Steps to get a healthy sex drive!| Sheknows.com

Are you anything but amorous these days? You are not alone. In fact, more than 40 percent of women complain of low sexual desire at some point in their lives, making it one of the most common sexual problems among women. And because your desire for sex directly correlates to outside factors like relationship status as well as other major life changes like pregnancy or menopause, it is normal for your drive to dip and rise over time. But that doesn’t mean you are stuck with a low libido. Here is more about why your sex drive may have gone from sizzling to fizzling and what you can do about it.

COME ON, GET HAPPY

Feeling blue? No wonder you are not in the mood. Depression is a major culprit when it comes to a sapped sex drive, while stress, anxiety, or feelings of inadequacy may also affect your desires. So if you are feeling stressed or blue, talk about your worries with a physician or a therapist. In addition, be sure to work in regular exercise into your day – especially an endorphin-boosting activity like running or something more relaxing like yoga – which will improve your mood, libido and body image.

CHECK YOUR MEDS

Your suffering sex drive might be linked to the pills you pop. After all, some prescription medications like antidepressants, blood pressure regulators, chemo drugs and antihistamines can cause sexual desire to fizzle. So if you think your prescriptions are to blame for a blasé sex drive, talk to your doctor about switching doses of your meds. You can also discuss alternative treatments that do not come with libido-zapping side effects.

CUT DOWN ON THE COCKTAILS

Sure, a couple of beers or glasses of wine may work to loosen you up before you hop into bed, but excessive drinking could wind up spoiling your sex drive. Not only does alcohol alter your hormones and make you desire less sex, but it also dries up vaginal secretions and reduces the blood flow to your organs, resulting in painful or uncomfortable sex and difficulty achieving an orgasm. If you regularly overdo on the cocktails, you can boost your sex drive by cutting down and consuming alcohol in moderation.

SEEK A TREATMENT

Sorry, ladies, a version of female Viagra has yet to be approved. But other treatments like hormone therapy may have similar effects on your sexual arousal. You may also opt for extra estrogen in the form of a vaginal cream or a slow-releasing suppository placed in the vagina to increase blood flow the sexual organs, helping to boost desire. Another tactic is to up your testosterone levels with gels intended to remedy libido loss after menopause. Though the FDA has yet to approve testosterone therapy, its popularity is not waning – about 1.4 million off-label prescriptions for testosterone were written for women in 2006.

To read more about your putting the sizzle back into your sex life, check out these links:

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