Irritable Male Syndrome and Menopause at Work Who Knew?

If hormones fluctuate at home, you best believe they swing at work (probably moreso)!  Picture this, work leaders between the ages of 40 and 55, who rarely exercise or eat healthy, often complain about one issue or another, and have the patience of a spoiled child.  "I was expecting that to be done!  Who keeps taking my $%^* pen?  What idiot keeps you on hold for 10 minutes to check something that is already in a database?  Why is it so *&%$# hot in here?"  Men and women both have issues during mid-life.  From feeling like the world is great one minute to wanting to escape to an island the next, it isn't easy managing hormones at work.

People change as we all know.  What you use to be able to handle in your youth, you can't once those hormones start to take a shift from one day to the next.  Crowded areas use to be no problem, phone ringing all day you could handle it, and people's body odors, no big deal!  But now!?  For some, an empty stomach feels like you are going mad, ready to vomit over the slightest weird smell.  Sweat beads show up on one's forehead out of nowhere while people are talking about how comfortable the room is.  One is more sensitive to bad news and might even share a few too many tears over something.  Then there is the constant reminders, the mind just doesn't retain information as well as it once did.  Yes, the joys of midlife at work.

Sometimes there is a feeling of envy that comes over the individual who has worked at a company for years.  He or she notices that new workers coming in are younger, sharper, and faster.  There is either a desire to keep up with the pace, stay put, or go above and beyond while killing yourself in the process.  The family wants to know why the long hours.  The partner wants to know what's up with the sex life.  The relatives want to know why they never see you anymore.  Meanwhile, hormones say, "You will be in the mood later..."  But later seems so few and far in between.

If this describes you, do something to harness those mood swings and body changes especially when fellow employees are noticing a different you every hour.  Don't bother making excuses.  Avoid the temptation to blame others.  Take a good long look in the mirror during one of your breaks and do what you can to deal with your change of life.

Things you can do:

1.  Take an online quiz about Irritable Male Syndrome (Andropause) for men and PMDD, Perimenopause or menopause for women.

2.  Pay closer attention to how you react to your employees.

3.  Watch what you are eating and drinking during meal and snack times.  Too much of anything isn't good for you!

4.  Check into herbal supplements, vitamins, and precription medicines to help you deal with symptoms.

5.  Avoid blaming the weather, your partner, boss, co-workers, children, and whoever or whatever else because you are often annoyed, aren't functioning well in your personal or public relationships like you use to, and often have feelings of wanting to be left alone or being anywhere but on this planet.

6.  Communicate issues with your doctor, counselor or someone else who seems like they have their health issues under control.

7.  Do exercise, take up hobbies, and travel so that you aren't concentrating so much on how you feel, what others think about you, etc.

Resources worth checking out:

Male Menopause
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/andropause-dealing-with-male-menopause.htm

Andropause Videos
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdtxg_andropause_news
http://men.webmd.com/video/male-menopause

Irritable Male Quiz
http://theirritablemale.com/quiz2.htm

Women Menopause
http://womenshealth.gov/menopause/

Menopause Video
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/health/menopause-videos-playlist.htm

PMDD Video
http://youtu.be/n2NfZbFHi8w

Perimenopause
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/perimenopause/DS00554/DSECTION=symptoms

PMDD
http://www.medicinenet.com/premenstrual_dysphoric_disorder_pmdd/article.htm