Hey Dr Sue — How Does One’s Sex Drive Change Over Time?

I like that this was phrased as a “how does it change.” Because it’s important to understand that our sex drive does change over time.

Before I really dive into an answer I just want to mention that you might find this post interesting. It was an answer to the question “why do women lose sexual interest after marriage.”

In that post I talk a lot about how our sex drive can be impacted by many things. Some of them are physical in nature. Certain medical conditions can impact our sex drive. Also the medications we take, both over-the-counter and prescription. Alcohol, smoking… basically any type of drug that we use has the potential to impact our sex drive.

Aging can also have an impact. For some people, they find that as they get older their sex drive decreases. For others, especially women, once they no longer have to worry about pregnancy, they often find that their sex drive increases. I feel the need to point out here that STIs are an issue no matter your age! Seriously, someone ask me a question about this so I can do a post on it.

Our mental health can also impact our sex drive. If we’re under a lot of stress, our sex drive will usually decrease. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, all of these can cause a change in our sex drive.