Episode Details

Happily married on Friday, divorcing on Sunday, back to normal by Tuesday. If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you.

Dr. Talina Hermann is a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, clinical herbalist, and functional medicine practitioner. When conventional medicine failed to explain her own health struggles, she went looking for answers — and built a career giving them to others as founder of the Montecito Wellness Clinic. Her belief is simple: perimenopause isn't a decline, it's a turning point. And today, she's here for the men who love these women.

In part one of Perimenopause for Men we explore what perimenopause actually is and why it can start as early as the late 30s, how estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone work as the nervous system's buffer — and what happens in a woman's body and mind when that buffer disappears. We get into why her labs come back "normal" when everything else says otherwise, brain fog, 3am wake-ups, and the shortened fuse, why desire shifts from spontaneous to responsive — and why so many men wrongly conclude she's falling out of love.

Talina also gives men the practical playbook: what to say and what never to say, why witnessing beats fixing, why her sleep is the first thing to protect, andropause — the men's-side transition nobody talks about — and the Chinese medicine concept of the Second Spring: why this chaotic passage ends with the most empowered, unapologetic version of the woman you married.

If the woman you love has changed and you've been taking it personally — this conversation will change how you see everything.

Part two drops next week.

Connect with Dr. Talina Hermann: [her links]

If this conversation moved something in you, a rating or review helps more men find this work. Martin's book, The Weary Traveller's Guide to a Life Worth Living, is available now.

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Odyssey & Alchemy is a weekly long-form interview podcast on men's inner transformation — men's work, spirituality, mindfulness, and depth psychology — hosted by Martin Prihoda, author of The Weary Traveller. Deep, unhurried conversations with therapists, teachers, yogis, and healers, for men ready to do the inner work.

📖 The Weary Traveller: [book link]
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