By Mike Kocsis | 10 minutes read | Last updated: April 26, 2023 Categories: Andropause Testosterone
Medically Reviewed by Dr. George Touliatos
When you hear the word “menopause”, you likely associate the condition with females. While menopause is mostly a female condition, men can experience similar symptoms. The symptoms of male menopause can be unpleasant and can cause a number of issues that impact your physical and mental health.
If you are experiencing male menopause or want to learn more about male menopause, then you are in the right place. This complete overview of male menopause and mental health is going to cover some of the most important things to know about male menopause and the health effects that it can have on men that go through it.
With this in-depth analysis, you’ll gain the information that you need to make it through male menopause, maintain your mental health, and be more knowledgeable about a condition that affects thousands of men on a yearly basis.
What is Male Menopause?
If you are hoping to gain a deeper understanding of male menopause and the issues that surround male menopause, the first thing that you’re going to want to learn more about is what exactly male menopause is and what it means to men that are going through it. Male menopause is a complex topic because it is full of various health factors. Not everyone’s experience with male menopause is the same.
The first thing to know is that “male menopause” is actually a term for the proper medical condition, which is called andropause. This is the condition that affects males when there are changes in their hormone levels. Andropause is also known as testosterone deficiency, androgen deficiency, and hypogonadism. You can use these terms interchangeably, and your medical professional or doctor may use them as such.
These terms all refer to the same thing, however. They refer to the stage in a male’s life in which they experience a drop in testosterone over the age of 50. Testosterone is produced in the testes of a male and it serves several dozen very important functions within the body. If you want to have good overall health, then you definitely need good testosterone levels and health.
One thing that you need to be aware of if you’re hoping to learn more about male menopause is that it is quite different from female menopause as we know it. For men, this is not a condition that everyone experiences. While menopause is a condition that every female goes through at some point in life.
In addition, male menopause does not mean that your reproductive organs shut down. For women, this is exactly what it means. One way that male menopause is similar to female menopause is that it does involve several complications when it comes to sex life, due to the lowering of hormone levels. This can mean physical and emotional effects.
Testosterone, Male Menopause and Men’s Mental Health
Okay, so you know more about male menopause now, but what does it have to do with mental health? You might be wondering if you are experiencing mental health symptoms or if you know of someone with mental health symptoms as a result of male menopause and lowered testosterone.
While many people think of menopause as a condition that affects strictly the body, many find out when going through male menopause that it is anything but a purely physical condition. In fact, male menopause is something that men go through that can also heavily impact their mental state.
The reason for this is that testosterone is one of the most important hormones in the male body. It is responsible for a variety of functions and critical processes within the body. If you want to have good overall health, you need to have good hormone health.
When the body is low on testosterone and going through male menopause, it can certainly impact several areas of the state of mind of a male. One of those is the mind. Without the right balance of testosterone to regulate the hormones of the body, it is very easy to experience a deterioration of mental health.
Unfortunately, the fact that testosterone and hormonal balance is important to mental state means that thousands of men experience negative mental health effects at the hands of andropause each year. With the condition often going undiagnosed, this is a huge problem. In order to solve the problem, men that are experiencing male menopause often need to reach out to a medical professional.
In addition to directly affecting the brain due to the chemical imbalance that is felt when men are low on testosterone, it can also affect mental health in other ways. The physical symptoms that men experience when low on testosterone range from loss of muscle mass to a decrease in sex drive, along with other symptoms along the way. As you can imagine, this can have quite an impact on the mental health of men. Additionally, it can put stress on their relationships, which only exacerbates the situation.
It is important for men to ensure that they have good hormonal health since it could be an issue that spreads to many other parts of their health. When there are side effects, it’s important that the patient seeks the assistance and advice of a medical professional. Delaying this could worsen the mental health side effects of low testosterone and male menopause.
Mental Health Symptoms Associated With Male Menopause
While many people like to think of the effects from a physical standpoint, you should know that the effects from a mental standpoint are just as fearsome. Without the right balance of hormones in your body, it can easily quickly become difficult to cope with male menopause and low testosterone. Here are some of the mental health effects of going through menopause.
Low Self-Esteem
As you well know, having low testosterone and going through male menopause (andropause) can have several side effects from a physical standpoint. For many men, this is a source of severe lack of self-esteem. These conditions can include loss in muscle mass, rise in fatty tissue, and lowered sex drive. Unfortunately for men, this can cause a severe loss of self-esteem.
Relationship Problems
In addition to impacting the direct mental well-being of men, low testosterone can also cause strife in their relationships. One of the most common side effects of low testosterone is a lack of sex drive. This, as you can imagine, makes it difficult for men to experience healthy, happy relationships and could cause troubles in their existing relationship.
Depression
When the brain does not have access to a balanced pool of hormones, it can greatly impact the patient. This could even cause them to have severe mental side effects, one of which being depression. If you are experiencing depression as a result of low testosterone, it could be as a result of the various physical side effects that you are experiencing. However, it could also be due to the chemical imbalance and disadvantage that your brain is put at when you have lowered levels of testosterone.
Treatments for Mental Health and Male Menopause
If you are frustrated by your male menopause and low testosterone diagnosis, you should know that not all hope is lost. In fact, many men overcome this diagnosis and return to their normal mental and physical condition. However, it does require a commitment to willingly engage in the right treatment and commit yourself to performing well in that treatment.
With that being said, here are some of the most common and effective ways that you can treat male menopause and low testosterone, which is a very common condition in the US and around the world.
Professional Therapy
If you are having issues with mental health as a result of low testosterone and male menopause, then one solution that you might seek is to go to actual therapy, where you can talk with a therapist that is experienced in these issues and can provide you with some guidance from a psychological standpoint. While many men don’t consider this form of treatment, it can be very effective in regaining confidence, self-esteem, and more aspects of mental health.
Low testosterone is a physical condition, but it often has effects that permeate your mental state of well-being. When that is the case, it is very important to be able to seek the right form of treatment. Therapy is not necessarily the only solution that you should seek. In fact, you should seek to create a combination of various forms of treatment so that you can be sure that you’re doing everything possible to return to healthy levels of testosterone and a healthy mental state.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
If the main issue that you are have low testosterone, then there is one surefire way to bring up your testosterone levels; Testosterone replacement therapy. More commonly known as TRT, it refers to a type of therapy in which testosterone is directly injected into the body, or administered in another way. This is done with the aim of raising the amount of testosterone in the body quickly and effectively.
It’s important to know that while this type of treatment is generally very effective in providing the body with more testosterone, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution and it does not solve all problems having to do with mental health when it comes to male menopause. It can solve the root problem, which is low testosterone. However, it does not cure any damage done to the mental health of the patient as a result of the prolonged period of low testosterone.
Lifestyle Change
The final method we want to cover for those experiencing low testosterone and mental health issues, as a result, is a lifestyle change. A lifestyle change can do much more than you ever expected. Though low testosterone is often a result of nature taking its course, it can also be a clear sign that you are leading a lifestyle that is not optimal or suitable for the needs of your body.
This could mean if you do not get enough exercise, don’t eat a healthy diet, or any number of other choices that you make that could be seen as destructive, such as smoking and drinking in excess. If you are making these choices, it could very easily be impacting the level of testosterone in your body, as well as your mental health as a result.
If you are ready to make a change and want to increase your chances of success when fighting low testosterone and male menopause, then you can take the step of changing your lifestyle a bit. This could include eating a healthier diet, exercising more, and ensuring that you are managing stress in an effective and safe way.
Other Physical Symptoms of Male Menopause
Mental health is important, but if you want to be able to correctly identify male menopause when you are going through it, then you will need to know about the other symptoms that can be experienced when you have low testosterone.
Being familiar with all of the side effects will allow you to adequately understand when you are going through low testosterone and how to properly treat it into the future. Here are some of the other side effects of male menopause and low testosterone that you may experience.
Fatigue
Fatigue is a very common side effect of low testosterone. With lowered levels of testosterone, your body doesn’t have all the resources that it needs. As a result, you can feel tired more easily.
Loss of Muscle Mass
Testosterone is crucially important to the body. If you have lower levels of it, you can experience problems producing more muscle mass, along with other things like body and head hair.
Decreased Sex Drive
Decreased sex drive is one of the most common side effects of low testosterone. A lowered sex drive can mean problems in your relationship as well as lowered self-esteem.
Next Steps
If you’re experiencing male menopause and the various mental health effects as a result, all hope is not lost. There are plenty of treatment options and you can seek the advice of a certified medical professional if you want to learn more about how men all over the country are able to overcome male menopause mental health side effects.
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