Hormonal Changes

— sometimes subtle, sometimes roaring.

Here are a few ways these changes may unfold:

 

1. When Touch Feels Different

(Vaginal Dryness and Tissue Changes)

As oestrogen levels decline, your body produces less natural lubrication. Vaginal tissue can lose moisture and elasticity, becoming drier and more fragile.
This dryness can make genital touch and penetration feel uncomfortable or even painful.

If using a lubricant doesn’t help, you might find yourself avoiding penetrative sex or other sexual activities.
What once felt effortless may now require more time, care, and patience.

Don’t give up — I’ll be posting more information soon.

 

2. When Desire Changes Its Rhythm

(Libido Shifts)

Hormonal changes can lower your body’s readiness for sex, but your libido is only part of the equation.
It’s shaped by stress, sleep, relationship dynamics, health, self-esteem, and emotional wellbeing.

During menopause, desire may ebb and flow differently — slower to rise, but no less meaningful when it does.

 

3. Rediscovering the Body’s New Map

(Blood Flow and Sensitivity Changes)

Oestrogen helps support blood flow to the genitals. As levels drop, so can sensitivity, arousal, and orgasmic response.

Pleasure may feel less immediate — but that doesn’t mean it disappears.
It may require more intentional exploration: a rediscovery of what your mind and body now finds arousing and pleasurable..

 

4. When Mood Becomes the Gatekeeper

(Mood Swings and Psychological Factors)

Hormonal changes can quietly influence many aspects of your emotional and physical connection to sex — from your desire and mindset, to how your body responds to touch, foreplay, and penetration.

Hormone can shape how you feel about your partner’s desire for sex and intimacy, whether it feels overwhelming, distant, or just different from before.

While we can’t blame everything on hormones, it’s important to recognise that they do have a real impact — and knowing this may help you acknowledge that your thoughts and feelings are being influenced by these hormonal shifts.

 

5. Reclaiming the Mirror

(When Body Image Takes a Hit)

Weight gain, skin changes, thinning hair — these shifts can all impact how you feel about your body.
Feeling confident (or not) can influence your willingness to be seen, to be touched, and to fully experience intimacy.

The mirror may reflect a body that feels less familiar, and it’s natural to long for the body you once knew.
But this is still your body — deserving of touch, celebration, and pleasure.

 

Final Thought:

Menopause doesn’t have to signal the end of your sex life.

Yes, things have changed — and you might hate some of those changes.
You might even find yourself thinking you’d be perfectly happy never having sex again.
But you might also remember a time when you weren’t particularly in the mood — and yet, one thing led to another, and afterwards you thought, “We should do this more often.”

However, if sex is still painful, even after slowing things down, exploring longer foreplay, or using lubricants, I completely understand why you might be avoiding it.

My goal is to dive deeper into the research and share what I find — hoping something resonates and helps you.