Thea O'Connor is a menopause educator, workplace consultant, and researcher who has spent years doing what almost nobody else was doing — talking to men about their experience of menopause. After her own disorienting perimenopause journey derailed what she'd planned as her \"power decade,\" she went public on national radio in 2018 at considerable professional risk. What followed was a body of work that now reaches boardrooms, Senate inquiries, and international standards organisations.
This conversation is for every man who has ever felt confused, rejected, helpless, or like he was spending a lot of time in the doghouse without knowing why. It's also for the women in their lives who want them to understand.
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Thea O'Connor 🌐 Website /survey: https://www.thea.com.au/
Timestamped Overview
00:26 — Why Every Man Needs to Hear This
02:03 — Thea's Own Menopause Derailed Her Power Decade
03:12 — Why She Went Public at Professional Risk
05:06 — What Menopause Actually Is — The Basics
07:27 — The Symptoms Men Miss or Misread
09:28 — Dishwasher Rage — And What It Really Means
10:30 — How a Man's Attitude Affects Her Symptoms
14:39 — What Men Misinterpret as Personal Rejection
18:07 — What Men Actually Said in Thea's Interviews
19:53 — You're Still Allowed to Set Standards
22:47 — Menopause in the Workplace — The Manager's Role
29:13 — Orca Whales & Why Menopause Is a Promotion
35:16 — Fixing Hormones Won't Fix a Bad Marriage
38:34 — How Thea Feels as a Post-Menopausal Woman
40:48 — Final Words: Embrace the Change