man-o-pause

Understanding Male Mid-life Crisis Symptoms

The video runs about 10 min and, while it doesn't cover new ground, it does offer a succinct medical perspective on the emotional vs. biological symptoms for men in mid-life.

Don't be put off by the PeeWee Herman living room setting. This isn't Larry King Live!

Other Resources: MaleHealth, out of the UK, provides a wealth of information on the subject.

How to Survive Male Menopause

Male Menopause

When I came up with the name of this blog, Man-o-pause, I wanted to convey levity to the change of life for men. Unlike the female menopause, which has been researched, dissected and discussed for years, men rarely seek help when a midlife crisis strikes.

The fact is the male mid-life is no laughing matter. The midlife anger that often erupts for men can and does destroy family relationships, self esteem, and physical health.

Jed Diamond, a pioneer in the emerging field of male gender medicine, addresses a woman's concern in helping a spouse through his midlife crisis. He details the latest research findings on male menopause symptoms and on this crucial change of life for men.* For example,

* 52% of men between 40 and 70 in the U.S. are now going through male menopause.
* Men experience complex hormonal rhythyms that affect their mood, their physical well-being and their sexuality.
* Emotional symptoms include irritability, worry, indecisiveness and depression.
* Physical symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, short-term memory loss and sleep disturbance.
* Sexual symptoms include reduced libido, fear of sexual failure and an increased desire to "prove" he can still perform by seeking a younger partner.

Finally, male menopause is like adolescent puberty where a man faces issues of identity, sexuality, dependence and independence for the second time.

What makes this so difficult for the family, and spouse in particular, is that because the symptoms of male menopause often come on suddenly, the reaction is often one of judgement and recrimination.

I remember preparing for my son's eventual passage through adolescence when he was only a toddler. I had read that adolescence was very similar to the Terrible Twos. I thought that if I gave myself a 10-year head start, I'd be better prepared for the inevitable adolescent angst, and I was.

To my female readers, I recommend preparing for your husband's midlife as he approaches 40. I speak from experience. You'll need time to work through your own levels of acceptance, similar to Elizabeth Kübler-Ross's "Five Stages of Grief," because this phase often represents a "loss" of the man you once knew.

Change is never easy, but awareness is the first step toward acceptance and your man in this stage of life needs all the love, patience and mid-life support you can offer.

Ending on a lighter note, I just discovered a multi-search site at Webmonkey called Addict-o-matic™-inhale the web. I gathered all the news, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, top blogs and twitters, Diggs and Wikios found across the Web all about male menopause.

Isn't it great to know you're not alone?

* Go to How to Survive Male Menopause for the complete article.

Understanding Male Menopause

If you've been wondering "What is a man's menopause,?" I just discovered another voice in the Midlife Movement over at FourOh.com, dedicated to taking the crisis out of mid-life. They offer a reasoned response.

". ...The important step to take in dealing with male menopause is to be willing to accept it as a part of life. Acceptance leads to understanding and the more information and knowledge you are able to gather about the condition, the better you will be able to handle it. It may be stressful for some, while others may look at it as a challenge and decide to turn a negative condition into something positive. It's all a matter of one's mindset."

How to Cope With Male Menopause and Depression

Author: Andrea Arnold

For years, people have only linked menopause to women. However, studies have found that males experience a similar condition. People often refer to this as a mid-life crisis. Male menopause has been found to have similar symptoms that women experience. Male menopause, also known as andropause, is a condition where male hormones naturally decline. This is also a time of life when many men experience drastic changes in their life, including reordering, career change, or divorce. These events bring physiological and psychological changes that can grow into full-blown depression.

Andropause usually occurs in men at age fifty and above. Some people ask whether andropause is real or just a myth. It is a fact that hormonal decline occurs as a person ages. However, the hormone decreases in men are more gradual than in women's menopause. That is why andropause is medically termed as A.D.A.M or Androgen Decline in Aging Males.

Like women's menopause, andropause in men is characterized by various symptoms. These symptoms can include erectile dysfunction, mood changes, general tiredness, heart palpitations, and night sweats. Palpitations and night sweats happen because the autonomic system of men is overactive responding to their falling testosterone levels. Many men consider erectile dysfunction to be the most important symptom of andropause.

Men often develop feelings of wanting to be closer to family and friends during andropause. In their earlier stages of life, men often focus on money, career, and power, but when andropause strikes, the transitions are clearly seen. Men became more concerned with their family and friends, and often appear as if they regret past attitudes.

Another symptom that is commonly reported is memory loss associated with the aging process. This symptom is typically minor, and does not affect daily functioning like Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.

However, because of the decline in testosterone levels, men who experience male menopause often report problems with depression. This can also cause anxiety and loss of interest in sex.

This is why you should think about getting male menopause treatment in order to alleviate the symptoms. One such treatment is called hormone replacement therapy for men. Usually, this treatment is done for men who have low testosterone levels. However, because of male menopause and the decline of the body's production of testosterone, the testosterone replacement therapy is now done on men who are going through male menopause.

By going through this process when you are going through male menopause, it will significantly decrease the effects of male menopause. You have to consider the fact that testosterone replacement therapy will not cure male menopause. It will just help in alleviating the signs and symptoms associated with low testosterone level and male menopause.

It is important that, before jumping in and get yourself treated with testosterone replacement therapy, you first consult with your doctor. The doctor will determine if you are indeed going through male menopause. By conducting a series of tests, the doctor will determine if your testosterone level has declined. If it has, the doctor will then recommend treatments, such as testosterone replacement therapy.

The doctor will be able to recommend a professional who is able to administer and supervise the treatment. You have to consider the fact that it is necessary for you to have the right dosage of testosterone in order to have maximum effect while getting rid of the side effects.

There are different ways that testosterone replacement therapy is done. There is the injection method, the oral capsules method, the patches method, and also the implant method. Professionals in testosterone replacement therapy will let you choose which method is right for you and which method you are most comfortable with.

Always remember that testosterone replacement therapy should only be done with the supervision of a qualified professional in the field of the testosterone replacement therapy. This is important in order to give you the best effect possible while minimizing or eliminating unwanted side effects.

So, get your life back on track, get rid of depression, and cope with male menopause through testosterone replacement therapy.

Article Source: Male Menopause and Depression at ArticlesBase.com.

About the Author: Andrea Arnold writes about male menopause (andropause) and hormone replacement therapy at Articles Unleashed.

Menopause Man - The Book

"Mel Mathews is a sensitive observer of the human condition, with an emphasis on the Male Human Condition of our time. He has created a character in Malcolm Clay that is a baby boomer Holden Caulfield, a variation on John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom, and he manages to take us by the hand and lead us through the bumpy terrain of current interpersonal relationships as well as anyone writing today." Read more about Mel Mathews and this USA Today review. Or look in the sidebar under "Nick's Picks" for the Amazon info page.

Menopause Man is the middle of a trilogy about a mid-life man stuck in a boring but successful occupation. I don't ususally recommend books that I haven't read, but the review describes such fine writing ("the novel calls for pause to enjoy the sheer ebullience of the verbiage") and I'm been known to devour well-written books in one sitting.

Take a look. The Malcolm Clay Trilogy may make the perfect gift for the midlife man in your life.

Mayo Clinic On Male Menopause

Age-related hormone changes are very different in men than in women. Unlike the more dramatic hormone plunge that occurs in women during menopause, hormone changes in men occur gradually, over a period of many years, the effects of which are often subtle and not noticed until much later in life. Some men are never affected by lower hormone levels at all — while some have physical and psychological symptoms that can include changes in sexual function, energy levels or mood.

Learn more about male menopause: myth or reality at MayoClinic.com.

Mid-Life Changes in Men

"A wise man once said to me, “Men spend their twenties not caring who they are, their thirties becoming who they are, their forties figuring out who they are, and their fifties trying to change who they are.” I guess this is why he bought a Corvette, listened to rap music and wore gold chains in his fifties. He was being philosophical about a mid-life crisis."

From the Middle of Nowhere Land, Minnesota comes Skips Hip Quips. He lists four tips on how to alleviate the male, middle age crisis:

1. Be cosmopolitan. For example, if you are originally from the country, try to do things that city folk do like exchange niceties on your driveway before work.
2. Be a rebel. Doing little things like not following directions or manufacturers suggested cooking procedures can do wonders.
3. Embrace your inner child. He talks about his brother rewatching Bambi with an evil grin. Proceed with caution. [emphasis mine]
4. Adjust your bran intake. He advocates that every dinner party conclude with the type of vitamins, oils, and fiber substitutes you imbibe.

Any, or all of the above, will slow down the effects of male menopause, he believes.

Male Menopause, Irritability & Mood Swings

No longer the sole domain of women, Gail Sheehy, author, details the psychology of men over 40 in her book, Understanding Men's Passages: Discovering the New Map of Men's Lives. I haven't read the book yet, but I've been a fan of Sheehy's for years after reading her first, groundbreaking work, Passages. While the reviews are mixed, I offer it hear for those interested in a "cradle to grave map of contemporary American male life."

From Publishers Weekly ...

"The years after 40 offer men a "second adulthood," declares Sheehy, a chance to reinvent themselves. But first they must shift from competing to connecting, from incessant striving for external rewards to a quest for inner fulfillment through meaningful pursuits, after determining what they really want of the second half of their lives.... She probes men's feelings about death, spiritual hollowness, empty nest syndrome, separation anxieties, their envy of their empowered working wives, pre-retirement jitters and waning sexual potency. There are enough fresh angles in this searching exploration of male malaise to help men tailor their goals and dreams to real-life circumstances."