Conditions That Can Put Your Sex Drive in Overdrive

Sometimes, a person’s sexual drive (also known as libido) becomes overactive, becoming a serious medical condition capable of affecting all spheres of their life. People who suffer from increased sexual drive tend to have their decisions influenced by it, which often leads to problems at home and at work.

Hypersexuality is known by many names, such as sexual addiction or overactive sex drive, as well as satyriasis in men and nymphomania in women, but in fact, all of those terms are used to refer to the same condition with the following symptoms:

• despite having a persistent desire to have sex, people with hypersexuality sometimes do not get any pleasure from sexual intercourse
• the urge to have sex is compulsive, and it leads to shutting out other spheres of life and making insensible decisions
• sex is regarded as a way of addressing depression, anxiety, loneliness or stress
• sex might be seen as the only way to “have a break” from everyday problems
• sexual behavior becomes uncontrollable, risky and/or antisocial

An overactive sex drive is known to have a great number of potential negative consequences, including:

• contracting sexually transmitted diseases
• experiencing problems with interpersonal relationships
• getting in trouble with the law
• being criticized or judged at work
• feeling a lack of interest in anything that is not related to sex
• feeling desperate
• developing low self-esteem

Unfortunately, the causes of hypersexuality are still unknown, but medical practitioners have observed that it can be a complication of certain physical or mental disorders.

Conditions That Could Cause an Overactive Sex Drive

If you’re suffering from one of the following diseases or disorders, you are at risk of becoming hypersexual:

• Bipolar disorder. Patients with this disorder have quickly changing moods, which range from depression to manic happiness. Hypersexuality typically occurs in patients during the “happy” phases, but it could also happen when they are feeling particularly low. Since bipolar disorder can be treated, overactive sex drive symptoms usually disappear with the right therapy.
• People who suffer from dementia are likely to enjoy sexual exposure, masturbate excessively, use a lot of obscenities in their speech, and generally display inappropriate sexual behavior. Male and female patients are equally likely to become hypersexual, and the risk is higher in patients with severe dementia. Sometimes, sexual addiction can be addressed with some medications, but in a large portion of cases, they will bring little or no result. Other forms of therapy are known to be more effective, but they need to be studied further.
• Persistent genital arousal disorder. Women who suffer from this condition feel aroused all the time, and having sex does not help them get rid of the feeling. It can last for weeks and has to be addressed with a combination of different treatment forms, such as topical gels, antidepressants, hormonal and behavioral therapy.
• Apart from being dangerous by itself, rabies is known to cause some patients to become sexual addicts. Medical practitioners are inclined to believe that it happens because the virus gets to the brain and causes severe inflammation in some of its areas. Rabies is a disease that could lead to death if not treated properly, so do not hesitate to consult your healthcare provider if you were bitten by a wild animal or even by a domestic one if you are sure that it has not been vaccinated.
• Klüver-Bucy syndrome. This is a rather rare condition that usually occurs in people who have suffered brain damage. It causes a multitude of symptoms, including inappropriate sexual behavior, an urge to put different objects in the mouth, and abnormal responses to fear or anger. The syndrome cannot be cured, but the symptoms can often be relieved by using various therapy forms.
• Sexual addiction. Hypersexuality is sometimes erroneously called sexual addiction, but in reality, these are two different conditions, hypersexuality being a symptom of sexual addiction. It may start as an addiction to masturbation, watching pornography, or even to a relationship with a particular sexual partner. However, it grows from that into a full-blown addiction to sex, resulting in inappropriate sexual behavior.

In fact, anyone can become addicted to sex, as it causes the body to start producing dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that is responsible for regulating pleasure, so anything that acts as a catalyst in its production is potentially addictive, whether it is alcohol, drugs, gambling, or even chocolate. People who become sex addicts use it as a way to deal with their problems, just like alcoholics resort to the bottle at desperate times. However, medical practitioners are convinced that people who are hypersexual or have other sexual disorders can benefit from particular forms of therapy, especially from talks with a sexual health therapist, and change their behavior, so that they start to see people differently than just as a conduit for satisfying their sexual needs.