BrothaTalk

Five Signs You're Missing the Menopause Memo and Why It Matters!

Well men, it is World Menopause Day and before you start thinking "Well, that's not really about me," you might want to reconsider.

Whether it is your wife, partner, sister, colleague, friend or a woman leading your team, menopause could be affecting someone whose contribution you value. The question is whether you are recognising what is happening or making assumptions that aren't helping anybody.

Pause.

Before you congratulate yourself on being the understanding partner, supportive colleague or switched-on brother, let us see how many of these five menopause signs you have spotted and how many have been hiding in plain sight while you thought you had everything under control!

REWRITING THE RULES OF STRENGTH

In every corner of culture, men have been told a silent lie, that to feel is to falter. That to struggle is to fail. That to speak up is to show weakness. But here’s what the research and real life tell us, what’s unspoken is often what hurts us most.

Stress doesn’t always look like breaking down.

• Sometimes, it looks like powering through.

Redefining Manhood in a Manufactured World

We are living in an age where the highlight reel has replaced the inner life. Where manhood is being rebranded by algorithms; influence is confused with integrity and success is sold through quick fixes and viral soundbites. But if the soul is the price of admission, what exactly are we buying?

Our world is increasingly obsessed with status, speed and surface-level success, it’s all too easy to lose sight of what really matters.

Algorithms now shape our aspirations and platforms tell men who they should be: hard, unshakable, constantly grinding, always chasing more. But what happens when the hustle hijacks the soul? When we begin performing masculinity instead of living it? When we confuse validation for value?