection with your partner is somewhere lagging
• Sexual preferences and needs are often not talked about with the partner
• Trust issues

DIAGNOSIS OF LOW SEX DRIVE IN WOMEN

The condition where the woman is frequently lagging in sex arousal is known to be ‘Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder’. The lag and nonappearance of this feeling can be a result of continuous distress. 

1. Let your concerned doctor know about your least interest in having a libido. The correct diagnosis can be made while you are consulting a specialised medical doctor who can be of great aid in evaluating the emotional and physical factors, such as:

• A Sex therapist
• A primary care physician (PCP)
• A psychologist
• A gynaecologist
• An endocrinologist
• A urologist

2. A pelvic examination should be essentially performed. During the check, the doctor will be able to figure out if there are any kind of discrepancies for a low sex drive in women such as dryness of the vagina, thinning and shedding of the vaginal tissues, and the areas where the pain triggers you to avoid getting intimate.

3. Testing is required to gain a complete and detailed check for the apt hormonal levels, diabetes, thyroid issues, high cholesterol, or any kind of liver disorders.