A Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder is a sexual dysfunction that is characterized by lack of desire for sex and lack of sexual fantasies over a certain length of time. This is a disorder where a woman may find that she is simply not “in the mood”.
The condition may have its roots in relationship problems or other mental distress rather than medical conditions, physicals ailment, or drug reactions and so on.
Hypoactive sexual desire disorder can be general or it could be situational (certain situations or individuals trigger it); it could be lifelong or it could be brought on later in life after a duration of normal sexual functioning.
Some of the commonly seen causes of this sexual disorder are those relating to relationships and communication.
If there is a lack of trust in a relationship, anger towards a partner, a lack of intimacy or feelings of there being a disconnect between partners, this could well be the basis of situational sexual dysfunction.
As most of us will agree, the most important sexual organ for women is the brain; that arousal and a desire for sex are largely a matter of the mind and perhaps less of the body. However there could me many other reasons that underlie a woman’s hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
As Drs. Jennifer and Laura Berman, experts on women’s sexual health say in their book For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Sexual Dysfunction and Reclaiming Your Sex Life, there could be other physical challenges and life changes that could be responsible for the disinterest in sex or the sexual dysfunction.
An estimated half of all American women undergo sexual dysfunction of some type or to some extent at some point in their life, so perhaps there is the need for understanding more about sex, about the anatomy of our bodies and for ways and means to enhance sexual pleasure.
Lifestyle factors could very often underlie a woman’s hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Medication use could be one of the causes. Many women find that oral contraceptive use can interfere with sex drive. Also anti depressants, blood pressure lowering medication and so on could also have inhibitory impact on sex drive.
Menopause or hormonal imbalances at other times in a woman’s life could be among the most significant contributors to a woman’s hypoactive sexual desire disorder. As hormone levels of the body change significantly, interest in sex can wane. Vaginal dryness and painful sex could be other reasons for a woman not to desire or actively avoid sex.
Women are statistically more prone to depression than men, and are twice as likely to have a major depressive incident in their lives, than men. Loss of interest in sex is among the most common fallouts of depression. Women can feel alone and isolated, may withdraw from social life or activities hitherto enjoyed by them and may lose interest in sex whereas the libido was normal until that point.
The way to resolve hypoactive sexual desire disorder is to understand the underlying cause for the condition by resolving relationship conflict (with therapy or counseling), treating hormonal imbalances, or changing medications or dosages of drugs that a woman may be on.
