Fern Formel, a therapist specializing in sex at Therapy for Women in Old City, said a decrease in sexual desire could be the result of the monotony of the pandemic.

"We all know what's causing it," Formel said. "There's not a whole lot of excitement in our lives anymore. If you're doing the same thing every day, how are you supposed to spark that sexual, romantic feeling?"

Losing her sex drive was jarring, Tatyannah said, because "sex is a big part of who I am and what I do." She described the lack of sex in her life as something that made her feel as if she "lost her superpowers." But in recent months, Tatyannah, who is in a long-distance relationship, has tried to bring some creativity into her life as she adjusts to a lower sex drive.

"I've tried being more creative with the sexting that I do," she said. "And trying things like dirty talking through voice notes. Or I'll do a sexy pose in front of my partner instead of having penetrative sex. I definitely don't feel as confident because my sex drive is lower, but I'm hoping within three to four months, that my sex drive and sex life will return to normal."

Wood said he has seen more people express their sexuality in new ways over the pandemic. Some use apps to find friends with benefits, while others are using OnlyFans, a content subscription service that is popular with sex workers.

"New technology has shifted and changed access to sex or what people are doing with their sexuality," Wood said. "While I don't know how long this is going to last, I've noticed that people have found out that they are OK and can be OK in a relationship or on their own. They have faced their intimacy fears and they know they don't need to have sex to be a full human being."

People need to give themselves some empathy and patience when it comes to sex during the pandemic, Tatyannah said.

"It's normal outside of the pandemic for people's sex drives and lives to fluctuate," she said. "There are going to be times when they want to make love and there are also going to be hard times when they don't have as much time to invest in sex. But I would say that it's important not to completely put it aside."

Fariello said some clients have become more clever in the ways that they're having sex.

"They're no longer waiting until the end of the day because they're exhausted then," he said. "Instead, they're doing things like putting the kids in front of the TV and running to the other room."

Being more intentional with intimacy, such as planning a very specific date night or cooking a meal together, can also help, Formel said.

"Intimacy doesn't always look like sex," she said. "Most of all, communication is key. Talk with your partner and share that you would like to have sex 'X' number of times a month, and ask them if they would like to have sex more, as well."

Juan gets tested regularly for COVID-19 because of his job, so he eventually became more comfortable with meeting dates in person after discussing testing and quarantine practices. Some of those dates have ended with sex.

"In a sense, this has made me more communicative in a lot of ways," Juan said. "It's allowed me to articulate what I'm looking for and where I'm at and what I'm not into. I've never had more sex than in the past year. And I haven't had a COVID scare from any of my dates ... yet."

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