Boundaries, Burnout and Bloody Christmas - a midlife woman's survival guide for the festive season
Really Useful Conversations
I am not about to tell you how to become a domestic goddess, create more To Do lists or sell the benefit of multi-tasking or cooking in advance .. This episode is especially for busy working midlife women who are Googling "Am I burned out or is it just December?" and wondering why their stress is through the roof when they can normally just swing through the season and jingle all the way! How do I protect my sanity? What will help my stress levels? How do I survive the festive season now that my hormones are all over the place? When research tells us that 72% of households rely on women...
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Stress Awareness in the Workplace: How Conversations Prevent Burnout and Boost Performance
Really Useful Conversations
Stress is costing UK businesses an estimated £28 billion every year, yet too many organisations still treat wellbeing as a tick-box exercise. In this episode of Really Useful Conversations, we give a nod to "International Stress Awareness Week" where the theme for 20235 is "Optimising Employee Wellbeing through Strategic Stress Management" - and we take a look at why strategic stress management is a leadership and performance issue, not a fluffy wellbeing tick-box exercise. We talk about how early, honest conversations can reduce burnout, improve morale, and build psychologically safe...
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From Awareness to Action: Menopause, Stress & Women’s Health in Midlife
Really Useful Conversations
The final episode for the mini series, supporting Menopause Awareness Month ... So what happens next? In this no-nonsense episode, we recap the Six Lifestyle Levers that help midlife women support mental health during the menopuase chapter, and as Awareness Month closes, let's hope that the subject is not put back in the drawer until this time next year! Let's hope that the UK Government’s new menopause health-check plans receive the support, funding and education that is needed because let's face it, women’s health deserves serious investment and not just lip service. With...
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The Support Lever: Why Even Strong Women Benefit In Midlife
Really Useful Conversations
The conversations we have with ourselves are often the most important, so telling yourself that “I should be coping better,” and internally beating yourself up, whilst quietly carrying the mental load of work, ageing parents, teenagers, menopause symptoms, and a house that never seems to stay tidy is just not fair. But so often women don’t ask for help. We don’t want to be a burden. We tell ourselves other people have it worse. And we push on, exhausted, feeling as though we should be able to just crack on. In this mini episode we’re talking about the sixth lifestyle lever...
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From Chaos to Calm: Why Your Environment Matters to your Mental Health in Menopause
Really Useful Conversations
When we talk about ‘environment’, most people think about cluttered kitchens, noisy offices or never-ending WhatsApp notifications, and yes, they can make a difference - but in midlife and menopause, your internal environment matters just as much. Thinking about your gut health, blood sugar, hormones, sleep patterns, and the way you speak to yourself when nobody else is listening - all of these will affect the experience you have during this chapter of messy midlife. In this mini episode we explore both sides - the external world you move through and the internal world you carry inside and...
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Menopause, Mental Health & the Magic of Connection - Lever 4
Really Useful Conversations
Feeling disconnected, lonely, or like nobody really gets what you’re going through? You’re not imagining it - midlife and menopause can quietly shrink your world. Between work pressures, family demands, and hormonal changes that impact confidence and mood, it’s easy to drift into isolation. It might be that you are busy, just struggling with the juggle of midlife, especially if the "sandwich generation" perfectly describes your world but in this episode of our mini series for Menopause Awareness Month, we explore why connection is one of the most powerful mood-boosters and...
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Restore Your Energy in Menopause: Sleep, Stress and Nervous System Support
Really Useful Conversations
Sleep and Menopause – One of the most frequently raised concerns (This is Episode 3 and is part of the 6 Lifestyle Levers: Small Shifts, Big Impact mini-series) If you are tired but cannot switch off, wide awake at 3am, or constantly running on adrenaline, this episode is for you. In this episode we look briefly at how menopause affects sleep, stress, and your nervous system - often one of the most frequently asked questions in my coaching sessions - and take a quick look at what you can do to feel calmer, clearer, and properly rested again. You will learn: We know that changing...
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Movement and Menopause: How Exercise Boosts Mood, Energy, and Brain Health in Midlife
Really Useful Conversations
If you have been feeling low, sluggish, or struggling with sleep during menopause, this episode will help you understand why movement really is medicine for the mind. In Episode 2 of my mini-series, 6 Lifestyle Levers: Small Shifts, Big Impact, we look at how physical activity supports mental health, hormone balance, and emotional resilience in midlife, and how it can help you also sleep better. You will learn: How exercise increases serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline to lift mood and motivation Why movement helps regulate cortisol and reduce anxiety and overwhelm How simple daily...
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Nutrition for Menopause: How Midlife Women Can Eat to Boost Mental Health
Really Useful Conversations
If you’ve been feeling flat, foggy, or wired but tired, it might not just be stress or perimenopause. It could be what, and how, you are feeding your brain during this chapter. In this first episode of my new mini-series, 6 Lifestyle Levers: Small Shifts, Big Impact, we focus on Nourish: how nutrition shapes mood, energy, and emotional balance during menopause. You’ll learn: Why falling oestrogen changes the way your body absorbs and uses key nutrients How to fuel the feel-good neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, GABA) that support mood and sleep Simple food swaps that calm...
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Menopause and Mental Health - Small Shifts, Big Impact - Things we can do to help ourselves feel better
Really Useful Conversations
October hosts both World Mental Health Day and Menopause Awareness Day and is indeed Menopause Awareness Month. The theme this year is Lifestyle Medicine and so I am focussing in this podcast episode on the impact that menopause can have on our mental health, and sharing a basic understanding of what is going on that is causing the low mood, anxiety, brain fog and other cognitive and mental health challenges that some women experience during perimenopause. During the hormonal transition, our brain is doing it's best to function without the steady hormonal chemistry that it is used to...
info_outlineThis week in the UK is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is "Community" and in this episode I am talking specifically about the importance of community for those of us who are midlife women.
A chapter in our lives when hormones are shifting, which can indeed negatively impact our mental health, but often also a very busy chapter with lots of juggling of priorities, perhaps older children or grandchildren needing us, or as my world caring for ageing parents has become a new challenge, so it is no surprise that the number of women diagnosed with anxiety, depression and low mood increases during this life stage - and sadly the number of deaths by suicide too. However, I don't think it is ALL about our hormones, and in this episode we talk about what else is shifting and changing and potentially causing us to feel less than great - and how community, amongst other factors, can really help.
If you enjoy this episode, please do feel free to share with others who might also benefit, and if you are a midlife woman looking for a Midlife Reboot - ready to ditch the quick fix surface deep solutions and choose to invest your limited time and energy in RADICAL self-care, why not pop your name on the wait list for the next opening?
Either way up, hope you enjoy this episode, which is very much dedicated to my Tribe who kept me upright and mobile through the divorce that kept on giving!
A x