首先由心理学家弗洛伊德提出。弗洛伊德所提出的性不是指生殖意义上的性。弗洛伊德提出性的动力是“力比多”（libido)，泛指一切身体器官的快感，包括性倒错者和儿童的性生活。

“性倒错”者有两类：

（一）其性的对象已变。例如与同性恋者相同，他们不要生殖器的结合，而以对方的其他器官或部位为替代；

（二）性的目标已变。他们的性欲的目标仅为常人所讲的性的预备动作。这两类性倒错者又各分为两种：第一种求得性欲实际的满足，第二种仅在想象中求得满足。

性生活不等于生殖，“力比多”是性生活的真正动力。“力比多”是一种力量、本能，有时表现为性本能。

比如，婴儿的性生活就是从吸乳开始的，以后每个阶段都有其不同的特征。儿童以父母为对象的选择倾向称为：“俄狄浦斯情结”“厄勒克特拉”，具体表现是女孩依恋父亲、男孩依恋母亲。到了青春期，“力比多”就导致孩子摆脱父母，去寻找新的性对象。弗洛伊德认为，治疗精神病的工作在于解放“力比多”，使其摆脱对先前的迷恋，而以自我为中心，从而消除不良症状。

按照弗洛伊德的观点，许多单个的本能都可以归入两类主要的内驱力下。一类是生的本能，通常称为性爱（Eros）或性；另一类是死的本能，有时也被称为破坏或攻击的本能。本能源于伊底，但受自我的控制。每种本能都有它自己的心理能量形式。弗洛伊德用力比多一词来表示使生的的或性本能起作用的力量，但他从未找到一个类似的词来表示死的本能的心理能量。

其次,提出荣格也用了力比多这个概念

荣格（1875－1961）是瑞士著名的心理学家和分析心理学的创始者。主要著作有:《力比多的转化和象征》、《潜意识心理学》、《心理类型》、《分析心理学的贡献》、《寻求灵魂的现代人》、《集体潜意识的原型》等。

荣格所说的力比多是一种普遍的生命力，表现于生长和生殖，也表现于其他活动，在身体一切活动中需要寻找出路。可以说他的里比多包括性的和营养的两大类。

Libido 力比多
For other uses, see Libido (disambiguation). 作其他用途，见力比多（歧义）

Libido in its common usage means sexual desire; however, more technical definitions, such as those found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general, referring to libido as the free creative—or psychic—energy an individual has to put toward personal development or individuation.

力比多通常的用法指的是性欲，然而，更为技术性的定义，比如在荣格作品中所表述的那样，指的是个体指向自身发展或个性化过程中的自由创造力，或称之为心灵能量。

History of the concept 概念史

Sigmund Freud popularized the term and defined libido as the instinct energy or force, contained in what Freud called the id, the largely unconscious structure of the psyche. Freud pointed out that these libidinal drives can conflict with the conventions of civilized behavior, represented in the psyche by the superego.

弗洛伊德将力比多定义为包含于所谓的本我——精神内部主要的无意识结构——中的本能能量或动力。他指出这些力比多驱力可能与现有的文明行为规范相抵触，这些规范在精神结构当中表现为超我。

It is this need to conform to society and control the libido that leads to tension and disturbance in the individual, prompting the use of ego defenses to dissipate the psychic energy of these unmet and mostly unconscious needs into other forms. Excessive use of ego defenses results in neurosis.

从众求同与控制力比多的需要导致了个体的不安与紊乱，进而促使个体利用自我防卫机制将这些未满足的，而且主要是无意识的心灵能量在其他形式当中得到释放。而这一机制的过度使用可以导致神经症。

A primary goal of psychoanalysis is to bring the drives of the id into consciousness, allowing them to be met directly and thus reducing the patient’s reliance on ego defenses.

[1] 精神分析的主要目的在于引导本我的驱力进入意识，容许它们获得直接的满足以减少患者对自我防卫机制的依赖性。

According to Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, the libido is identified as psychic energy. Duality (opposition) that creates the energy (or libido) of the psyche, which Jung asserts expresses itself only through symbols: “It is the energy that manifests itself in the life process and is perceived subjectively as striving and desire.” (Ellenberger, 697)

在瑞士精神病学家荣格看来，力比多等同于心灵能量。二元性（对立）创造了心灵能量（力比多），且只有通过象征才能表达自身，他是这样论述的：“力比多在生命过程当中表现自身，并被主观地认知为斗争与欲望。”

Defined more narrowly, libido also refers to an individual’s urge to engage in sexual activity. In this sense, the antonym of libido is destrudo.[citation needed]

狭义上，力比多也指个体对从事性行为的冲动。在这个意义上，力比多的反义词是死亡本能。

Libido impairment 力比多缺陷

Sometimes, sexual desire can be impaired or reduced. It also may be weak or not be present at all, in occurrences such as asexuality. Factors of reduced libido can be both psychological and physical. Absence of libido may or may not correlate with infertility or impotence.

有时，性渴望会被损害或者减少，同样可能表现出无力甚至完全不表现，诸如无性所发生的那样。影响力比多的因素可以是心理的，也可以是生理的。力比多的缺失与不育症以及阳痿的联系也并非绝对。

Psychological factors 心理因素
Reduction in libido can occur from psychological causes such as loss of privacy and/or intimacy, stress, distraction or depression. It may also derive from the presence of environmental stressors such as prolonged exposure to elevated sound levels or bright light. Other causes include:
力比多的降低可以发生于心理的原因，比如说隐私以及/或者亲昵的缺失（不解？），压力，精神涣散或是抑郁。又或者是来源于环境刺激，比如说长期暴露在高强度的噪音或是强烈的光线当中。其他原因还包括：
Depression 抑郁

stress or fatigue 压力或疲乏

childhood sexual abuse, assault, trauma, or neglect 儿童性虐待 强奸 精神创伤或忽视

body image issues 身体形象问题

sexual performance anxiety[2] 性焦虑

Physical factors 生理因素

Physical factors that can affect libido include: endocrine issues such as hypothyroidism, levels of available testosterone in the bloodstream of both women and men, the effect of certain prescription medications (for example proscar (a.k.a. finasteride) or minoxidil), various lifestyle factors and, according to studies, the attractiveness and biological fitness of one’s partner. [3] Inborn lack of sexual desire, often observed in asexual people, can also be considered a physical factor.

影响力比多的生理因素包括：内分泌问题比如甲状腺功能减退;人体血液当中可利用睾丸素水平;某些药物的影响（比如波斯卡（又名非纳斯特胺）以及米诺地尔），不同生活方式的影响以及，根据研究显示，自己伴侣的吸引程度和健康程度。遗传性性欲的缺乏，就如在无性人群中所经常看到的那样，也可以被认为是由生理因素造成的。

Lifestyle 生活方式
Being very underweight, severely obese,[4] or malnourished can cause a low libido due to disruptions in normal hormonal levels.

体重过轻，过度肥胖或者是营养不良，由于正常荷尔蒙水平的失调，也会导致力比多低下。

Medications 药物

Reduced libido is also often iatrogenic and can be caused by many medications, such as hormonal contraception, SSRIs and other antidepressants, opioids and beta blockers. In some cases iatrogenic impotence or other sexual dysfunction can be permanent, as in PSSD.

力比多的降低也经常是医原性的，可能由多种药物引起，比如荷尔蒙避孕法，选择性5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂以及其他抗抑郁药，阿片样物质和β受体阻滞药(治高血压和心脏病的药物)。在某些病例中，如PSSD（Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction），医原性阳痿或是其他性功能障碍可能是永久性的。

Testosterone is one of the hormones controlling libido in human beings. Emerging research[5] is showing that hormonal contraception methods like “the pill” (which rely on estrogen and progesterone together) are causing low libido in females by elevating levels of Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG).

睾丸素是人体中控制力比多的一种荷尔蒙。最新的研究显示，荷尔蒙避孕法如避孕丸（依靠雌激素和孕酮的共同作用），通过提高性激素结合球蛋白水平，引起女性力比多的降低。

SHBG binds to sex hormones, including testosterone, rendering them unavailable. Research is showing that even after ending a hormonal contraceptive method, SHBG levels remain elevated and no reliable data exists to predict when this phenomenon will diminish[6].

性激素，包括睾丸素，与球蛋白的结合后，便不可利用了。研究显示，即使停止荷尔蒙避孕法，SHBG水平仍居高不下，并且当下没有可靠的数据能够预测这种上升现象何时会下降。

Some[who?] question whether “the pill” and other hormonal methods (Depo-Provera, Norplant, etc) have permanently altered gene expression by epigenetic mechanisms.

有人怀疑是否避孕丸以及其他荷尔蒙避孕法（甲羟孕酮避孕针，诺普兰植入等）通过后生性机制已经永久地改变了基因表达。

Left untreated, women with low testosterone levels will experience loss of libido which in turn can often cause relationship stress[citation needed], and loss of bone and muscle mass throughout their lives. (Low testosterone may also be responsible for certain kinds of depression and low energy states.)

如果不加处理，睾丸素水平低下的妇女将体验到力比多的丧失，而这反过来将会引起其一生人际关系的紧张，以及骨骼和肌肉质量的丧失。（低睾丸素可能也是某些抑郁症和精力衰弱的原因）

Conversely, increased androgen steroids (e.g. testosterone) generally have a positive correlation with libido in both sexes.[citation needed]

相反，雄激素（如睾丸素）在两性中普遍都与力比多有确定的关联。

Menstrual cycle 月经周期

Women’s libido is correlated to their menstrual cycle. Many women experience heightened sexual desire in the several days immediately before ovulation.[7]

女性力比多与她们的月经周期也有关联。许多女性在排卵前的几天里能够体验到高涨的性欲。

See also 参见

Aphrodisiac 春药
Cathexis 性力投注
Coitus reservatus 不完全性交
Conatus 自然倾向
Death drive 死亡驱力
Destrudo 破坏欲
Eros 性爱本能
Id, ego, and super-ego 本我，自我与超我
Lust 性欲
Mortido 杀人冲动
Perimenopause 停经前期
Self preservation 自我保存
Sexual attraction 性吸引