Because no one talks about it! Well it’s time to stop suffering in silence like I have.
Let’s just normalize that shit right now.
We will most certainly look back at this period of time in history as one that changed us as a collective. No one escaped the impact of the worldwide pandemic paired with the polarizing political climate.
Socially, spiritually, emotionally, financially and physically.
We all felt it at a soul level.
So how did we manage all that stress and how are we doing now?
First let me point out that not all stress is bad. In fact, it is perfectly natural to experience the feeling of stress when change is necessary or we need to take a break.
There a two kinds of stress:
- Acute stress can occur on a daily basis. It comes in short bursts and passes quickly. This might look like a traffic jam, running late, losing your keys or trying to meet a deadline, you need to rest between sets at the gym. We have little to no control and the feeling only lasts until the situation is over.
- Chronic stress is when we feel pressured or overwhelmed for a long period of time. It can impact your overall health. Some of the symptoms of chronic stress include:
- Panic attacks
- Trouble sleeping
- Fatigue
- Difficulty breathing
- Indigestion
- Muscle aches or headaches
We experience different stressors at different ages. As infants we need someone else to tend to all our needs, as children we learn social skills, at puberty we begin to develop emotional maturity, then we have decisions about education, career, family, creating a home, planning for college and retirement.
What I want to talk about are the stressors we experience as mature women over the age of 50 or 60.
We have, for the better part of our lives, nurtured our children, our significant other, our careers, our aging parents. Not with regret, but naturally, dutifully and willingly (dare I say, joyfully?).
Now our children are out of the house adulting, our parents have passed and we are thinking about retirement, which means we are going to have lots of free time and no one needs us.
Wow!! For the first time, we can go anywhere, be anyone, sleep in, take naps or baths in the middle of the day and no one cares.
We can go be adventurous and check off some of those bucket list items.
We develop this care-less attitude about what others might think when we snort laugh, dance like no one’s watching and sing off key at karaoke or in the car (trust me, I’ve tested this and it’s liberating).
WHAT FREEDOM!!
I hope you have taken excellent care of yourself so you have your health intact to make these the very best years of your life.
In fact, I have dedicated the past 20 years of my life to teaching women how to:
- Exercise in a way that decreases stress, increases bone density and muscle strength, keeps joints healthy and mobile, increases balance and stability so she can be safe in her mature body
- Eat a balanced and nutritious diet to manage the health risks that occur in menopause when we have a radical hormone change. This impacts a woman’s weight, heart health, cholesterol and risk of type II diabetes.
- Sleep a minimum of 7 hours a night so your mind and body and rest and repair and prepare for another day
- Hydrate for overall wellness, cell repair and keeping joints lubricated, increase immunity and cognition and mood
And I’ve come to realize that at this stage, in order to put the previous into practice, we need to address the stress of this transition.
We need support, validation, community and we need to learn how to nurture ourselves with grace and gratitude.
Mindfullness is a simple skillset to practice but takes time to master. I can show you how.
So I’m dedicating this next chapter of my life to teaching women how to make the most of these years. How to connect, laugh and cry with and support other women with this same lust for life. How to take a more mindful approach to everyday life and really experience the little things in a big way.
I see you and I’ve saved you a seat at my table.
If you want to know more about this incredible community of like-minded women over 50, let me know. I can’t wait to share the details and welcome you in.
With much love,
