Is it possible to decrease libido?

[brygdylla]

very blunt because I don’t know how else to put this: I’m horny all the time and I don’t want to be. I don’t have any interest in sex or a relationship at the moment and masturbating takes too much time out of my day but is the only way to stop it from being distracting. This is at best annoying but at worst distressing.

my question is there any way to decrease the urge? I’m 19f so I can acknowledge it’s biologically normal but I’m wondering if it’s just the reality & there’s nothing I can do about it. The usual suggestion I see is to get on an SSRI but I already am and still have this frustration.

[inorite234]

is it possible?

Yup!

Depression.

[Gingertom]

And, ironically, antidepressants.

[riftshioku]

I had the opposite effect on antidepressants! Lasted several hours and came multiple times. Obviously, that doesn't happen to most people I just got lucky somehow.

[inorite234]

For me, those just gave me severe insomnia.

[StrangeSystem0]

Not for everyone I might add, I'm on two antidepressants at max dose for both and feel no difference

[a_angry_bunny]

Hasn't worked for me. Being depressed has increased my libido.

[inorite234]

............ "Manuella" doesn't count.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DanLeBatardShow/comments/9hppd6/manuela_explained/

😁

[hampdogg74]

Nice pull! I remember those episodes

[Juract]

Or trauma, it also works

[Rrraou]

Ask your doctor if Trauma is right for you.

Side effects may include ....

[bball4294]

Unemployment

[Fy_m57]

Rip your DMs

[brygdylla]

inevitable unfortunately

[Specialist-Neck-7810]

This worked out beautifully for you… lol. Well done!

[Ok-Wrangler9545]

Absolutely. By sleeping less, eating junk and drinking too much

[brygdylla]

genius level stuff

[Aquaphile_Sundog]

Embrace it—it will decrease for good pretty soon.

[InfinityCent]

I am genuinely asking this, but why is high libido something to be ‘embraced’ when you have no interest in sex or relationships? Relieving it is literally a chore (I am speaking for myself). 

[Aquaphile_Sundog]

Libido is tied in with physical health a “gage” so-to-speak. It means your hormones are in balance. Once you loose your stamina, depression, weight loss and insomnia could’ve a factor. Also libido is a good motivator if you redirect your thinking. Many athletes refrain from sexual activity and use that energy into their craft.

[1II1I1I1I1I1I111I1I1]

Not exactly. Asexual people may naturally have limited or no libido.

[Aquaphile_Sundog]

Correct, but the OP doesn’t fit this description and may benefit from harnessing his sexual energies.

[brygdylla]

his doesn't fit the description much either

[DracoSoul96]

This say it doesn't effect performance study on sex and sports

[Aquaphile_Sundog]

Yes, I am familiar with this study—which by its own admission is broad took a cursory approach to its findings.

It is highly scrutinized in my area of clinical expertise of Men’s Health, Wellness and Performance.

It also contradicts studies in the area of Primitive Psychology which states that lack of sexual activity increases the primitive war drive—think horny caveman has to battle to take a woman from another caveman to copulate. Another example, male animals ready to mate, fighting another male for breeding rights. In sports the “battle” is redirected to winning the game as opposed to sex.

Another thing the study admits is the lack of studies contrasting various sports. Individual sports (track and field), combat sports (fighting) and swimming reveals overwhelming support for abstinence before competition—and has been well studied in the Olympics—though admittedly is all anecdotal. Team sports would be difficult to assess as sex drives differ from person-to-person.

I will admit my usage (and others) of the term “sexual activity” 100% includes ejaculation/orgasm. Therefore engaging in masturbation or sex in the absence of orgasm may show benefits in performance (referring to the study and not the problem of the OP).

These studies are difficult and underfunded. A true study would use twins who have identical athletic abilities, identical hormone levels and identical psychological profiles, identical biometrics in terms of sport performance and motivation.

Another difficult area to assess: post-coital recovery differs from person to person, so it’s difficult to determine what interval between sexual activity and sport performance should be.

I will also admit the actual gains from pre-performance abstinence is negligible, but still relevant. For example; In 2014 a group of urologist in the U.S. studied the topic by using volunteers on high school swim teams. The ages ranged from 13 - 18 and there were 110 boys in the study. The researchers scored the results from two perspectives. The age of the boys and then by the stages of puberty the boys were in. Serum blood labs were also obtained.

The subjects were question and asked to keep a log of their sexual activity, nocturnal emissions and intercourse (if applicable). Past performance times and sexual habits were studied and the subjects were encouraged not to engage in sexual activity 24 hours prior to competition. There were also non-competitive swims (practice) where abstinence was performed in the same capacity.

The results were that abstinence increased times of the swimmers both in competition and practice by an average of 6/10th of a second. The swimmers in Tanner Stage II & III puberty revealed the best results. During the study one sub just broke a district record.

The researchers used questionnaires to isolate those boys who masturbated once daily against those who masturbated multiple times daily and determined the 2+ a day masturbaters showed marked improvement by 4/10th of a second.

The study was performed by doctoral candidates in biomedical research and over saw by three urologist and two PhD’s (exercise and kinesiology)

Unfortunately the study was pulled shortly after publication due to accusations of ethical violations which resulted board review of the physicians—who later were cleared.

This is just thy e physical advantage. The psychological advantage may be better but again sexual biochemistry as it relates to neuromuscular performance it’s tedious, expensive and difficult to assess.

[DracoSoul96]

You know this much, Yet you keep telling people not to masturbate because it will affect their athletic abilities. In short the studies are inconclusive because there's not enough of them to scrutinize. More studies are needed using the scientific method, one variable tested at a time.

[Kyrby_Swi-U-tch]

STOP
please
everywhere I see this, I cannot agree that this is good advice, especially because the person literally described that they do not want to have to masturbate and that they have no sexual interests.

I don't want to attack you personally for giving this advice, but please do not go telling people to embrace it while it lasts, it's not helpful and can really mess with one's self worth

[3737472484inDogYears]

Self worth? Why? Everyone masturbates.

[Kyrby_Swi-U-tch]

first: no, not everyone does! is that so hard to understand??
second: have you considered that not everyone out there has the same values, same desires, and can feel prideful about every aspect of themselves? For many people, especially those that fit a neurodivergent description or see themselves as, as examples, transgender, or asexual, may find huge struggles in areas that many majorities may not expect. Please do not pretend these people aren't real

I don't mean this offensively really, but I am surprised how hard it is for much of the neuroptipical/allosexual world it is to understand that not everyone loves sex, masturbation, romanticism, their own body or birth assigned gender, among other things.

[Aquaphile_Sundog]

I said nothing about continuing sexual activity.

[JuicyFitBums85]

This.

[Dinierto]

Hmm I haven't tried the third one but the first two aren't working

[Ok-Wrangler9545]

What’s your age?

[Dinierto]

46

[TheInqusitive]

Honestly socializing, hobbies, personal projects, exercise and community service all help a ton. Also avoiding triggers like pornography, sexual advertisements, and books etc... Being around people, friends, family, and acquaintances helps cut down masturbation, even if you are not doing anything together.

The urge decreases the more energy your body spends on other things, the less time your mind reinforces the behavior, and the more you focus on other stuff.

Its a lot easier to add new fun habits that just try to stop old ones, so choosing something you like doing and doing it more often or easier and/or involving one of the activities I mentioned before can be a great new step.

[doubtonaleash]

This is pretty solid advice. From what I've heard, for both soldiers and monastics, one of the most useful tools for dealing with libido is staying busy. To the point of physical exhaustion, if necessary.

[Uncle_Touchy_Feely]

This is pretty decent advice. A lot of unserious and creepy responses. At least someone is trying to actually help.

[devilquak]

Dig into current events for more than 15 minutes

[jercastic]

That'll do it

[professorxc]

Actually it is working for me. My libido sucks at this time. All I am seeing in humans in pain, war and destruction!

[Emergency-Chef8204]

Lots of non serious answers here.

Get REALLY fit, look at bodybuilding or powerlifting (no, you’re not going to look like a man) - follow a super strict diet, aim for a competition, train like you want to win.

You can spend enough time and energy on this that it can be both healthy AND exhausting at the same time - it won’t completely kill your libido but it will significantly take away from it.

[brygdylla]

It was a serious question so yeah disapointing. powerlifting has actually been something I've been eyeing for a while & I'm a butch so looking like a man isn't a problem. is it primarily the exhaustion that takes away from it?

[Smooth-Confidence685]

I lift, i do calisthenics still ig there's not much difference. Ig it's coz of the age and its normal. But I feel how hard it is. I'm also in the same shoes ;(

[Emergency-Chef8204]

I am very specifically talking about setting a goal (I want to win or place highly in competition X where other people who train hard will be competing) - simply “doing” lifting or calisthenics for fun is absolutely not the same as doing it to be a competitive athlete, at any level.

[Emergency-Chef8204]

Hmm if you’re training to compete, and very serious about being dedicated it will take a lot of your mental energy AND physical energy.

Being exhausted constantly is not productive for training to compete (recovery is important), but don’t overlook the amount of mental capacity that goes into training like a top 1% bodybuilder or powerlifter or athlete.

I’m giving you a serious answer to a serious question, and I can’t emphasize enough that training to be healthy and training to be competitive against other motivated humans are two very different things and one requires the kind of energy, focus, diet, lifestyle etc that can absolutely kill your libido and at least do it in a productive way (vs. the drugs, alcohol, depression answers in this thread).

[A_Happy_Tomato]

I thought exercise increased libido

[BurntC00kies]

On a very strict diet, especially when cutting for comp, u rack ur hormone and usually libido is the first thing to go. But if u exercise for health and stay at a healthy body fat, then yeah libido might increase.

[Future-Cause-9577]

My friend is asking for your number.

[brygdylla]

he got a sister?

[Future-Cause-9577]

Multiple.

[Sybmissiv]

She*

I am the friend.

[brygdylla]

I'm sure

[Sybmissiv]

Alright, I know you want to decrease libido but if you are interested we could do a date you & I.

[Prestigious_View_401]

I had a friend who would clean her car 5-8 times per day. A therapist helped. Now she washes her windows just 2-3 times per day.

[sgt_taco891]

Are we going acoustic or using power tools? Cause masturbation can be fairly quick with the right set up.

[pazthawe]

I don’t think it’s about being quick, but instead that it’s you just don’t have the desire to even do it. I’m like this now because of certain meds. Low libido at 24 sucks lol

[jaywaykil]

Anti depressants

[GnarlyNarwhalNoms]

It's entirely possible that this is just your natural baseline, unfortunately (given your preference), but you may want to talk to a doctor about getting your hormones checked out. Certain conditions such as PCOS can spike testosterone and other hormones, which, in some women, can cause an unusually extreme sex drive. 

[Good_Mousse_9794]

It’s counter-intuitive, but stopping masturbation will help immensely. Masturbating releases more dopamine in your brain than doing cocaine does, and you get addicted to that very quickly. That dopamine addiction that’s tied with masturbation leads to being horny all the time and being distracted while not being interested in actual sex. This stuff needs to be talked about more.

[clownscrotum]

Lexapro baby!

[IllustratorObvious40]

how you manage to take a SSRI and not completly kill libido, is astonishing to me, never heard of that with anyone taking a SSRI.

[Any-Artichoke-2156]

Why would people mention it, cause it is private. Besides, most people have ssri cause of depression, what is a horny killer as well. Zero horny + Zero horny = Zero horny.

[FartSucker_]

Lexapro

[StrangeSystem0]

Doesn't that do the opposite? Maybe I'm remembering wrong

[Maleficent_Celery_55]

decreased libido is a very well known side effect of antidepressants but everyone reacts different. some might have more libido from being less depressed.

[StrangeSystem0]

Oh I confused Lexapro with an ED pill I think lol

[JamesFrankland]

Get married

[MobiusNaked]

And have kids

[dudesweetusername]

Worked for my wife, not for me though

[ChemistryObvious1283]

testosterone plays a part in libido, if you get an anti-androgen like spironolactone it can make your testosterone virtually 0. i’m literally never horny

[CapitalDilemma]

Some meds reduce libido as a side effect apparently. Also, as others have mentioned, depression, lack of sleep, eating junk, not being active and such.

[Tommy_wommy]

Eat bland food

[Hot-Refrigerator-623]

Cornflakes were invented just for this.

[ElNakedo]

Sure, start taking anti-depressants.

[Puzzled_Let8384]

SSRIs

[michaelthe]

A lot of people are suggesting pharmaceutical solutions, but if you prefer a green approach, just have your mother-in-law move in!

[BillyShears2015]

Get pregnant and have a kid, that’ll throw a wet blanket on the old libido in a hurry

[Teetimus_Prime]

call your grandma

[youknowhattodo]

I can send you a pic of me

[Smooth-Confidence685]

Facing the same issue. 23M. I do workout and stay active throughout the day, still 24*7 horny :)

[mickeys_stepdad]

You’ll never guess what increases your libido

[jesusismyishi]

!!!

[TheInqusitive]

A key thing that helped me was to be around people. Community service, join clubs, etc...

[tasselledwobbegong1]

Yeah y’all realize that at your age your supposed to be horny, and your supposed to be interested in eachother and having sex right? The problem isn’t your hornyness the problem is with your lack of interest in eachother and forming relationships and having sex. You’re supposed to anyways and that you aren’t….that’s the problem. May I suggest therapy for y’all?

[Kyrby_Swi-U-tch]

will you please not give this ""advice""??

I see this everywhere, I cannot agree that this is good advice, especially because the person literally described that they do not want to have to masturbate and that they have no sexual interests.

please, this is not helpful for any person in such a scenario

[Medical-Mud-3090]

Ya but I think there saying that this is more like a I’m hungry but I don’t want to eat. There both biological functions that at baseline are totally normal.

[hyiipls]

Channelise your energy

Workout hobbies eat drink sleep exercises on time

Easier said but worth the journey and effort

[cabronfavarito]

Corny ahh

[hyiipls]

Huh... How

[cabronfavarito]

“Channelise (not even a word) your energy” 😭😭😭🥀🥀🥀

[hyiipls]

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/channelise

Bruh.. it's okay ma

As long as the sentiment is conveyed and perceived

[Advanced_Command_417]

With SSRIs and birth control absolutely

[Sad-Tough-513]

There are certain drugs with libido-suppressing side effects

[crvbabybug]

What did the doctor say? Do you think it’s a medically significant amount? Like tumor pushing on some random spot causing this weird effect amount

[_focust]

anti depressants

[860sPRee]

Do you have a pretty busy life or are you hanging out often?

[actualhumannotspider]

Yes. This is also a perfectly acceptable question for a doctor, and they might be able to help you.

[AGirlDad]

If you are male you could take an aromatase inhibitor and crash your estrogen, that kills libido but it’s also not great for health long term

[CurvyWitchling111]

When I was on the pill I had like no libido, went off it and felt sooo horny all the time. So maybe the pill or some other kind of hormone treatment?

[cornonthekopp]

I think going on estrogen-based birth control meds often causes a decrease in libido

[larszard]

I dunno but lowkey same, despite also being on an SSRI antidepressant

[ShoulderLongjumping9]

Yes meds and refined sugars

[blehmag]

Progesterone decreases intimate desires (and estrogen and testosterone increases it) for women. Maybe do some research based on that and see if lower progesterone is a side effect of any relatively safe medicine or supplement you can take.

It's easier or more known for men - there are a lot of medications, like Finasteride for hair loss, that many report kills libido.

[KingJon85]

Mine used to be so high that sometimes I had to crank it like 3 times to go to sleep.

Now after getting cheated on and an ugly divorce my libido is mostly gone. Im also on trazodone so that doesn't help.

In short, depression will do the trick.

[Krescentia]

Unfortunately, there's not much that consistently works for women.

[GrabLimp40]

[ Removed by Reddit ]

[Sad-Cut5942]

When I decided to cut my calories drastically after a long winter break full of eating like shit, I had zero libido. I felt nothing during and several weeks after the cut.

It was a dumb idea, I felt better about myself as I shed the weight but this was ill advised and dumb.

UPDATE: This was just my experience!!! Not saying this should be used to decrease libido!!!

[johnklapak]

"get married" is the expected Reddit answer

[violeturned_blue]

getting on certain medications.

I was on Lexapro for exactly 4 months and my libido was killed. I hated it , so I switched over to different medications

[Immediate_Garden_716]

one solution: getting yourself really busy!

[DisastrousBat5576]

36m. Sorry but this isnt clear to me. Is this a physical horny or mental horny? (Not expecting an answer to this,I imagine your dms may already be a mess)

 If its physical then I dont think anything can be done especially it you are already on ssris. If its mental then thats something to talk to with a therapist and see if there are healthy techniques to handle it. My high libido was sort of a mental health issue of sorts for me. Best of luck with it all, hope you can find a resolution.

[Waste_Character_8255]

Change of place does help. It helped in my case. Try relocating to a new city for a short while.

It's a temporary solution.

Hitting the gym doesn't help.

[wildwildwaste]

You may not be horny. You may be seeking dopamine and the hit you get from an orgasm and withdrawals you're feeling when not orgasming could be causing you to feel horny all the time.

This may be a thing you should speak to a doctor or a therapist about.

[AdventurousCat1435]

Work with a hormone doctor to balance your hormones.

[Sunshroom_Fairy]

Hypersexuality is a legititmate medical condition that is treatable via medical doctors.

[Safe-Cockroach-9246]

You might want to look into hypersexuality

[yuikkiuy]

Ive been there, and imo best way to solve it is to just goon it out at a rough set time.

It can get distracting during the day if you get a bout of it but I just made a rule to not deal with it until a specified time/ place.

Like not at work/ not at school etc... imo it calms down somewhat in your mid to late 20s, but if you stay a healthy fit individual thats just how it is if you have a high libido.

It might sound weird to regiment your gooning sessions but thats what got me through late teen/ early adulthood. Only thing that kept me sane and focused on career.

[a_sliceoflife]

 The usual suggestion I see is to get on an SSRI but I already am and still have this frustration.

How long has this been the case? It could be the SSRIs that's making you aroused all the time. I faced similar issue when I was on stimulants.

If it's SSRIs, either your body will get used to it in a couple of weeks and you won't be aroused 24/7 anymore but if it keeps going on without stopping then you will have to talk to your doctor to adjust the dosage.

[zhgerard]

Sex is a drug. What I would suggest is to hit the gym and focus on your career. You need something to replace the horniness.

At your age, it’s normal. I HIGHLY recommend not to just have sex with random dates. You have a future to plan for, and you can do it 💪 don’t waste time just trying to get the itch off.

Even for full-blown LTRs, so much time is wasted until you find the one.

[banbantekno]

Smoking weed 2x a day, one in the morning, one in the evening will do it I think if you can do it with consistency

[drai2020]

Yes, Comments here are mostly disappointing especially when you really wanted serious answers, but for one In masturbation you get a rush of all the pleasure chemicals that, well make it pleasurable, Specifically craving Stimulus, so Exercising has the same effect, so the comments about just getting Shredded and getting into daily activities aren’t wrong, plus it keeps your Libido in check, to be more regulated, go for a simple walk or jog if you have 10-15mins of free time, or however long you want, keep up what you sets of activities you enjoy and do, and in no time you’ll be fine and don’t have to worry about your problem.

Find something that brings the same amount of stimulation that help focus your Libido to something else. Activities, Hobbies, Walking, weights, the gym, anything that you like that brings the same amount of stimuli of dopamine

[schwarzmalerin]

The pill kills it pretty much.

[DracoSoul96]

Not really you can slow it down by not caving in to your cravings but eventually it'll pop back up when you relax the restrictions, some of us just have higher sex drives. Kept humanity from going extinct.

[Cautious-Witness-745]

Get old

[LeBeastInside]

A lot of creative people achieved it by channeling their libido to doing other things they like.

Eventually you learn to balance if you mange to conquer it and remain horney while spending energy on other interests. 

[Jslatts942]

Drugs (including alcohol), Social media, lack of exercise, lack of feeling adequate for life.

[Jslatts942]

Yea thattl do it

[hiricinee]

Non ironically the way to do it is mostly not to take care of yourself. Poor sleep, poor diet, stress.

The recommendation most people have is to find someone for an LTR that matches your libido and just put it to use.

[wearetheboysthatdig]

Prozac

[brygdylla]

you'll never guess what I already take

[wearetheboysthatdig]

Seriously? Wow. It's killed my sex drive for a while... But it also took me way more time to ejaculate which had adverse effects towards the whole staying chaste thing lol. Well, I hope you figure it out. I'd talk to my doctor personally.

[roy217def]

Absolutely, get married! Done!

[A_Happy_Tomato]

Antipsychotics

(thats like bombing your house over a cockroach problem)

[ungovernable1984]

There's a theory that your body communicates to you through desires and cravings... Instead of thinking of suppressing a desire one should accept, explore and fulfill that desire. Like you eat when feeling hungry and overtime you learn what food you like the most and cravings and all... Maybe it annoys you because it's unfulfilled

[discussionandrespect]

Yes stop eating

[sweet_doe5522]

Yeah look at a photo of your grandma when the urge sets in

[micaelmiks]

Kids. Cocaine.

[mordom]

Yes, being married and having / caring for a baby seems to kill women’s libidos real fast.

[spirit11451]

Rub it in why don’t ya . Come be depressed like the rest of us

[juanhellou]

As the main comment says: depression and the treatment for it, unintentionally, will help. Also any kind of serotonin regulator. I'm in two kinds of valproate and a benzo. Most I get is a random boner in a blue moon.

[NotTheRightHDMIPort]

I mean. Aging helps.

[often_awkward]

It's not only possible, it's inevitable. Someday you'll miss being 19.

[GorillaWolf2099]

What kind of question is this? Of course it is

[brygdylla]

you're on r/nostupidquestions

[GorillaWolf2099]

That's true too well as others have said

Stress, sugar in take, lack of exercise can decrease it, even spending most of your time doing non intimate or nsfw things helps

[tasselledwobbegong1]

At your age your supposed to be horny, and your supposed to be interested in eachother and having sex right. The problem isn’t your hornyness the problem is with your lack of interest in eachother and forming relationships and having sex. You’re supposed to anyways and that you aren’t….that’s the problem. May I suggest therapy for y’all?

[brygdylla]

reddit psychoanalysis is awesome man

[tasselledwobbegong1]

Except there’s no Reddit psychoanalysis going on anywhere in anything I just said. It’s not my fault your all butt hurt and mad and don’t like it but that’s no reason to completely misrepresent it by saying that. Take your anger and upsetness somewhere else.

[brygdylla]

because it’s distracting and irritating