For Partners: What Is Happening, and What Helps
5 minute read
If someone you love is in this season, the most common mistake is treating it as a mood to wait out. It is a physiological change with a long tail.
Useful things to do
- Learn the vocabulary — perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause — and use it correctly.
- Offer to come to an appointment, and let her decide.
- Take the temperature of the house seriously. Sleep is not a preference.
- Ask what she wants from you before offering solutions.
- Notice that men have their own midlife hormonal changes worth discussing with a clinician.
You do not have to fix this. Being informed is most of the job.