Menopause, Trauma, and Toxic Family Patterns: A Conversation with That Menopause Guy (Bonus Episode 37)

Menopause is often framed as a breakdown, but what if it’s actually a breakthrough? In this episode, we dive deep into how the hormonal shifts of midlife don’t create problems; they reveal them. 

We explore how menopause strips away the “people-pleasing filter,” resurfaces childhood survival roles like caretaker or peacemaker, and forces women to confront toxic family dynamics they may have tolerated for years.

Our guest, That Menopause Guy, shares his personal story of growing up with an abusive father and how his healing journey gave him insight into the survival patterns many midlife women carry: fawning, freezing, and chronic over-functioning. We also talk about the painful parallels between medical dismissal and narcissistic abuse, and how invalidation from doctors can retraumatize women who’ve already lived through toxic family systems.

By the end of this episode, you will see why menopause is less about losing yourself and more about finally recognizing yourself clearly. You will learn why old patterns rise up in midlife, how to stop repeating them, and what steps you can take to start setting boundaries and creating emotional freedom.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🍏 Why menopause isn’t a breakdown—it’s a clarifying awakening. 

🍏How childhood trauma roles resurface in midlife and what to do about them. 

🍏The ways menopause acts as a mirror, making it impossible to ignore red flags. 

🍏How growing up in toxicity shapes communication, boundaries, and self-worth. 

🍏The deep parallel between medical dismissal and narcissistic invalidation. 

🍏Why women feel like they’re “seeing themselves clearly” for the first time. 

🍏Practical first steps to break free from old survival patterns.

Ali Farhat | Women’s Weight Loss & Hormone Specialist

Certified Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner | Certified Women's Holistic Hormone Practitioner | B.S. in Kinesiology

Ali Farhat is a certified women's hormone practitioner and weight loss coach with nearly a decade of experience helping women transform their bodies and reclaim their health. But his mission took a powerful turn four years ago, when his own mother began experiencing menopause symptoms and was quickly dismissed by her doctor, misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety, and left without real solutions.

Seeing how the system failed her opened Ali’s eyes to a silent epidemic: women in menopause being ignored, misinformed, and told to “just deal with it.” That moment lit a fire in him, to become the kind of practitioner women actually need.

Now, Ali specializes in helping women in perimenopause and menopause lose stubborn weight, eliminate symptoms, and finally get the answers they’ve been searching for. He combines functional lab testing, individualized hormone support, nutrition, and fitness to create true, lasting transformations.

But more than that, Ali is leading a movement: to show that there are good men out there who genuinely want to help women thrive. In a space where male voices can be met with skepticism, Ali is breaking the mold, not by telling women what to do, but by listening, empowering, and offering real solutions with deep respect.

Known online as That Menopause Guy, Ali is changing the game by making midlife health feel empowering, not defeating. Whether it’s through his popular online programs, viral social media content, or in-person events, Ali’s bold yet deeply compassionate coaching style resonates with women who are tired of being dismissed by mainstream medicine and are ready for a real solution. 

*****

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