Hypnotherapy for the male menopause. What is it?
The technical name for the male menopause is the andropause and scientifically it’s seen as a gradual decline in testosterone.
It’s called ADAM - androgen deficiency in the aging male.
Signs of the male menopause.
Your body. You have less muscle mass, reduced bone density, increased body fat, loss of body hair, and loss of height. And, joy of joys, you could get hot flushes, sweating, nervousness and brain fog.
Sexual symptoms. Lower sex drive, erectile dysfunction, and impaired ejaculation.
Energy levels. Your motivation drops, your sleep isn’t so good.
And yes, that’s part of it. But in reality it’s more a state of mind that comes with the passing of the years.
And how can hypnotherapy help?
Hypnotherapy for the male menopause can help both your mindset and respond to your changing body.
The whole change doesn’t have to bother you so much. Crack on. Getting old is a privilege. For a lot of us it’s something our fathers didn’t get to enjoy.
7 typical scenarios when the male menopause hits you.
It’s not all about a Harley ,a tattoo and a mistress. That in itself isn’t helpful. It’s just cliche.
Beyond this lies a whole raft of other feelings. These are some we can explore:
(1). Am I good enough? The feeling that I haven’t done as well as my peers/school friends. You start to compare yourself. You look at yourself in the mirror and see saggy bits, look at the cars others drive to school re-unions, see those around you retire knowing you have years more to go.
(2). Is this all there is to success? There you are in the board room. Top of the heap. Rolex. 911. Tuscan holiday home. Kids in private school. But inside there’s a hollow feeling. Is this it? Is this all there is to success? Nothing more? No magic?
(3). What next? You’ve made it half way through your life. It’s ‘downhill’ now. What lies ahead? You can’t see what is going to happen. More of the same? Your youth, teens and twenties is getting further and further away in the rear view mirror. You commute. You work. You tick the years off, to what end?
(4). Have I wasted my time? University. Debt. Marriage. Kids. Mortgage. Climbing the corporate ladder. At one point life was going to be an adventure. But what is it now? Just like everyone else’s. Do you feel you turned left when everyone else turned right?
(5). Why me? Am I alone? Men aren’t great communicators of feelings. It’s easy to isolate yourself. To feel lonely - even in the middle of a football crowd. You’re not alone. But in midlife feelings of being beaten and not enjoying life can rise to the surface. They are self impositions. Let’s get rid of them.
(6). I did everything I was told, where’s my reward? You can feel you’ve been ‘compliant’. Done well at school, uni, job, career, family, kids, good husband, but what’s in it for you? Is this all there is? Well, let’s look at what makes you happy, not others.
(7). Where’s my power gone? Your Park Run time’s not getting any quicker, in fact you’re falling back. Out cycling you get dropped. You like the idea of an Iron Man, but on second thoughts it sounds tiring. All that training. I go to bed - just to sleep and turn my back on my partner, you feel you just don;’t have the energy.
Hypnotherapy for the male menopause. How does it help?
I’d like to say I can make you feel better, way better. Well, that may be the case. And you are allowed to.
Usually though we can work on acceptance, enjoying what you have, not being bothered by things.
Basically what I’m saying is that you are not your thoughts. Whatever comes in your head that’s negative we can work on letting it simply sail by and not touch the sides.
The clock is ticking it’s time to crack on and not feel held back or disappointed.
Regarding hypnotherapy for the male menopause, who am I to talk?
I’m James Thomas, a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist based in Leeds, York, Lincoln and Louth. I thought It would be a good idea in mid-life to eat and drink my way to 21 stone. Not my best idea. A better one was to change the way I was thinking, feeling and acting. 30 triathlons and seven marathons later (and eight stone lighter) I feel far happier I’m myself.
I believe we are what we tell ourselves.
But I still get annoyed with myself, lose my glasses, huff and puff getting up out of the chair, am overtaken by everyone when I go out cycling. I just accept it all now.
So if you want to feel more comfortable being you, feel free to get in touch.
