In relationships, menopause can change sex in ways neither partner understands at first. Pain, lower desire, slower arousal, or changes in orgasm can start getting interpreted as rejection, lost attraction, or proof that something is wrong between you.

You may start blaming yourself.

Your partner may start taking it personally.

And both of you can build a relationship story around a body change that has not been properly assessed yet.

In this episode:

• Why sexual changes in midlife are not always “just aging”

• How menopause can affect pain, desire, arousal, and orgasm

• Why spontaneous desire and responsive desire are not the same thing

• What couples may need to change in the bedroom when sex stops working the way it used to

• Why “this is normal” can become a dead end when the symptoms are disrupting your life

I’m joined by Dr. Somi Javaid, a physician specializing in menopause and women’s sexual health, for a conversation about what is actually happening in the body—and what couples can miss when they start turning those changes into a story about the relationship.

Sometimes the most damaging part is not the change itself.

It is deciding what the change means before you understand what is causing it.

Listen to You Are Being Misled About Menopause — And Your Sex Life Is Paying the Price and follow We Need To Talk with Dr. Darcy Sterling for more conversations about relationships, menopause, sexual health, desire, and intimacy.

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

⁠⁠www.alternativescounseling.com⁠

www.drsomi.com

www.askdrdarcy.com/references-2/

www.askdrdarcy.com/products/

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen.

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