Relationship Problems During Midlife: Menopause Is Often a Cause

Menopause Treatment in Miami, FL, May Improve Your Long-Term Relationship by Increasing Confidence and Sex Drive.

​You have ebbs and flows in a long-term relationship. It’s normal. However, a common time for shifts in your relationship is during midlife, when you’re going through perimenopause.

If you’re just now seeing a difference, hormones could be impacting your relationship.

So, it might be worth considering getting your hormones checked and possibly receiving menopause treatment in Miami, FL, if you’re feeling less connected to your partner than you once did.

Menopause can free you from the need for birth control, but it can also place an invisible wedge between you and your partner.

The Confidence Changes Many Women Never Expect

One day, you’re young and confident. Next, you may not feel as great about yourself as you once did.

Then, there’s the unexplained weight gain. You see how it’s affecting your midsection, and you may have even tried to eat healthier and exercise more. Still, it’s just not working like it used to. You may notice your clothes aren’t fitting like they once did.

All of this can weigh heavily on your self-esteem. Because of that, you may find yourself avoiding intimacy. When you two have plans to go out, you may not feel as vibrant as you once did, so you might not interact with your significant other like you once did. And you may even cancel your plans because you’re not feeling good about yourself, leaving your partner feeling left out.

Something many don’t talk about much is the toll it takes on you emotionally connecting with your partner. You no longer feel like yourself, and as a result, you may withdraw from your significant other.

If you aren’t talking to your partner about what’s going on, whether because you aren’t sure yourself or you’re embarrassed, your partner may feel they did something wrong.

Why Sex Drive Often Changes During Menopause

As if that weren’t enough, menopause can also decrease libido. The reduction in estrogen lowers your libido because this hormone is partially responsible for your sex drive. This also doesn’t account for the fact that lowered estrogen can thin vaginal tissue, making sex not only less pleasurable but sometimes uncomfortable.

Though it’s often thought of as a male sex hormone, you produce testosterone, too, just in a smaller amount. And this hormone plays a major role in your sex drive.

Sensitivity can lessen over time as estrogen levels decline. This hormonal change reduces blood flow to the clitoris and vagina, which makes the tissue less responsive to stimulus. For this reason, you may have difficulty enjoying sex and achieving orgasm.

Sleep Struggles Can Have a Trickle-Down Effect

Few things impact a relationship more than chronic exhaustion. You don’t have the energy to spend time doing what you two love, and you don’t have enough for sex, especially at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, sleep disturbances are extremely common during perimenopause and menopause. You’re possibly suffering from night sweats and hot flashes that keep you up at night.

While your estrogen is getting lower, so is your progesterone. This hormone has a natural calming effect on the body, helping to promote sleep. When it decreases, you may then have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

Depression and anxiety can lead to difficulty sleeping.

When you’re running on empty, everything becomes more of a challenge, and you might have less patience than you once did as a result.

Depression Can Set In

Some of the changes menopause causes can have you feeling sad. Some women struggle with the loss of fertility. Others feel menopause is a major sign they’ve aged. The sleep disturbances can also contribute to depression.

If those aspects of menopause didn’t have enough of an effect on your mental health, estrogen interacts with neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine that regulate your mood.

When you feel depressed, you may not feel like putting effort into your relationship.

Mood Swings Don’t Only Affect You

You might feel the impact of menopause-related mood swings, but your erratic mood changes may also be known to your partner. Sometimes, they may find you’ve become someone who’s difficult to speak to. This makes coming together to solve problems or enjoy each other’s company an obstacle in your relationship rather than a source of comfort and excitement.

Learn more here: Struggling with Menopause Symptoms? Discover Treatment Options That Can Help

The Change Doesn’t Have to Change Everything About Your Relationship

It’s true, all the changes related to menopause don’t have to change your relationship. Through menopause treatment in Miami, FL, you can get your relationship back on the right track and remain close during this seemingly trying time.

At Hydrology Wellness in Miami, personalized menopause treatment plans center around addressing the symptoms interfering with your daily life, including your relationship.

Whether you’re experiencing weight gain, low energy, mood changes, poor sleep, decreased libido, or a combination of symptoms, support under a compassionate physician is available.

While hormone therapy is the primary way to manage your symptoms, we also offer other treatments that can help you feel better during the change, such as acne facials.

Before you book, we encourage you to check out our reviews. It may provide the reassurance you’re looking for to get the treatment you desire.

Menopause may be a natural transition, but suffering through it doesn’t have to be. Contact Hydrology at (305) 859-3999 today to book your consultation and learn more about your options. Our office is located near the University of Miami (Coral Gables Campus).