October 02, 2024

375. Midlife: From Crisis to Curiosity with Meg McKelvie and Debbie Sorensen

1 hour 22 minutes

Are you in the midst of a midlife transition, grappling with big questions about purpose, change, and self-discovery?

For this week’s episode, cohost Debbie Sorensen celebrates her 50th birthday with a discussion on the transformative period of midlife with her friend, Dr. Meg McKelvie.

A period rich with psychological shifts, existential questions, and challenges in finding deeper meaning, they get into acceptance and commitment therapy, emotional, psychical and cognitive changes, ways to overcome people-pleasing habits, and much much more.

With practical exercises and writing practices, this episode is a gift to anyone navigating midlife transitions and relationships, offering insight, reflection, and a path toward deeper understanding and fulfilling connections. We hope you enjoy this heartfelt and poignant conversation!

Listen and Learn:

Opportunities that midlife brings for deeper understanding and transformation

Confronting body changes and the aging process

How your relationships can become deeper in midlife; letting go of surface-level bonds and embracing genuine honesty and shared experiences

The myth of the midlife crisis and how, contrary to what stereotypes lead us to believe, it frequently involves a sharp internal existential shift rather than a dramatic upheaval

Living with unanswered questions and learning to sit with the discomfort of uncertainty

Ways you can cultivate a personal space that nurtures self-reflection and self-sufficiency

The lessons that regret can teach us

The value of sitting with challenging emotions such as anger and grief, and how these feelings can provide critical insights into your life

The difference between body neutrality and body positivity and how stepping back from the internal debate about your body can lead to a more peaceful relationship with yourself

Resources:

Meg’s website: https://www.drmegmckelvie.com/

LInk to the “Soul-Searching Questions” handout on Meg’s website and Debbie’s website.

More writing resources from Meg and Debbie:

Meg’s writing workshops: https://www.drmegmckelvie.com/workshopsgroups

Debbie’s Instagram for journaling prompts: https://www.instagram.com/drdebbiesorensen/

Debbie’s Guided Journaling substack: https://guidedjournaling.substack.com/

345. Writing for Personal Growth with Maureen Murdock

A Substack essay Debbie wrote on her 50th birthday

A commentary on the Surgeon General’s recent advisory on parental stress, by co-hosts Debbie and Emily, and former co-host Yael Schonburn!

Books mentioned in the episode:

Finding Meaning In the Second Half of Life: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781592402076

The Heroine's Journey: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781611808308

Related episodes:

199. Belonging From the Inside Out with Meg McKelvie

345. Writing for Personal Growth with Maureen Murdock

315. Hot & Bothered: Menopause with Jancee Dunn

291. Finding Freedom From Regret with Robert Leahy

257. The Gift of Being Ordinary with Ron Siegel

242. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management with Oliver Burkeman

351. You Only Die Once with Jodi Wellman

274. Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood with Satya Doyle Byock

138. Exploring Existence and Purpose: Existentialism with Robyn Walser

116. Building a Meaningful, Values-based Life with Jenna LeJeune

285. What Do You Want Out of Life? Values Fulfillment Theory with Valerie Tiberius

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By Debbie Sorensen, Jill Stoddard, Yael Schonbrun, Michael Herold & Emily Edlynn

4.7

315315 ratings

October 02, 2024

375. Midlife: From Crisis to Curiosity with Meg McKelvie and Debbie Sorensen

1 hour 22 minutes

Are you in the midst of a midlife transition, grappling with big questions about purpose, change, and self-discovery?

For this week’s episode, cohost Debbie Sorensen celebrates her 50th birthday with a discussion on the transformative period of midlife with her friend, Dr. Meg McKelvie.

Listen and Learn:

Opportunities that midlife brings for deeper understanding and transformation

Confronting body changes and the aging process

How your relationships can become deeper in midlife; letting go of surface-level bonds and embracing genuine honesty and shared experiences

The myth of the midlife crisis and how, contrary to what stereotypes lead us to believe, it frequently involves a sharp internal existential shift rather than a dramatic upheaval

Living with unanswered questions and learning to sit with the discomfort of uncertainty

Ways you can cultivate a personal space that nurtures self-reflection and self-sufficiency

The lessons that regret can teach us

The value of sitting with challenging emotions such as anger and grief, and how these feelings can provide critical insights into your life

The difference between body neutrality and body positivity and how stepping back from the internal debate about your body can lead to a more peaceful relationship with yourself

Resources:

Meg’s website: https://www.drmegmckelvie.com/

LInk to the “Soul-Searching Questions” handout on Meg’s website and Debbie’s website.

More writing resources from Meg and Debbie:

Meg’s writing workshops: https://www.drmegmckelvie.com/workshopsgroups

Debbie’s Instagram for journaling prompts: https://www.instagram.com/drdebbiesorensen/

Debbie’s Guided Journaling substack: https://guidedjournaling.substack.com/

345. Writing for Personal Growth with Maureen Murdock

A Substack essay Debbie wrote on her 50th birthday

A commentary on the Surgeon General’s recent advisory on parental stress, by co-hosts Debbie and Emily, and former co-host Yael Schonburn!

Books mentioned in the episode:

Finding Meaning In the Second Half of Life: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781592402076