Menopause is not an ending. It is a threshold into a different kind of life.
Cerca de trinta milhões de brasileiras atravessam a menopausa agora, muitas delas em silêncio, convencidas de que o prazer ficou para trás. A ciência e a escuta clínica sugerem o contrário: o desejo não desaparece, ele se transforma — e pode ser reconhecido, cultivado e redescoberto com as ferramentas certas. O que parece um fim é, na verdade, uma travessia para uma forma diferente de habitar o próprio corpo.
- Seis em cada dez mulheres na menopausa relatam queda acentuada da libido, e muitas enfrentam essa realidade sem informação ou apoio.
- A retirada hormonal altera tecidos, lubrificação e tempo de resposta — mudanças reais que, sem orientação, podem ser confundidas com perda definitiva do prazer.
- A psicóloga e terapeuta sexual Ana Canosa propõe seis estratégias concretas: reconhecer o desejo responsivo, usar lubrificantes, ampliar as zonas de toque, incluir dispositivos de estimulação, fortalecer o assoalho pélvico e ressignificar a fase.
- A abordagem desloca o olhar do que o corpo 'não faz mais' para o que ele ainda pode fazer — com adaptação, atenção e sem culpa.
Trinta milhões de brasileiras vivem a menopausa agora. A transição começa por volta dos quarenta anos e pode se estender até os sessenta, trazendo consigo uma reconfiguração profunda do corpo e da mente. Para muitas, o desejo sexual simplesmente some — e a sensação é de que o prazer ficou para trás, definitivamente.
O que acontece é fisiológico: os hormônios que orquestravam o desejo por décadas se retiram. Os tecidos vaginais ficam mais secos e finos. A excitação demora mais. O orgasmo exige mais esforço. Não são falhas — são respostas programadas do organismo. Mas se parecem com perdas, e muitas mulheres as enfrentam sozinhas.
A psicóloga e terapeuta sexual Ana Canosa, vinculada à marca Issviva, organizou seis caminhos práticos para reconquistar o prazer. O primeiro é conceitual: aprender a distinguir o desejo espontâneo — que pode ter diminuído — do desejo responsivo, que desperta diante de um toque, de uma palavra, de um clima. Literatura erótica, por exemplo, pode ser uma porta de entrada para esse tipo de ativação.
O segundo passo é direto: lubrificantes não são um contorno, são uma ferramenta. Com menos lubrificação natural, usá-los generosamente transforma a experiência. O terceiro amplia o mapa do corpo: quando a resposta genital desacelera, o toque no pescoço, nas coxas, nos seios ganha protagonismo. O quarto reconhece que dispositivos como vibradores podem ser aliados valiosos, especialmente para quem sempre teve dificuldade em atingir o orgasmo.
O quinto é físico e mensurável: exercícios de assoalho pélvico, como o pilates, fortalecem os músculos que sustentam a resposta sexual e melhoram a qualidade do orgasmo. O sexto — e talvez o mais transformador — é de ordem simbólica: encarar a menopausa não como um fim, mas como uma passagem. O corpo muda, sim. Mas mudança não é o mesmo que perda.
Thirty million Brazilian women are moving through menopause right now. The transition typically unfolds across two decades—starting around age forty, stretching toward sixty—though the timeline varies. Some arrive early, others late. What remains consistent is the weight of it: the body shifts, the mind follows, and for many, desire simply vanishes. Six in ten women in this phase report that their libido has collapsed, leaving them uncertain whether pleasure is still possible.
Menopause marks the end of menstruation, but that clinical fact barely captures what's actually happening. The body is remaking itself. Hormones that have orchestrated desire for decades are withdrawing. The vaginal tissues thin and dry. Arousal takes longer to build. Orgasm becomes harder to reach. These are not failures of the body; they are the body doing exactly what it has been programmed to do. But they feel like losses, and many women face them alone, convinced that this phase means the end of sexual pleasure.
A psychologist and sexual therapist named Ana Canosa, working with the Issviva brand, has outlined six concrete approaches to reclaim that pleasure. The first is a shift in mindset: stop treating sex as something you owe. When spontaneous desire has dimmed, learn instead to recognize responsive desire—the kind that awakens in response to touch, to words, to a particular mood or moment. Reading erotic literature, for instance, can be a practical tool for activating this responsive current.
The second is straightforward but often overlooked: lubrication matters enormously. The vagina produces less of its own lubrication during menopause, and this is not something to work around—it is something to address directly. Commercial lubricants, used generously for both external stimulation and penetration, remove friction and restore sensation. This is not a compromise; it is a tool.
Third, when the body's sexual responses slow down overall, non-genital touch becomes more important, not less. The skin, the neck, the breasts, the inner thighs—these zones remain responsive. Expanding the landscape of touch, rather than rushing toward genital contact, can rebuild arousal more reliably. Fourth, devices like vibrators and clitoral suckers can help bridge the gap when the body needs more direct stimulation to reach climax. For women who have always struggled with orgasm, these tools can be especially valuable.
The fifth recommendation is physical: pelvic floor exercises, particularly pilates, strengthen the muscles that support sexual response and improve the quality of orgasm itself. This is not metaphorical. The research is clear. And sixth is perhaps the most important: reframe the entire phase. Menopause is not an ending. It is a threshold into a different kind of life, one in which pleasure remains possible, even necessary. The body is changing, yes. But change is not the same as loss.
Citações Notáveis
Menopause does not have to mean a change in life or the end of pleasure. Menopause is not the end—it is the beginning of a new journey.— Cristina Arbelaez, global director of Issviva
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does libido drop so dramatically for so many women during menopause? Is it purely hormonal?
It's hormonal, yes, but hormones are not separate from psychology or relationship or circumstance. When estrogen and progesterone decline, the vaginal tissues change, arousal takes longer, orgasm becomes harder. But women also internalize the cultural message that menopause means the end of sexuality. That belief itself dampens desire.
So some of it is learned helplessness?
Partly. But it's also real physiology meeting real loss of confidence. A woman tries to have sex, her body doesn't respond the way it used to, and she concludes it's broken. She stops trying. The body, denied practice and attention, becomes less responsive still.
The expert mentions responsive desire versus spontaneous desire. What's the practical difference?
Spontaneous desire arrives unbidden—you think of sex and want it. Responsive desire arrives in response to touch, to intimacy, to a particular moment. Many women in menopause find spontaneous desire has nearly vanished, but responsive desire is still there, waiting to be activated.
And the lubricant recommendation—is that really a significant part of the solution?
It's not the whole solution, but it's foundational. Without adequate lubrication, sex becomes uncomfortable or painful. Discomfort kills desire faster than anything. Once you remove that barrier, everything else becomes possible.
What about the pelvic floor exercises? How do they change things?
They strengthen the muscles that contract during arousal and orgasm. A stronger pelvic floor means better blood flow to the area, more sensation, more control. It's not magic, but it's measurable.
The quote at the end says menopause is a beginning, not an ending. Do you think women actually believe that?
Not at first. But when a woman tries these approaches and discovers that pleasure is still available to her—that her body can still respond, still feel—the narrative shifts. She stops grieving what was and starts exploring what's possible now.