What Is Male Menopause?

Male menopause (also called viropause or andropause) begins with hormonal, physiological, and chemical changes that occur in all men generally between the ages of forty and fifty-five, though it can occur as early as thirty-five or as late as sixty-five.

These changes affect all aspects of a man's life. Male menopause is, thus, a physical condition with psychological, interpersonal, social, and spiritual dimensions.

The purpose of male menopause is to signal the end of the first part of a man's life and prepare him for the second half. Male menopause is not the beginning of the end, as many fear, but the end of the beginning. It is the passage to the most passionate, powerful, productive, and purposeful time of a man's life.

In the United States, there are 25,172,000 men between the ages of forty and fifty-five who are now going through the Male Menopause Passage. Worldwide that number is 408 million.

In less than twenty-five years, by 2020, the number of men in the United States going through the Male Menopause Passage will grow to approximately 57,500,000. Worldwide it will grow to 690 million men.

The most common physical symptoms of male menopause include:

Taking longer to recover from injuries and illness.
Less endurance for physical activity.
Feeling fat, gaining weight.
Difficulty reading small print.
Loss or thinning of hair.
Sleep disturbances.

The most common psychological symptoms of male menopause include:

Irritability.
Indecisiveness.
Anxiety and fear.
Depression.
Loss of self-confidence and joy.
Loss of purpose and direction in life.
Feeling lonely, unattractive, and unloved.
Forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating.

The most common sexual symptoms of male menopause include:

Reduced interest in sex.
Increased anxiety and fear about losing sexual potency.
Increased fantasies about having sex.
with a new and younger partner.
More relationship problems and fights over sex, love, and intimacy.
Loss of erection during sexual activity.