Menopause Blogs

The Dr Ben Blog

Blogs by Dr Ben

March 2026.

Dr Ben writes a new Blog at the start of every month for our Man Shed section.

Why Masking Tape Is For Man Sheds, Not Menopause

Planning to add a new lick of spring paint to my Man Shed windows this month, I stumbled on a box of old brushes and half-used rolls of masking tape. I enjoy painting and find it especially satisfying when I peel that tape off the glass at the end and get those lovely, straight, neat lines.

Anyway, it got me thinking about how the masking of medical symptoms has become a significant problem nowadays, especially when it comes to ‘Menopause Masking’ – when symptoms are concealed – in the workplace. Masking also occurs in Long Covid, where people can often downplay their symptoms to try to keep their job. It is also a significant feature of autistic spectrum disorders, particularly in women, whose needs may then go unnoticed.

There are many menopause symptoms, 34 or more on the NHS list. This huge range of symptoms can be suffered by women during their menopause transition and many of these can still be associated with some kind of taboo, especially at work.

I remember speaking to a woman once who was a high-flying business executive. She worked as director of a creative space, and she told me that in the middle of the day she suffered from such heavy facial sweats that she had to regularly change her clothes and cancel meetings.

Her face became drenched, with perspiration pouring down and dripping off her face onto her work clothes. She felt it was not appropriate to be presenting with these symptoms in a business setting, and they were certainly intrusive symptoms.

Afterwards, she told me she would make a joke of it and her PA finally helped her to get a fan and make adjustments, but she was an example of how such powerful menopausal symptoms can often take us by surprise and are very hard to mitigate in the immediate short term. If you suffer a drenching sweat, there’s little you may be able to do about it other than just let it pass and seek cooler private spaces.

‘Some education or a menopause awareness course may be needed to broaden understanding’

As a result, it often takes huge mental effort to try to contain such symptoms while on the outside appearing as if everything is normal. But this super-human effort to appear normal may actually lower thresholds for burnout and overwhelm in the longer term for employees because it puts so much strain on the body to attempt to mask these very physical symptoms.

As a doctor, I would always recommend that you are open and honest with a trusted manager at your workplace about your needs. These can then be met. You will be validated as an important part of the organisation, and someone who has legitimate needs that require accommodation.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to hide or ‘mask’ these sorts of events because downplaying them may actually count against you in the longer term if your performance suffers or if you find yourself exhausted later.

I would agree a plan with your line manager for the event of any symptoms that commonly affect you. For example, you might need to take a short break, move to a cooler part of the building, get some fresh air, or even change your clothes if you have a flushing problem.

The important thing is that this shouldn’t feel like an embarrassing or inconvenient interruption to your daily routine but should be accommodated as part and parcel of your health needs.

And if your line manager is a man, these days they may, hopefully, be more likely to sympathise with you and offer help. If they are not aware of these kinds of symptoms and scenarios, they may need access to information or even a menopause awareness course to broaden their understanding of the needs of those under their supervision.

At work, there is usually also the opportunity to seek out a trusted female colleague or a senior manager who may be able to raise awareness of this issue for you. And it’s important to recognise that in the past a lot of menopausal symptoms were brushed under the carpet or misdiagnosed as mental health disorders.

Now awareness is growing, we understand such issues and awareness is much greater. It’s also more commonplace these days for men to be better informed. But if you do come across a male colleague who needs help, then a supportive approach towards education will serve you both well.

If you’re a man reading this Man Shed blog, you might try to be supportive of your partner by gently encouraging her to avoid ‘menopause masking’ and to be more appropriately open about her health needs in the workplace.

And remember - masking is for Man Shed windows, not for menopause.

If you’ve got a question for Our Man in The Man Shed Dr Ben Sinclair, you can email him on drben@menopausematters.co.uk

Welcome to The Man Shed and I’m delighted to be your man in it!

My name is Dr Ben Sinclair (please just call me ‘Dr Ben’, everyone does), and I’ve been a GP for nearly 20 years. Bear with me a sec while I shift these spare paint tins and get my laptop set up…

If you’ve got a question for Our Man in The Man Shed, Dr Ben Sinclair, you can email him on:
drben@menopausematters.co.uk.

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