Why do Antidepressants Lower Libido
Some people taking antidepressants can’t have an orgasm at all, but why do antidepressants lower libido? Today we will dive deep into this topic to help you learn more about the effects of antidepressants on your libido.
Libido is your sexual desire. This is what happens when you’re experiencing a tingly down below in the genital area, or your entire body feels aroused ready to get a bit more intimate with someone. This typically leads to sexual intercourse, however, it could just lead to some foreplay without intercourse.
Libido is what helps you feel ready to have a sexual experience with someone, without this sexual desire, it may be close to impossible to enjoy having a sexual relationship.
What are antidepressants?
Antidepressants are medications that are classified as prescription medication that helps with major depression disorder. These medications are also prescribed for chronic pain, and addiction. There are side effects associated with taking antidepressants, including lowered libido.
Most doctors will share a pamphlet and information to help you determine if antidepressants are worth taking given their long list of side effects. Some other side effects of taking antidepressants are; weight gain, dizziness, headaches, sexual dysfunction, and emotional blunting.
The emotional blunting could be a huge reason why antidepressants cause lower libido. Emotional blunting refers to the inability to feel emotions and often define this as numbness. Antidepressants may be created to help with depression disorder, but often cause a lack of emotions overall which isn’t really the best outcome.
Why do antidepressants cause lowered libido?
Antidepressants are part of the family of SSRIs which stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These raise serotonin levels in your body to help you experience more calmness and fewer anxious moments.
With that comes the onset of lowered libido because the way antidepressants work with your hormones is that it prevents the hormones for sexual desire to reach your brain. This causes a downward spiral from having a healthy sex life to a non-existent sex life, or at least one that’s not as desired as previous times.
How to Manage Lower Libido on Antidepressants
While taking antidepressants can cause issues with headaches, dizziness, weight gain, and lowered libido there are ways to cope when taking antidepressants. Whether you want to switch medications, turn to herbal remedies, or work with your partner on a creative solution, we’re sharing our favorite options to manage lower libido on antidepressants below:
Talk with Your Doctor
The first step towards helping managing lower libido with antidepressants is to talk with your doctor. Schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as you start feeling a decline in libido. Your doctor can run some tests and have a discussion with you to determine more options to help offset this side effect from your antidepressants.
Your doctor will be the first stop in helpfulness of how to manage lower libido on antidepressants. This person knows your medical history, current health conditions, and anything else that one would need to know in order to help you increase libido while taking antidepressants.
Change Timing of Meds
Another option to help manage antidepressants lowering libido is to change the timing of your medication. You may work to adjust the time in day that you take this medication, so as long as the other side effects won’t be harmful to your daily life such as going to work.
Remember that timing is essential for antidepressants to work properly without interfering with other areas in your life. If you know that your antidepressants cause you to feel more sleepy, then you’ll need to take these closer to bedtime, rather than first thing in the morning. Just remember to adjust the times safely and reasonably for your given lifestyle.
Consider Different Medication
Try to consult with your doctor to see if there are other medications that can help with your chronic pain, addiction ,or major depression disorder. There are a wide range of prescription medications created in the SSRIs family to help with your condition, perhaps a second option would be better suited for you.
There are vitamins and herbs that have helped many people with lower levels of depression to get their feelings back. We’ve shared a few of those ideas below to help you consider the various options to manage lower libido on antidepressants safely.
Talk with your Partner
Don’t underestimate the power of talking with your partner about the situation. Schedule a meeting between the two of you that helps you to discuss the current concerns and disappointments you both have as it pertains to antidepressants causing lower libido.
You both may find that you’re feeling similarly frustrated and could work together to come up with a creative solution to increase libido while you’re taking your antidepressants to feel better in other areas of life.
Consider Herbal Supplements
The final way to help manage lowered libido on antidepressants is to consider herbal supplements. There are plenty of herbal supplements that can help offset the side effects of antidepressants. You could also consider using herbal supplements like St. John’s Wart, Lavender, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and others for more minor depression.
While we can’t say for sure what level depression you have, there are plenty of herbal supplements that can help increase libido and possibly offset your depression if you have a talk with your doctor to confirm this is a safe method.
As you can see the answer to the question of ‘why do antidepressants lower libido’ is that they interfere with the communication between your natural hormones to the brain during intimate moments. They cause an increase in serotonin which provides that calm relief you want, but it ends up creating issues with your natural desire to want sexual relations with your partner.
Using the tips above and information we shared today, you should be well on your way towards having a libido back within a few weeks. Remember that it does take time to offset any side effects from medications, especially prescription medications like antidepressants. We hope that our information today helps you transform your relationship back to one with passion and intimacy all over again.
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