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Libido in its common usage means sexual desire; however, more technical definitions, such as those found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general, referring to libido as the free creative—or psychic—energy an individual has to put toward personal development or individuation. Sexual desires was originally for animals to reproduce but now people are using it for their pleasure. Libido tends to be very strong in males of all species and tends to have a low threshold for its expression. Within the category of sexual behavior, libido would fall under the appetitive phase where a male or female will usually undergo certain behaviors in order to gain access to the opposite sex.^[1]

History of the concept

Sigmund Freud popularized the term and defined libido as the instinct energy or force, contained in what Freud called the id, the largely unconscious structure of the psyche. Freud pointed out that these libidinal drives can conflict with the conventions of civilized behavior, represented in the psyche by the superego. It is this need to conform to society and control the libido that leads to tension and disturbance in the individual, prompting the use of ego defenses to dissipate the psychic energy of these unmet and mostly unconscious needs into other forms. Excessive use of ego defenses results in neurosis. A primary goal of psychoanalysis is to bring the drives of the id into consciousness, allowing them to be met directly and thus reducing the patient’s reliance on ego defenses.^[2]

According to Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, the libido is identified as psychic energy. Duality (opposition) that creates the energy (or libido) of the psyche, which Jung asserts expresses itself only through symbols: “It is the energy that manifests itself in the life process and is perceived subjectively as striving and desire.” (Ellenberger, 697)

Defined more narrowly, libido also refers to an individual’s urge to engage in sexual activity. In this sense, the antonym of libido is destrudo.^{[citation needed]}

Libido impairment

The neutrality of the style of writing in this article is questioned. Please see the discussion on the talk page. (September 2009)

Sexual desire can be impaired or reduced. It also may be weak or not be present at all, such as in occurrences of asexuality. Factors of reduced libido can be both psychological and physical. Absence of libido may or may not correlate with infertility or impotence.

Freud viewed libido as passing through a series of developmental stages within the individual. Failure to adequately adapt to the demands of these different stages could result in libidinal energy becoming ‘dammed up’ or fixated in these stages, producing certain pathological character traits in adulthood. Thus the psychopathologized individual for Freud was an immature individual, and the goal of psychoanalysis was to bring these fixations to conscious awareness so that the libido energy would be freed up and available for conscious use in some sort of constructive sublimation.

Psychological factors

Reduction in libido can occur from psychological causes such as loss of privacy and/or intimacy, stress, distraction or depression. It may also derive from the presence of environmental stressors such as prolonged exposure to elevated sound levels or bright light. Other causes include:

• depression
• stress or fatigue
• childhood sexual abuse, assault, trauma, or neglect
• body image issues
• sexual performance anxiety^[3]
• tight clothing

Physical factors

Physical factors that can affect libido include: endocrine issues such as hypothyroidism, levels of available testosterone in the bloodstream of both women and men, the effect of certain prescription medications (for example proscar (a.k.a. finasteride) or minoxidil), various lifestyle factors and the attractiveness and biological fitness of one’s partner. ^[4] Inborn lack of sexual desire, often observed in asexual people, can also be considered a physical factor.

Lifestyle

Being very underweight, severely obese,^[5] or malnourished can cause a low libido due to disruptions in normal hormonal levels. There is also evidence to support that specific foods have an effect on libido. ^[6][7]

Medications

Reduced libido is also often iatrogenic and can be caused by many medications, such as hormonal contraception, SSRIs and other antidepressants, antipsychotics, opioids and beta blockers. In some cases iatrogenic impotence or other sexual dysfunction can be permanent, as in PSSD.

Testosterone is one of the hormones controlling libido in human beings. Emerging research^[8] is showing that hormonal contraception methods like “the pill” (which rely on estrogen and progesterone together) are causing low libido in females by elevating levels of Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG binds to sex hormones, including testosterone, rendering them unavailable. Research is showing that even after ending a hormonal contraceptive method, SHBG levels remain elevated and no reliable data exists to predict when this phenomenon will diminish^[9]. Some^[who?] question whether “the pill” and other hormonal methods (Depo-Provera, Norplant, etc) have permanently altered gene expression by epigenetic mechanisms.

Left untreated, with low in testosterone levels will experience loss of libido which in turn can often cause relationship stress^{[citation needed]}, and loss of bone and muscle mass throughout their lives.^{[citation needed]} (Low testosterone may also be responsible for certain kinds of depression and low energy states.)

Conversely, increased androgen steroids (e.g. testosterone) generally have a positive correlation with libido in both sexes.^{[citation needed]}

Menstrual cycle

Women’s libido is correlated to their menstrual cycle. Many women experience heightened sexual desire in the several days immediately before ovulation.^[10]

Other causes of low libido include not getting enough sleep, unresolved conflicts within the relationship, and suboptimal amounts of testosterone in the body

See also

Look up libido in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Aphrodisiac
• Cathexis
• Coitus reservatus
• Conatus
• Death drive
• Destrudo
• Eros
• Id, ego, and super-ego
• Lust
• Mortido
• Perimenopause
• Psychosexual development
• Self preservation
• Sexual attraction

References

• Gabriele Froböse, Rolf Froböse, Michael Gross (Translator): Lust and Love: Is it more than Chemistry? Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, ISBN 0-85404-867-7, (200
• Ellenberger F. Henri (1970). The discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books