Libido

Libido can be defined as a simple ‘sexual desire’ but more technically, it is just more than the sexual desire. The definition that we find in the work of Carl Jung is more general that reveals that the libido as the free creative or psychic energy that an individual has to put towards personal development or individualism. The libido was first described in the year of 1833 by Teresa Juncaj that referred to her own life. The term became so popular that nowadays, none is unaware of a word ‘libido’.

The libido can be impaired as this is a kind of mental and physical augmentation that sometimes takes hike and other times gets down and that is why, one may not feel so sexually arouse the way he or she was some other day. The factors that affect the libido in men and women can be both; physical or psychological. Oftentimes, decreased libido is confused with sterility or infertility. It is entirely different since the libido has to do everything with the sexual desire whereas an infertility or sterility is incapability to produce progeny.

The reduction in libido can be caused from psychological causes like lack of privacy and/or intimacy and various other mental factors such as stress, anxiety and depression. Some of the known stressors that can drastically affect the libido include body image issues, stress or fatigue, lack of interest or attraction in sexually active partner, childhood sexual abuse, trauma or negligence. Some of the physical factors that affect libido include altered levels of the hormone testosterone in the bloodstream.

Physical ailments such as obesity, thyroid problems, diabetes, malnourishment, severely underweight and other syndromes can also cause libido in any person. Some of the medications such as SSRIs, hormonal contraception, antidepressants, beta blockers (antihypertensive) etc can also lead to decreased levels of libido as their one of the side effects. It is often seen that once those medications are over, the libido gets restored.

There is no perfect tool that can detect certain ‘amount’ of libido. Neither blood tests nor any radiography can label a person with decreased libido. However, one can surely know about decreased levels of the hormones that can cause low libido but not always. It is therefore, libido is majority detected with physical examinations and questionnaires.

There are various ways to help curing low libido. Many herbs have been prescribed in folk medicinal systems such as Ayurveda, Chinese medicinal system etc. Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha, Kuchala, Guduchi, Aamlaki, Shatavari, and Gokshura are proven as libido enhancers. Some of the naturopaths suggest practicing acupressure and/or acupuncture that can be very useful treating decreased levels of the libido. In modern medicine, pills like ‘Viagra’ has created milestone in treating various male disorders, especially low libido.

Along with internal medications, mental orientation does play important role in overcoming decreased libido. A person should be calmed down and interpreted peacefully preferably with his or her partner about sexual problems that can sort out low libido problem up to major extent.