When men’s hormones change - and why ADHD makes it harder
Most people are familiar with menopause, but far fewer have heard of andropause - the gradual hormonal shift that many men experience from their late 30s or 40s onwards.
Andropause is not a sudden event.
It is a slow decline in testosterone, often alongside changes in other hormones such as cortisol and oestrogen.
Because it happens gradually, many men don’t realise it’s happening at all. Instead, they’re left wondering why life suddenly feels harder than it used to.
For men with ADHD - diagnosed or not - this phase can be especially challenging.
What is Andropause?
Testosterone plays a key role in:
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energy and motivation
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emotional regulation
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focus and mental clarity
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confidence and drive
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stress tolerance
From around age 30, testosterone naturally declines by about 1% per year.
For some men this drop is mild.
For others, it reaches a tipping point where symptoms become noticeable and disruptive.
This is often referred to as andropause, late-onset hypogonadism or age-related testosterone decline.
Common symptoms of Andropause
Andropause doesn’t just affect the body - it also affects the brain.
Men may experience:
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low energy or constant fatigue
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reduced motivation or drive
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increased irritability or emotional reactivity
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low mood or anxiety
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poor concentration or ‘brain fog’
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reduced stress tolerance
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sleep disruption
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loss of confidence or sense of identity
These symptoms are frequently mistaken for:
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depression
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burnout
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midlife crisis
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stress or relationship problems
For men with ADHD, this misinterpretation happens even more often.
Why Andropause hits ADHD brains harder
ADHD brains already rely heavily on dopamine to regulate:
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attention
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motivation
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emotional control
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impulse regulation
Testosterone supports dopamine activity in the brain. When testosterone drops, dopamine regulation becomes less efficient.
This means that during andropause:
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ADHD symptoms may intensify
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coping strategies that once worked may suddenly fail
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emotional regulation can feel much harder
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overwhelm arrives faster and lasts longer
Men often describe this as:
“I used to manage… and now I can’t.”
This isn’t a loss of effort or resilience. It’s a neurochemical shift.
Emotional regulation and Andropause
One of the most overlooked effects of andropause is its impact on emotional regulation.
Men may notice:
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shorter fuses
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snapping over small things
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feeling emotionally flat one moment and overwhelmed the next
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withdrawing to cope
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shame or frustration about ‘not being the same person’
For ADHD men, whose emotional regulation is already more vulnerable, this can feel destabilising and frightening - especially if they’ve spent a lifetime masking or overcompensating.
Undiagnosed ADHD and Andropause
Many men reach midlife without knowing they have ADHD.
They may have coped through:
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high adrenaline jobs
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rigid routines
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external structure
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intense effort and overwork
When testosterone declines, those fragile coping systems can collapse.
This is often the point where men seek help - not for ADHD, but for:
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anxiety
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anger
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low mood
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relationship breakdown
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work struggles
Without understanding the role of ADHD and hormones, they may feel like they’re ‘falling apart for no reason’.
There is a reason.
The identity impact
Andropause can trigger a deep sense of loss:
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“I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
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“I used to cope - now everything feels hard.”
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“Why am I struggling when nothing has changed?”
For ADHD men who have built their identity around competence, productivity or emotional control, this can be particularly painful.
This is not weakness.
It is biology meeting neurology.
What helps?
Support often needs to be multi-layered, especially for ADHD men:
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understanding what andropause is (and that it’s real)
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recognising and understanding ADHD - diagnosed or not
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reducing Executive Function load
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addressing sleep, stress and sensory overwhelm
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medical assessment where appropriate
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emotional support that does not pathologise or shame
Most importantly: naming what’s happening.
When men understand that hormonal change can amplify ADHD traits, the experience often shifts from self-blame to self-understanding.
Final Thoughts
Andropause is not just a physical change - it’s a neurological one.
For men with ADHD, it can quietly dismantle coping strategies that took decades to build. Without awareness, this period can feel confusing, isolating and deeply personal.
But when understood properly, Andropause becomes something that can be worked with, not fought against.
If this page feels uncomfortably familiar, you are not broken - your brain and body are navigating change. And you are not alone.
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