Low Libido Screener (DSDS) for Women

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is the medical term for low or absent sexual desire that has decreased from what used to feel normal for you and that genuinely bothers you or causes distress. The key word is bother: desire that's simply lower than someone else's, or lower than it once was but doesn't trouble you, isn't a disorder. HSDD is one of the most common sexual concerns women raise, and it has many possible causes — hormones, menopause, medications, stress, mood, relationships, or another sexual problem such as pain. Because the causes are usually identifiable and treatable, it's worth a conversation rather than something to simply live with.

Very. Low or absent sexual desire is among the most frequently reported sexual concerns among women, and it becomes more common with age, around menopause, after childbirth, and with certain medications. Being common doesn't mean it doesn't matter: if the change bothers you or affects your relationship, that distress is exactly what makes it worth addressing. It also doesn't mean nothing can be done — most causes are treatable once they're identified, so a low sex drive that troubles you is a good reason to talk with a clinician.

The DSDS — the Decreased Sexual Desire Screener — is a brief, validated five-question screening tool developed by Clayton and colleagues and published in 2009. It was designed to help identify generalized acquired HSDD: low desire that isn't limited to one partner or situation (generalized) and that represents a decrease from a previously satisfying level (acquired). The first four questions ask whether your desire used to be satisfying, whether it has decreased, whether that bothers you, and whether you'd like it to improve; the fifth asks what might be contributing. It's a starting point for a clinical conversation, not a diagnosis on its own.

Many things, often more than one at once. Common contributors include hormonal changes (menopause, perimenopause, pregnancy, breastfeeding), medications — some antidepressants and hormonal contraception in particular — stress, fatigue, and low mood, relationship dissatisfaction or conflict, and other sexual problems such as pain, dryness, or difficulty with arousal or orgasm. Medical conditions and past surgery can play a part too. The encouraging part is that several of these — medications, hormonal causes, mood, relationship strain, and treatable pain — are reversible or manageable, which is why identifying the cause matters.

Yes, in most cases — once the cause is found. If a medication is the culprit, a clinician may be able to adjust or switch it; hormonal causes around menopause can often be treated; mood, stress, and relationship factors respond to counseling or therapy; and another sexual problem such as pain or dryness can be treated directly, which often lifts desire in turn. There are also specific medical treatments for HSDD itself in some women. A primary-care doctor, gynecologist, or sexual-medicine specialist can help sort out what's driving it and what would help.

Yes. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are scored on your own device and are never sent to a server, saved, or shared — close the tab and they're gone. It's general educational information based on a published, validated screener; it can't diagnose you or replace a conversation with a clinician.