If there was a drug to reduce the libido, would you take it?

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“If you think sexuality, by nature, is as awful as a natural disaster, there is really not much I can do about that.” Well…sometimes it can be. Nothing is 100% fool-proof…not even that.🙂

And what we refer to as natural disasters aren’t really all bad for everything. Forest fires clear the land for new growth. Earthquakes re-shape the land, and allow new things to live there.Tidal Waves re-shape coastlines, and create new ecosystems. Sure, it’s a little rough on us humans, but in all natural disasters, something usually benefits. It’s just not always us.

Inconvenient pregnancies certainly have a major impact on peoples lives, but how do you know that the child you started will not grow up to be the person that finds a cure for Cancer, or Aids, or comes up with a way to make true World Peace a reality?

Some good comes out of everything, whether we can see it, or not.
silicasandra said:
Obviously, there is nothing much more that I can say to you, since you have ignored the substance of every post I have made in reply to your increasingly bizarre arguments. If you think sexuality, by nature, is as awful as a natural disaster, there is really not much I can do about that.

I would encourage you, however, to consider reading up on Bl. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. The union of man and wife reflects the great mystery of the union of Christ to his Church. To ignore that and proclaim sexuality, by default, as some sort of great evil that needs to be eliminated or controlled, is, to my mind, a distinctly non-Catholic idea.

I will pray for you, and hope you will do the same for me.
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It really depends on the person. Is the person’s libido somehow disordered? Perhaps the person has a hormonal imbalance or a chemical imbalance in the brain? If they are fixing something that is not working properly then there is nothing wrong with that. The definition of normal vs. disordered usually rests on whether or not the condition is causing distress or harm. For instance, a person may actually be bipolar, but if the symptoms are not yet interfering with life they probably aren’t seeking that diagnosis until the symptoms do cause distress.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Sex is icky.
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Tell me you did not say that! 😃

Sex is a natural gift, given to us by God for the begetting of “God-given offspring” (Malachi 2) as well as to deepen the relationship between a husband and wife.

It’s true that modern society has perverted this, and has encouraged all kinds of misuses of the gift of sex, as well as imbuing other spheres of life (most notably advertising), but that is the fault of us moderns, not sex itself.

And let’s not forget that there’s an entire book of the “icky stuff” (as you poetically put it) in the Bible. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater, shall we? 😉
 
Pitcharan said:
What about suicidal tendencies, murderous instincts, urge to steal, …?
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Actually, there’s a broader question here.

An increased libido can sometimes be a sign of an underlying mental illness, most notably mania or hypomania. In those cases, treating the disorder (say, with lithium) would reduce libido to “normal” or baseline levels.

Similarly, suicidal tendencies can be part of a major depression, and if this is so, then treating that depression (either by therapy or drugs) would bring down the suicidal ideas.

And in some parts of the world, “chemical castration” (using drugs that block normal hormonal function) is used as a court-mandated punishment for sex offenders.

But in general, using such drugs would raise as many problems as they solve. First, because any drug that alters behaviour is bound to have adverse effects of its own. Second, because sometimes the behaviour may reflect a moral or spiritual failing rather than a pure “chemical imbalance”. In that case, a drug might mask the problem rather than solve it altogether. 😉
 
Robert_Sock said:
Look libido up in the dictionary. It’s commonly referred to the sex drive.
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Libido is a hypothetical component invented by Freud and, like so many of his theories, thoroughly discredited. There never really was such a thing. It is a figment of the dark imagination of the 1800’s.
 
Ignatius said:
Libido is a hypothetical component invented by Freud and, like so many of his theories, thoroughly discredited. There never really was such a thing. It is a figment of the dark imagination of the 1800’s.
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What are you talking about? Can you explain what exactly you think libido is, and what exactly was a figment of the dark imagination of the 1800’s?

That said, the word Libido has different connotations for different psychologists. Some used it to refer to a general energy of life. Neurosis, or anxiety, was a frustration of this energy. In this thread it is used according to the more strictly Freudian way as a term for sex drive.

To deny either of these ideas is lunacy. Sex drive is part of human nature. So is the drive to live.
 
RPRPsych said:
Actually, there’s a broader question here.

An increased libido can sometimes be a sign of an underlying mental illness, most notably mania or hypomania. In those cases, treating the disorder (say, with lithium) would reduce libido to “normal” or baseline levels.

Similarly, suicidal tendencies can be part of a major depression, and if this is so, then treating that depression (either by therapy or drugs) would bring down the suicidal ideas.

And in some parts of the world, “chemical castration” (using drugs that block normal hormonal function) is used as a court-mandated punishment for sex offenders.

But in general, using such drugs would raise as many problems as they solve. First, because any drug that alters behaviour is bound to have adverse effects of its own. Second, because sometimes the behaviour may reflect a moral or spiritual failing rather than a pure “chemical imbalance”. In that case, a drug might mask the problem rather than solve it altogether. 😉
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An eye-opening and enlightening post. Thank you and God bless you.👍
 
Pitcharan said:
An eye-opening and enlightening post. Thank you and God bless you.👍
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Thanks! 😊 It comes with the territory, I guess - these drugs are my daily friends, the “tools in my toolbox”, so I’m quite familiar with what they can - and cannot - do.

A simple example is to look at anti-depressants.

Now, these drugs are not “happy pills”. If I, or any other person not suffering from depression, were to take them, they would have either no effect or just side-effects. But in some people with depression, they do make a big difference.

Note that I said some. That’s because “depression” (like “increased sex drive”) can have many causes. If the depression genuinely has biological / genetic rootes, and is so severe as to be incapacitating, we see drugs perform at their best.

If the depression is milder, and stems more from “problems of living” or overwhelming stressors, drugs don’t do all that well - they may “numb the pain” a little, but that’s about it.

And if the depression has deeper causes, such as a past traumatic event or a moral / spiritual crisis, then they often don’t work at all, and something entirely different is needed.

Apply this reasoning to drugs for libido, and it becomes clear that “symptomatic treatment” is not always a good idea.

God bless you too. 👍
 
I would consider it. I’ve seen such a drug already advertised on the internet. But I think to avoid side effects I would just find a different method. Right now I’m trying to cut out meat and dairy and stick mostly with fruit and vegetables to see what happens. As a single I don’t really need a sex drive. Its been the bane of my exitstence since I was 16. I think such a drug could help married people. If one spouse simply doesn’t want sex anymore, then the other spouse would have an easier time letting go of the desire without temptation to cheat. It could help young couples who are struggling to stay chaste so they have time to focus on the spiritual aspect of the relationship.
 
RPRPsych said:
Tell me you did not say that! 😃

Sex is a natural gift, given to us by God for the begetting of “God-given offspring” (Malachi 2) as well as to deepen the relationship between a husband and wife.

It’s true that modern society has perverted this, and has encouraged all kinds of misuses of the gift of sex, as well as imbuing other spheres of life (most notably advertising),** but that is the fault of us moderns, **not sex itself.

And let’s not forget that there’s an entire book of the “icky stuff” (as you poetically put it) in the Bible. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater, shall we? 😉
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Not really.

Things like prostitution, keeping mistresses, and sex slaves predate the modern era:shrug:
 
Ignatius said:
Libido is a hypothetical component invented by Freud and, like so many of his theories, thoroughly discredited. There never really was such a thing. It is a figment of the dark imagination of the 1800’s.
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Do you have any evidence to back up this claim?
 
Carina20 said:
I would consider it. I’ve seen such a drug already advertised on the internet. But I think to avoid side effects I would just find a different method. Right now I’m trying to cut out meat and dairy and stick mostly with fruit and vegetables to see what happens. As a single I don’t really need a sex drive. Its been the bane of my exitstence since I was 16. I think such a drug could help married people. If one spouse simply doesn’t want sex anymore, then the other spouse would have an easier time letting go of the desire without temptation to cheat. It could help young couples who are struggling to stay chaste so they have time to focus on the spiritual aspect of the relationship.
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It sounds like you think of sex as a necessary (for the purpose of breeding) evil.

Assuming that is so,* wouldn’t it make sense to continue developing the technology so that women can get pregnant without sex, and then give such (desire killing) drugs to as many people as possible as often as possible?

*This is not an assumption I make, I am merely taking this argument to its logical conclusion.
 
AngryAtheist8 said:
Not really.

Things like prostitution, keeping mistresses, and sex slaves predate the modern era:shrug:
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Note that I said “Encouraged”.

Sexual sin is as old as the hills. However, it’s only fairly recently that people have begun approving of it, glorying in it, and viewing it as the status quo.

A century ago - or even fifty years ago - it would have been extremely hard, if not impossible, for someone to hold office if he was openly practicing homosexuality, or cohabiting.

Yet today people not only do those things, but openly vote for and encourage such travesties. So while you’re partly right, the obsession with sex and the sexualization of everyday life are very much a modern phenomenon. The seeds were sown as far back as the 1800s, but the fruits began to pop up only post-World War II in earnest.
 
I think it would be useful for the guys who intend on being celibate. I knew a guy so haunted by his sexual desire that he was soliciting the names of doctors who had performed orchiectomies and penectomies. Silly guy wasn’t serious about it, he just thought it would make him happier as he never intends to marry, have sex, or pursue romance. His reasoning was something like this, " a man goes blind, and his hearing improves, if I rid myself of sexual desire, I will become wiser". He’s an interesting fella with interesting theories, he thinks sex is too primitive and beneath his dignity. Lol.
 
AngryAtheist8 said:
It sounds like you think of sex as a necessary (for the purpose of breeding) evil.

Assuming that is so,* wouldn’t it make sense to continue developing the technology so that women can get pregnant without sex, and then give such (desire killing) drugs to as many people as possible as often as possible?

*This is not an assumption I make, I am merely taking this argument to its logical conclusion.
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No, I don’t think of sex as “a necessary evil”. It is a gift for a husband and wife. I just think there are some cases where a drug could make it easier for those who want to lessen their sex drive. Not all cases, though. In single people, yes. In married people with incompatible sex drives, yes. But if you and your spouse have compatible sex drives and no one feels like there isn’t enough sex, then there’s nothing to fix. The sex drive is what I’m talking about here, not the act of sex. I never said sex is only for the purpose of procreation (not breeding, we’re humans) I was saying that it would only be for people who really feel they need it. If a person isn’t bothered by their sex drive, they wouldn’t take it.
Nothing good could come from technology that allows procreation without the opposite sex. I see that being developed eventually, or at least attempted, but I see nothing good coming from it. A lot of kids with increased genetic abnormalites (and likely sterile) due to lack of genetic diversity and raised without fathers. There’s nothing good about that.
 
Carina20 said:
No, I don’t think of sex as “a necessary evil”. It is a gift for a husband and wife. I just think there are some cases where a drug could make it easier for those who want to lessen their sex drive. Not all cases, though. In single people, yes. In married people with incompatible sex drives, yes. But if you and your spouse have compatible sex drives and no one feels like there isn’t enough sex, then there’s nothing to fix. The sex drive is what I’m talking about here, not the act of sex. I never said sex is only for the purpose of procreation (not breeding, we’re humans) I was saying that it would only be for people who really feel they need it. If a person isn’t bothered by their sex drive, they wouldn’t take it.
Nothing good could come from technology that allows procreation without the opposite sex. I see that being developed eventually, or at least attempted, but I see nothing good coming from it. A lot of kids with increased genetic abnormalites (and likely sterile) due to lack of genetic diversity and raised without fathers. There’s nothing good about that.
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If other words, if there’s ever a libido related problem the solution is to simply reduce the sex drive:rolleyes:
 
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