Not wasting time, Dr. Diana Hoppe jumps right into good stuff with the first chapter of her book "Healthy Sex Drive, Healthy You: What Your Libido Reveals About Your Life." The first chapter is titled “8 Reasons Why Sex is Good for You”. In the first few pages, Hoppe briefly leads her readers through the science behind claims that sex improves immunity, eases depression/anxiety, relieves pain, preserves vaginal health, and enhances your ability to connect with people (among other things). In her first chapter, Hoppe justifies the importance of a book about women’s libido and introduces her technique of entwining useful, health detail into easily understood prose.
The second chapter defines exactly what libido is (sexual desire) and why it’s erratic especially in women (many reasons). Hoppe investigates explanations for differences in sex drive between men and women – a combination of “biology, psychology, sociocultural influences and interpersonal relationships”. In a different chapter dedicated to “His and Her Sex Drives” Hoppe creates a helpful chart that diagrams differences in each sex’s brain. Apparently, not only do men have 2.5 percent more space dedicated to thinking about sex than women, but women are also wired to approach arousal in a more roundabout way than men. Just as I discussed in my series of articles on the map to orgasm, there is a complex map to arousal that focuses first on a woman’s brain and precedes any feelings of desire (and is prone to detours). She lists top reasons for low libido in women, including stress, hormonal fluctuations, relationship difficulties, medication, and low self-esteem. These topics help to structure the following chapters of her book.
Each new section begins with an anecdote from one of Hoppe’s patients who express their frustrations with low libido and circumstances that many women can relate to. For example, the chapter on self-esteem concentrates on women concerned with the appeal of their aging, changing bodies and subsequent decrease in libido.
The chapter on stress/anxiety explains why biologically, women may be pre-disposed to feel more stress than men and how this can negatively impact their libido. Hoppe claims that because women have more connecting tissue between the left and right sides of their brains, they multi-task better than men. Unfortunately, this means we are more distractable, more prone to stress, and due to estrogen levels, better able to remember stressful situations. Because women’s brains are such important sexual organs, stressful situations and the need for multi-tasking can inhibit a woman’s sex drive more fully than a man’s, as his arousal relies less on mental stimulation.
While earlier chapters look at sociocultural norms, relationships, physiology, biology and emotional factors, chapter 7 and 8 focus on more “medical” explanations for low libido. Hoppe runs through the symptoms, diagnoses and differences between female sexual disorders (different from low libido): sexual desire disorders, female sexual arousal disorder, female orgasmic disorder and sexual pain disorders. She also describes how certain illnesses or medications can inhibit a sex drive, especially if they affect hormone levels, brain function, blood flow or body composition. She concentrates on the effects of heart disease, diabetes and insomnia, and explores the impact of anti-depressants, contraceptives and hormone therapies.
Hoppe concludes with a chapter on communication, offering tips for resuscitating, maintaining or getting in touch with yourself, your sex drive and those people around you who can detract or enhance libido. Just as she does throughout her book, Hoppe mixes advice, explanation, anecdote and reflective questions.
Don’t worry – I’ve saved the best to review for last. Stay tuned for Dr. Hoppe’s excellent comments on aphrodisiacs and some supplementary details on sex drive enhancement.