Why Men Just Don’t Get Menopause (Most of the Time)

Brenda & Menopause Button

Men think menopause is just mood swings? Think again. It is night sweats, brain fog, aching joints, skin that suddenly feels like sandpaper and energy levels that vanish mid-sentence. Yet many men are baffled by it all.

A UK survey found that one in four men could not define menopause. Even better, half thought they had never met anyone going through it, which is bold considering every woman eventually will. That gap in knowledge is why arguments start over thermostats and why women end up teaching their partners biology at the kitchen table.

Men often see the changes but mislabel them. Bad sleep gets written off as stress, fatigue becomes “working too hard,” sharp words get chalked up to “bad mood.” Without the right context, they carry on while women shoulder both the symptoms and the explaining.

The fallout spreads wider than the home. In the US, a Mayo Clinic study estimated nearly $2 billion lost each year because of workdays missed during menopause. When half the population is poorly understood, it costs more than harmony on the sofa.

The fix is refreshingly simple. Men do not need a PhD in endocrinology. They need to listen, ask, and take women seriously when they say something feels off. Partners who share the load make the whole phase less isolating. Workplaces that acknowledge it make it less punishing.

At YaraGlow, we say it straight. Menopause is not a mood. It is not something to ignore. Men can choose to be clueless, or they can choose to be allies. Ears, empathy and maybe a desk fan are all it takes.

Solana x