Support Your Wife Through Menopause

BY SPECIAL MARRIAGE COUNSELOR
Marriage relationships can suffer when a wife goes through menopause. Knowing the symptons, understanding the physiological and emotional psychological changes, and supporting your wife’s treatment decisions are a few of the ways to support your wife as she experiences menopause.
Know the Symptoms
Menopausal symptoms include hot flashes, decreased libido, moodiness, weight gain, forgetfulness, hostility, and depression.
Understand the Changes
Along with the symptons and heightened emotions, a woman going through menopause may experience alarming physical changes such as a fast heart beat, thinning hair, vaginal dryness, loss of pleasurable sensations during sex, skin flushing, irregular menstrual periods, and osteoporosis concerns.
Support Her Treatment Decisions
Exercise with her. Educate yourselves about the pros and cons of more vegetables and soy in your diet, along with the advantages and disadvanages of alcohol, white sugar, caffeine and milk. Give her massages. Learn together how to meditate or do relaxation exercises.
Encourage Her to See a Physician
With the recent findings that HRT may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke, and estrogen alone may increase risk of ovarian cancer, it is important that your wife consults a physician for help in making treatment decisions that are right for her.
5. Communicate
Don’t ignore her feelings. Don’t make fun of her hot flashes or put her down. Let her know she can express her feelings, both positive and negative, with you. Listen to her as she expresses her fears about growing old and as she re-examines her life.
Make Time for the Two of You
Look for ways to nurture your marriage including finding time to spend together having fun.
Look for the Positive
Don’t believe all the old wives’ tales. Remember that a difficult menopause is not the woman’s fault. Menopause can be different for every woman. Support the idea that this can be a wonderful time of change for your wife. She can become personally empowered and learn more about her own strengths and talents. Make this a time of healthy growth for you both and for your marriage.

Supporting Your Partner During Menopause
This article is not for menopausal women, but for the people who love them. If you are a menopausal woman struggling with mood swings, hot flashes, insomnia, or midlife existential angst, and you think this might help your partner, make sure your partner reads this article.
What’s a Partner to Do?
If your wife or partner is entering menopause and you are clueless about how to help her, join the crowd. Many husbands/spouses/partners want to be supportive, but aren’t sure where to start. A common complaint is, “I just feel wrong no matter what I do.” When a woman is going through a difficult menopause, the decreasing hormone levels may leave her feeling many ways, including any of the following:
·Old  ·Unattractive  · Forgetful  · Dispensable
· Sad   ·    Angry  · Uncomfortable  · Weak
  Or, she may be looking forward to this transition, and feel like she is:  · Healthy  · Free  · Wise  · Just getting her second wind · Competent   · Indispensable  ·    Strong  · Happy    ·Hopeful           Or, she may feel any/all of these things in the course of a single day.