What if the secret to a calmer, happier holiday isn't what you add—but what you leave out?
You’re not alone if holiday gatherings bring stress, distraction, and midlife anxiety instead of the peace you crave.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    The one “ingredient” that quietly steals connection at the holiday table
2.    Why small boundaries create huge relief for midlife stress and anxiety
3.    A simple, science-backed coping skill that restores laughter, calm, and presence
 Take four minutes to reclaim calm, connection, and joy this holiday—you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Have you ever felt that mix of anger and self-pity when life—or family—doesn’t go the way you hoped?
You’re not alone. Those emotions you try to hide aren’t weakness—they’re signals that something inside you needs care.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    Why anger and self-pity are your nervous system’s natural way of asking for protection and calm.
2.    How to recognize when these emotions become traps that feed midlife stress, anxiety, and disconnection.
3.    A science-backed way to pivot from hurt to healing—without guilt, blame, or forced positivity.
 Take 10 minutes to transform hurt into calm—because understanding your emotions is the first step to midlife wisdom. You’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Have you ever looked at the holiday table and felt the quiet ache of someone missing?
You’re not alone — and it doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your love is remembering.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.   The science of why your brain links memory, belonging, and emotion so powerfully this time of year.
2.   Why noticing your “missing” is the key to transforming midlife anxiety into calm and clarity.
3.   Three simple coping skills to ground yourself, reconnect, and find meaning when the holidays feel too quiet.
 Take ten minutes to turn your holiday stress into calm, gratitude, and grounded connection — you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

What if your biggest triggers are actually your best teachers?
You’re not broken—you’re human, and your nervous system is simply trying to protect you.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    How to use a simple coping skill  to move through triggers in real time
2.    Why tending to your inner world (not controlling the outer one) is the real path to calm
3.    How using this science-backed coping skill helps you become less triggered over time by rewiring old emotional patterns and strengthening self-trust
 Take 10 minutes to retrain your brain, reduce anxiety, and rebuild self-trust—one trigger at a time. You’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Have you ever wondered why you suddenly feel triggered by something small?
You’re not broken—your brain is simply reacting faster than your awareness can catch up.
In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. What’s really happening in your brain and body when you’re triggered.
2. The science behind why a small moment in the present can activate big feelings from the past.
3. Three ways to recognize when stress and anxiety have hijacked your calm—and how to start restoring self-trust.

 Take 11 minutes to understand what’s happening beneath your reactions—and begin to reclaim calm and clarity. You’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Are you taking care of everyone else and forgetting yourself?
You’re not alone — midlife often turns self-care into an afterthought,
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    Why micro self-care shifts work better than big resolutions for midlife stress and anxiety.
2.    Four simple, science-backed coping skills that take no extra time and cost nothing.
3.    How to notice when caring for others starts to eclipse caring for yourself — and what to do about it.
 Take 10 minutes to rebuild your calm before the holiday rush — you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Feeling more tired, anxious and  stressed as the days get shorter?
You’re not alone—your body and mind are simply responding to less daylight and seasonal change.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    Why fall is the most psychologically powerful season to reset habits that decrease anxiety and stress.
2.    How light therapy and full-spectrum lighting help restore your energy, mood, and calm.
3.    Simple daily coping skills to work with your biology—not against it—for more focus and peace.
Take 12 minutes to reset your light, energy, and calm—you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

What if thinking about death could actually teach you how to live with more peace, presence, and perspective?
You don’t have to explore this alone.
In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. Why practicing small acts of letting go builds resilience for life’s biggest transitions.
2. How the body “knows how to die” and what that means for reducing fear and blame.
3. A simple yoga pose that can shift how you approach mortality and daily anxiety adding meaning and clarity to your life. 

 Take 20 minutes to practice letting go and discover new calm in midlife—you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Why does reflecting on death feel so uncomfortable, yet hold surprising value for our mental wellness?
You’re not alone if the thought makes you uneasy.
In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. Why most of us avoid thoughts of mortality—and the hidden costs of that avoidance.
2. How reflecting on death, even briefly, can shift daily stress and anxiety.
3. What hospice work and mindfulness practices reveal about living with greater calm and clarity.

 Take 20 minutes to see how reflecting on death can free you to live more fully—you’re worth it.

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

What if the surprising key to dissolving midlife anxiety and stress comes from the way toddlers move through the world?
You’re not alone if stress and anxiety in midlife make calm feel out of reach.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1.    Why eliminating outside stressors rarely creates lasting calm
2.    How toddlers teach powerful lessons about coping with midlife anxiety and stress
3.    Right-brain practices that reconnect you to the calm already inside of you
 Take 12 minutes to unlock calm from the inside out and ease midlife anxiety and stress—you’re worth it

Send us a text

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.