Hormones, Sleep, Alcohol & Perimenopause: How to Age Gracefully Together with Dr. Amy Shah: Episode 415
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Release Date: 09/23/2025
Discussing Holiday Expectations and Visiting In-Laws (To Prevent Chaos and Conflict): Episode 423
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
The holidays are supposed to feel relaxing and joyful. But for many couples, they’re anything but. Between travel plans, family visits, and unspoken expectations, this season can quickly become chaotic, exhausting, and full of tension. One partner often ends up feeling like they’re carrying most of the mental and emotional load, while the other doesn’t realize how unbalanced it feels. In this episode, we’re unpacking the real root of holiday stress in relationships: mismatched and unmet expectations. You’ll hear the kinds of conversations you need to have to prevent disconnection and...
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Accidentally Squashing Your Partner’s Excitement (When You’re on Two Different Wavelengths in a Conversation): Episode 422
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Have you ever shared an idea or dream with your spouse, something that genuinely excited you, only to have the energy immediately flattened by practicality or fear? In this episode, we’re unpacking a dynamic that quietly drains energy and connection in many marriages: when one partner is in enthusiastic, imaginative energy and the other instantly shifts into logic and control mode. We’ll explore why this happens, what it reveals emotionally for each partner, and how to respond in a way that keeps the energy between you alive instead of shutting it down. In this episode you’ll hear: The...
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Can One Spouse Change the Marriage For the Better? Episode 421
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
As the holiday season approaches, many couples find themselves hitting a quiet but undeniable breaking point. Something about this stretch of time—from mid-October through the new year—brings things to the surface. Maybe it’s the reflection that comes with the end of a year. Maybe it’s the pressure of finances, family expectations, or feeling like life is flying by. But without the closeness you hoped to feel by now. For many, it’s a season where the question “Can we really keep going like this?” starts to creep in. In this episode, we unpack a question so many couples wrestle...
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The Science of Stress, Anger & Connection—How to Heal the Family System with Dr. Taz Bhatia: Episode 420
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Have you ever thought about how your own stress affects your kids — or how your parents’ stress might still be affecting you? In this powerful conversation with Dr. Taz Bhatia, integrative medicine physician, author, and founder of Hol+, we explore how the health of the parents — especially the mother — sets the tone for the entire family system. Because wellness isn’t just about self-care… it’s about the legacy you’re creating for the next generation. Together, we unpack how patterns of anger, overwhelm, and chronic stress get passed down in families — and how to...
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When the ‘Needing Space’ and ‘Needing Resolution’ Partners Marry Each Other: Episode 419
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
It seems like the “I need more space” and “I need to talk this out now” partners always find each other! This is the basis of the Pursuer/Withdrawer as well as the Anxious/Avoidant partner dynamics in marriage. When this dynamic happens, it always causes more tension, defensiveness, anxiety, and distance than the initial topic of conversation. If this sounds at all like dynamics you and your partner get into, you certainly are not alone! In today’s episode you will hear more detail about what’s really happening for each partner, whether it is the need for space or resolution....
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The 4 D’s That Create Division in a Marriage: Episode 418
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Division isn’t just a problem in the world—it’s creeping into homes, marriages, and families everywhere. When couples start turning against each other instead of standing together, the bond that once felt safe and secure begins to weaken. In this episode, we’re breaking down The 4 D’s That Create Division in a Marriage: Dismissiveness, Defensiveness, Deflecting, and Divorce Threats. These subtle but destructive patterns slowly undermine connection and emotional safety, often without you even realizing it. We’ll clearly define what each of these behaviors looks and sounds like—and...
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The Difference Between Productive and Unproductive Communication: Episode 417
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Many times in marriage, you can start what you think is a simple conversation and have it turn into a miscommunication or even a conflict. It is frustrating when you are trying to simply communicate something and it isn’t received by your partner. In this episode we talk about the difference between productive and unproductive communication and what makes partners good communicators vs poor communicators. You will be surprised by the simple shift you can make and the massive difference it will make in how you each speak and listen to one another. To dive further into the source...
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Do Spouses Need to Validate Every Feeling or Emotional Upset? Episode 416
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
When emotions run high in marriage, one of the most common traps couples fall into is what to do with each other’s feelings. Should you validate them? Should you challenge them? Or should you just offer a quick solution so you can move on? The truth is when emotional validation is missing or misunderstood, small hurts linger, conflicts spiral, and one or both partners can end up feeling dismissed, forced into solutions, or left unresolved. It’s also one of the biggest complaints we hear from spouses…”you’re not validating my feelings!” In this episode, we unpack: Why...
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Hormones, Sleep, Alcohol & Perimenopause: How to Age Gracefully Together with Dr. Amy Shah: Episode 415
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
After our recent intimacy series, there were dozens of follow up questions from you all asking us to dive further into normal hormonal changes as we age and proactive steps you can take to age gracefully AND stay connected through the changes. In this episode, double board-certified physician Dr. Amy Shah (women’s health & nutrition) joins us to bust the “dad bod/mom bod is just aging” myth—and lay out practical, evidence-informed steps couples can use to sleep better, reduce stress, protect libido, and stay united through perimenopause, menopause, and men’s steady...
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Are Spouses Becoming Too Selfish? What a Healthy Marriage Actually Requires That Media Isn’t Telling You: Episode 414
EmPowered Couples with The Freemans
Are we getting too self-focused in marriage? In this episode, we unpack the cultural messages that push hyper-individualism (“fill your cup first”) and show why great marriages are actually built on mutual care, not solo self-care. We talk about healthy vs. overcorrected boundaries, why prosocial actions (doing good for your partner) boost your own mood, how to shift from short-term impulses to a long-term family vision, and practical ways to “out-love” each other in daily life. What you’ll learn from this episode: The trap of “me first” and how it quietly erodes...
info_outlineAfter our recent intimacy series, there were dozens of follow up questions from you all asking us to dive further into normal hormonal changes as we age and proactive steps you can take to age gracefully AND stay connected through the changes.
In this episode, double board-certified physician Dr. Amy Shah (women’s health & nutrition) joins us to bust the “dad bod/mom bod is just aging” myth—and lay out practical, evidence-informed steps couples can use to sleep better, reduce stress, protect libido, and stay united through perimenopause, menopause, and men’s steady testosterone decline.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
-Why “dad bod/mom bod” is more about habits + hormones than age
-The gut–brain–hormone loop that impacts mood, energy & attraction
-How to time difficult conversations around the cycle (and when not to)
-The midlife health stack: movement, strength, sprinting, nutrition, sleep
-Alcohol & hormones: why a 30–90 day break can be a game-changer
-Men’s testosterone: fix root causes before quick fixes
-Labs that matter (and why symptoms often beat hormone numbers)
-The updated science on HRT for women—and when to consider it
-“Gray divorce”: how to adapt as a team through this season
About Our Guest:
Dr. Amy Shah is a double board-certified MD and nutritionist focused on the gut-brain connection, women’s health, and fitness medicine. Through AmyMD Wellness, books, speaking, and social channels, she helps people take control of their wellness with practical, research-backed tools.
Resource Links:
• Dr. Amy Shah: IG @dramymd • TikTok @dramymd • Website: amymdwellness.com
• Our most-used marriage tools & guides: meetthefreemans.com/links
• Work with us / in-person Couples Workshop Oct 5th (AZ): meetthefreemans.com/workshop
If this helped, tap 👍 + Subscribe for weekly tools to communicate better, de-escalate faster, and feel closer—through every season.
Episode Timestamps of What We Discussed:
02:34 Welcome + why we brought Dr. Amy on this topic
03:43 Health ↔ marriage: stress, cortisol, sleep & conflict
05:10 Listener question: attraction & a partner’s “dad bod”
06:04 Why “dad/mom bod” isn’t inevitable—habits + hormones
07:35 What healthy aging actually looks like (mindset matters)
08:58 The study: reversing heart age over 2 years (plan overview)
10:59 Modeling vs. nagging your partner’s health
12:21 Women 30s–50s: perimenopause basics & early signs
14:01 Energy, sleep, gut changes & libido shifts
15:23 Estrogen vs. progesterone—“two sisters” in your brain
19:00 Don’t make big decisions late-luteal; timing tough talks
23:03 Men’s testosterone: steady decline & root-cause fixes
26:40 Alcohol & hormones: realistic targets + try a break
29:41 Movement, nutrition & why sleep is #1
32:07 Should couples go to bed at the same time?
33:04 Labs that matter; why symptoms often beat hormone levels
35:01 HRT for women (updated science) & considerations for men
37:50 “Gray divorce,” shifting tolerance & communicating needs
41:16 Adapting habits together to age gracefully as a team
44:23 Where to find Dr. Amy + wrap