What if I have a hormone imbalance?

Hormonal imbalances typically create a cluster of symptoms including, for example, fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, weakness and pain, depression, or a decrease in libido [1]. If you don't have additional symptoms and/or you have always had a low libido, then it's unlikely that you have a hormonal imbalance. However, if you suspect you do, you may want to seek treatment regardless of your sexuality.

In the absence of clearly distressing symptoms, it isn't entirely clear that this question makes sense in the first place. Everything has a cause. When it comes to something biological, like asexuality, that cause might be hormonal, or something else.

Often this question is asked from the perspective of "what if I have a problem that's making me asexual?", but that's a bit of strange way to look at medicine in general. What is it that makes some causes (e.g. unusual hormone levels) a 'problem' and others (e.g. a sexual orientation) not? The question is wrong: what makes something a problem is your relationship to its effect, not its cause. Some people have no libido and they're fine with that, and if so, they shouldn't be pressured into having treatment. Some people have no libido and it causes them distress, and if they want treatment we can try to help them.

It is also worth emphasising two aspects of asexuality that separate it from hormonal disorders.

• Asexuality is a sexual orientation and is generally a life-long condition. Hormonal disorders typically present themselves at a particular time, resulting in a change in the frequency or ways in which a person experiences libido.
• Hormonal disorders typically affect a person's libido, not whether they experience attraction. Asexuality is not a lack of libido, it's a lack of attraction. Plenty of asexuals have a libido and for them it's unlikely that they have unusual hormonal patterns.

When considering whether to seek treatment for your condition, the primary question you need to ask is: does it cause you distress, arising from inside yourself? If you've always felt this way and it doesn't bother you, then there's no need to worry. Something can only be wrong if we decide we want it to be different.

See also

References

• [1]: C. Osborn (2017). Everything you should know about hormonal imbalance. Healthline.