*This episode talks about suicide and I hope will be useful to women, their friends, family, support network AND their employer* The coronor confirmed that the lady had indeed taken her own life, following perimenopause then menopause causing her mental health condition to have worsened - and tragically this situation is more common than you might think.  Often people think of menopause symptoms as just the hot flushes or night sweats when actually more women find the cognitive impact far more debilitating and as many as 1 in 10 women will have suicidal thoughts during this transition.  Sadly women often feel isolated, alone, misunderstood, misdiagnosed and even mistreated - this can worsen their situation and significantly impact an already troubled mind - we MUST get this message out there - you are not alone, you are not being dramatic, you are NOT making it up and you are NOT alone.  Donna Mann took her own life and this tragic loss should be prompting us all to get better informed, better educated, more aware and able to have conversations that matter - those conversations could be the difference between life and death.  Please do share this episode with friends, colleagues, HR professionals so that women like Donna get the help they need, before it is too late.  For more details visit my website and again please do with anyone else who might need it.

Yesterday I received the devastating news of the loss of an incredible woman - strong, confident, bold, kind, wise, caring and funny as heck! I thought she was invincible and when she got her cancer diagnosis I would have bet my house on her surviving.  Yesterday made me realise that tomorrow is not guaranteed. I know we say it all the time that life is too short but sometimes when you lose someone who really was so amazing, you realise that there is a sad truth in that. Today's episode is not polished or scripted or offering downloads for learning - it's from the heart and a reminder that we need to stop putting things off, quit losing time in perfectionism, being paralysed by not good enough, waiting for the perfect moment and we just need to make space.  I'm not being flippant, I have two ageing parents and my carenting responsibilities are heavy and very real, but I need to stop and look for even the tiniest glimmer of space for me to top up my cup too.  This episode is a tribute the the force that was an incredible influence in my life and she listened to my podcast too so I hope she hears this, wherever she has landed now.  For all midlife women who are doing a LOT and struggling with the juggle, and in memory of Anne-Marie, here's your reminder xxx

If you have ever had the experience where your mind just will not switch off - perhaps going to bed and you struggle to sleep, maybe you sit down for a rest and your inner voice reminds you of all the things you SHOULD be doing, when relaxation is almost impossible as you just cannot disconnect ... this episode is for you.  You are doing all the things that those self-care folks tell you to do - bedtime routine, switching off digital devices, drinking cups of herbal tea but still your mind is racing, over-thinking, so damn busy all of the time and even when you make time to specifically rest and relax, it just doesn't help.  As midlife women we are always juggling a lot, in a world that encourages us to keep on keeping on, and a sense of failing if we cannot cope with it all. The cost of that is our stress switch gets stuck and we cannot rest and relax, however much we try - in fact trying harder to rest and relax frustrates us and adds further to our challenge. So how do we fix it?  This season we are focussing on Really Useful Conversations for Midlife Women and I hope you are finding it useful? In this episode I refer to a free handout suggesting techniques you can try - it's available to Let me know what you think?

The last few weeks has been hectic - lots of caring responsibilities for ageing parents, work stuff and life in general - so a chance to sneak off and have a few hours in the company of people who are absolute radiators was defintely an attractive proposition and definitely the kick up the bum I needed to talk about focussing forwards!

Values - those things that we all have, often no idea where they came from, but tend to reflect the things that matter most to us. Are you living in alignment with yours? We all have a little internal book of rules - rules that we have been creating for ourselves since we were first born and my little book will be different to yours. Those rules then guide our lives, our decisions and the people that we choose to be around - these are our values - and although they might change over time, they always matter.  If we are operating in a way that is not aligned with these values, we can feel frustrated, angry, annoyed or even sense a little internal tension, perhaps causing anxiety, and for true wellbeing we are best working in places, living with people, spending time doing things where our values are indeed aligned. Like a little internal GPS system that helps point the way and reroute when the path feels wrong for us. Often as midlife women we are so busy with juggling all the stuff that we might not hear our values whispering - perhaps we are doing a job because the hours "fit around the family" or we are putting other people's preferences first - "anything for a quiet life" - or we might even find ourselves in relationships that are just not right for us, but we feel unable to walk away?  This week's episode is all about values and why they matter and what can happen to us if we are not listeing to them when they call out to us.  Let me know if this episode resonates with you and don't forget to share with anyone else who you think might value from this little reminder?

Having recently been nominated in the Merseyside Women of the Year awards I suddenly found my little inner critic throwing a party - as I read through the bio's of the other women who are also finalists, I could hear that little voice getting louder - "Who are you to be included in that? Look at what she has done! Oh she is amazing! Achieved so much more than you!" and before I knew it, the joy had dissolved into doubt and shame ... who am I indeed? I don't think it is unusual for midlife women to dip into comparing themselves unfavourably and many on the Midlife Reboot programme often talk, with envy, about their social group, colleagues and family who have "done so much better than me" ... so I thought an episode where we have a Really Useful Conversation about the comparison trap would be a good idea!  Other people's brilliance does not dim ours, and there is space for us all to shine - but how do I convince that little inner critic to STFU and allow me to enjoy the joy that such a prestigious nomination had brought?  In this episode we will talk about the comparison trap, why we fall into it, and more importantly how to get ourselves back out again - comparison cannot be allowed to continuously steal our joy ladies!  Oh, and you can vote for me every day until 1st June if you would like to? I'd LOVE your support! Many thanks x

This 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

Back in February I hosted "Actually, she can!" - which was a fantastic day of personal growth and professional development, by women, for women, fundraising for future female talent in Halton Borough and it was an absolutely amazing day!  With over 200 women in the audience and 12 professional speakers, authors and coaches taking to the stage and hosting workshops, sharing insights and expertise that had the audience scribbling notes furiously and nodding as they recognised their own traits, laughing as we talked about the humourous side of habits and cheering as we announced the incredible amount we raised that day for young girls locally.  But I feel there was a missing thread. Whilst encouraging women to set goals with soul, to overcome imposter syndrome, to smash their own ceiling, release their inner rebel through good girl deconditioning, we also needed to let them know to take care of their wellbeing too. Not from a candles and sandals perspective, but deep down radical self-care, the stuff that leads to meaningful change.  Tune into this episode to find out more about those Missing Threads and learn about the Midlife Reboot on offer!

Our final guest speaker interview is with the wonderful Rachel Foord and at the Actually, she can! event on 27th February, Rachel will be hosting a workshop entitled "Thriving Beyond Barriers; what empowers and challenges neurodivergent women" - and it is sure to be a very popular session. Whether you are attending Actually! as a neurodivergent woman yourself, or as a mother, sister, manager or HR leader, Rachel will be sharing so much value and insights from her own lived as well as learned experiences. Listen in to this week's episode and get to hear from Rachel about this important topic and why you might choose to join her workshop from the ones on offer in February, she really does have such a lot to offer for both professional and personal lives.  Tickets are still available from actuallyshecan.co.uk - but hurry, we are closing soon!

Before Christmas I really enjoyed chatting to another one of our guest speakers, Valerie J Ritchie, who is hosting a workshop for us at Actually, she can! in February to help people harness their inner strengths and turn challenges into opportunities.  Valerie is a midlife empowerment coach, an advocate for the crone goddess, and helps women to step into the wise, powerful, authentic self so that they can live life to the full.  In our conversation she talks about us embracing who we are, playing to our natural strengths, and encourages us to be authentic - You do You - and to not take our strengths for granted and just brush them off but to utilise them to their fullest and make the most of them. Valerie's workshop at Actually! next month will be highly interactive, helping us to explore practical strategies to overcome both personal and professional challenges with resilience and confidence and create an actionable plan that we can take away to use in our day to day lives. Maybe you are questionning your own worth, maybe you are not sure where your strengths lie, or perhaps you are ready to step out of your comfort zone - Valerie's session will be perfect for you! If you have not already got your ticket for Actually! it's time to get your act together or you are really going to regret it! We have 13 fabulous professional speakers, authors and coaches coming together to offer a real personal development day for women, by women, and it's going to be a cracker!  More details about all our speakers and tickets are available at so take a moment to enjoy my conversation here with Valerie and then go grab your ticket QUICK!