Woman sues after losing her libido in an accident.

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After a falling lift that “suddenly dropped three floors” left her suffering from spinal injuries, a woman is now taking legal action against her apartment complex claiming the accident has damaged her “sexual adventurism”.

Melbourne publicist Marie D’argent claims the accident has not only caused her vertebral disk trauma, whiplash and nightmares, but has also affected her personal life, causing “loss of libido”, “sexual discomfort and impairment” and “curtailment of sexual adventurism”.

“It’s a matter of losing your mojo,” Ms D’Argent told the Herald Sun. “Everyone would know your back plays a big part in your sexual life.”

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The 55 year-old said it was an important part of her life she hoped to be compensated for. And quite rightly.

While it almost sounds absurd that an accident could affect a woman’s libido, the truth is it’s entirely possible – and happens more often than you’d think.

“A severe illness or traumatic accident can have a significant effect on a woman’s libido,” says relationship therapist and sexologist Isiah McKimmie.

"It could be because you've got a changed physical body or down to the painkillers or medication you could be taking," she says.

"Putting on weight after an illness or an accident can also make us feel different about how we see our bodies."

Dr Phil Jaksa agrees. "It's certainly medically a plausible claim as libido is heavily linked to our physical and mental condition," he says. "Spinal injuries in particular could result in some body image issues."

But as we know with female sexual arousal, it's not all physical.

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"It can also be impacted by your mental and emotional state too," McKimmie says. "An accident could make us realise how potentially vulnerable we are so we don't feel as strong within ourselves."

"I've seen it particularly with patients post cancer and suffering from chronic illness," she says.

"Major life events can really change how we act and feel and as a result, our sex drive. In this case, she could be feeling confused on the outside about changes that have occurred internally," she says.

McKimmie believes Ms D'Argent's loss of 'sexual adventurism' could be down to a fear-based anxiety response.

"After her trauma, her body could be in a fear-based anxiety response. While that can be exciting to a degree, it can quickly get overwhelming. She might need to rebuild her sense of safety, or her sense of personal power could have changed," she says.

Physically, Dr Jaksa says libido loss after an accident is curable, by treating the underlying issue. In Ms D'Argent's case that's her back problems.

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As for a solution in the mean time? According to McKimmie, it's not simply waiting it out.

"It's not necessarily just a matter of time, which is a mistake people can make with libido. Often effort is required, such as speaking to a counsellor or therapist to deal with these emotions and work out changed needs from partners," she says.

"My advice is to look at how your emotions have changed and let your partner know what type of intimacy you need, whether that's more caressing, kissing or hand holding. It's important to stay connected rather than shut intimacy out completely."

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 Are you concerned about libido loss? Have you suffered from a lower sex drive after a particular life event?