Claim OwnershipCreating Midlife Calm: Coping Skills for Stress & Anxiety in Family, Work & Relationships
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© 2026 Creating Midlife Calm: Coping Skills for Stress & Anxiety in Family, Work & Relationships
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Coping Skills for Midlife Stress and Anxiety in Family, Work & Relationships
Forget the midlife crisis—how about creating midlife calm? The anxiety and stress of this life stage can drain your energy, fuel overthinking, and make it hard to enjoy what should be the best years of your life. This podcast offers practical coping skills to help you reduce anxiety, manage stress, and rediscover a calmer, more confident version of yourself.
In Creating Midlife Calm, you’ll discover how to:
- Be happier, more present, and more effective at home and work.
- Transform stress and anxiety into powerful tools that boost your clarity, energy, and confidence.
- Cultivate calm and joy through practical, affordable coping skills that help you handle life’s daily challenges.
Join MJ Murray Vachon, LCSW, a seasoned therapist with over 50,000 hours of clinical experience and 32 years teaching mental wellness, as she guides you to reclaim your inner calm. Learn to stay grounded in the present, navigate midlife transitions with clarity, and build emotional resilience using proven coping tools.
Every Monday, MJ dives into real stories and science-backed insights to help you shift from anxious to centered—ending each episode with an “Inner Challenge” you can practice right away. Then, on Thursdays, she shares a brief follow-up episode that connects, deepens, or expands the week’s topic, helping you apply these skills in real life.
Let’s evolve from crisis to calm—and make midlife your most balanced and fulfilling chapter yet.
🎧 Start with listener favorite Ep. 138 to feel the difference calm can make.
236 Episodes
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Are you a couch potato? A Sofa Spud? Does your critical voice constantly call you lazy? Do you plan on working out but don’t follow through? Someone looking to stop the weight gain as you juggle all the demands of midlife which leave little time for the gym? This is the episode for you!!!! We all know the stats: working out is essential for the wellness of our body, spirit and mind. But, what to do if you’re a GOOD person but can’t get yourself to exercise? Maybe you’re are...
Why does love sometimes feel harder in midlife—even when you care deeply and want connection? If relationships feel more complicated than you expected, you’re not failing—you’re encountering the real work of love. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why anxiety and stress often rise when relationships move into disharmony—and why that’s normal in midlifeHow learning to stay present through discomfort becomes a powerful coping skill for connectionWhy love grows through repair, not perfection, a...
Why does Valentine’s Day bring up anxiety and stress in midlife—even when love is present? If this week feels complicated, you’re not broken—your nervous system is responding to real relational patterns. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. How attachment styles shape anxiety, stress, and emotional safety in relationships 2. Why love is one of the most powerful coping skills for calming anxiety and stress 3. How understanding your atta...
What do you do when overwhelm hits and your mind spirals into worst-case thinking? If stress and anxiety in midlife leave you feeling flooded and out of control, you’re not broken—you’re human. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. How to calm anxiety and stress in midlife by regulating your body before working with your thoughts 2. Why noticing and naming overwhelm is the foundation of effective coping skills 3. How to create a simple,...
Why does midlife anxiety and stress spike the moment you feel out of control? If overwhelm has been pulling you into fear, spiraling thoughts, or exhaustion, you’re not alone—and nothing is wrong with you. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why overwhelm in midlife is a nervous-system response—not a personal failure 2. What anxiety and stress are doing to your brain and body when you feel out of control 3. How understanding overwhelm ...
Why do anxiety and stress linger in midlife—even when you’re surrounded by people? You’re not broken—your nervous system may be responding to a quieter form of loneliness that often goes unrecognized. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why anxiety and stress in midlife can stem from disconnection from yourself—not just from other people 2. How coping skills rooted in self-alignment (not performance or pressure) naturally lower anxiety 3. &...
Why does loneliness in midlife so often show up as anxiety and stress instead of sadness? Nothing is wrong with you—your nervous system is responding exactly as humans are wired to respond. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why loneliness acts as an amplifier for anxiety and stress in midlife 2. How modern connection and emotional unsafety can quietly increase loneliness 3. How coping skills that reduce pressure—not performance—rest...
Why does exercise feel harder in midlife—even when you know it matters? You’re not failing or falling behind; your body and stress load have genuinely changed. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why midlife anxiety, stress, and self-comparison quietly derail exercise 2. How fatigue and shame create predictable obstacles that aren’t personal failures 3. Doable coping skills to help you keep moving without pressure or burnout Take 15 minutes to red...
Why does exercise start to feel harder, more exhausting, or more discouraging in midlife? You’re not imagining it, and you’re not alone—your body and nervous system are responding to real changes. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why your exercise mindset can increase anxiety and make movement feel harder in midlife 2. How new science helps explain what’s changing in your body—and why intensity and pressure often backfire 3. How simple coping s...
Do you keep setting weight-loss goals in midlife only to feel derailed by self-criticism, slipups, or emotional eating? You’re not alone—these struggles are common in midlife and say nothing about your motivation or worth. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. How common internal saboteurs quietly undermine midlife weight loss 2. Why shifting from pressure and perfection to a more compassionate, abundant mindset helps you stay consistent and resilient 3.&...
Are you trying to lose weight in midlife without increasing anxiety, stress, or shame along the way? You’re not alone—many capable, motivated midlife adults feel discouraged by approaches that rely on pressure, urgency, and self-criticism. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. How shifting away from pressure, urgency, and self-judgment toward a calmer, more supportive approach creates sustainable midlife weight loss 2. Why anxiety and stress interfere with weig...
What if your resolutions could feel doable instead of draining? You deserve goals that support you, not stress you out. In this episode, you’ll discover: How creating resolutions that align with your demanding life reduces midlife anxiety and creates meaningful motivationWhy allowing discomfort — instead of resisting it — builds stronger coping skills for lasting changeHow to set resolutions that honor your worth, your values, and the real life you’re living🎧 Take 8 minutes to build calm, su...
Why do midlife resolutions feel so stressful—and why don’t they seem to stick, no matter how hard you try? You’re not alone if January brings pressure instead of calm, let’s change this! In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why “trying harder” increases midlife anxiety and stress instead of easing them 2. The easy and natural mindset shift that supports real change in midlife. 3. Three coping skills that make New Year...
Does the pressure to “get it right” in 2026 already have your anxiety rising? If you’re in midlife, January often brings more stress than calm—and it’s time for a different way forward. 1. Learn why typical resolutions often fail and fuel anxiety, especially in midlife 2. Understand the difference between the “good life” and the “abundant life”—and why it matters now 3. Discover how to root your goals, resolutions and coping skills in compassion and calm...
Are you craving a gentler and fun way to close out 2025? Why not reflect on 2025 with calm, abundance and connection? In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. A simple and festive five-minute practice to calm midlife anxiety and stress as you bring 2025 to a close. 2. A simple and fun way to identify your Moments of Abundance from 2025 3. A gentle end-of-year practice that helps you reconnect with joy, courage, rest, and the people who steadied y...
What if Christmas didn’t have to feel like something happening to you create and enjoy? You’re not alone if this holiday brings complicated feelings, stress, or midlife anxiety. In this episode, you’ll discover: How a single word can bring you back into agency and calm on a day that often feels overwhelmingWhy a mental “movie” helps anchor your body and nervous system to reduce stress and make you feel calm this Christmas. Take 2 minutes to feel more grounded and connected—you’re w...
Have the holidays ever made your loneliness feel heavier? You’re not alone—midlife anxiety and stress often peak the week before Christmas. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. Why loneliness intensifies during the holidays, especially in midlife 2. How understanding the biology of loneliness softens your judgement helping you reduce loneliness. 3. A gentle coping skill that helps you feel more connected. 🎧 Take 6 minu...
Does the holiday season ever feel like a part-time job you’re paying to work? If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. How to recognize when holiday expectations push your midlife brain into overwhelm 2. The three quick and free reset strategies that calm anxiety and stress quickly 3. A simple way to reclaim your capacity without doing more 🎧 Take 7 minutes to move from frazzled to grou...
Do the holidays feel heavier because you’re carrying stress, anxiety, and overwhelm you barely had room for in the first place? You’re not alone if this season amplifies everything your midlife brain is already managing. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1. The real difference between stress, anxiety, and overwhelm—and why holiday pressure intensifies all three 2. What happens in your midlife brain and body when you’ve quietly exceeded capacity 3. How un...
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck saying yes when every part of you wants to say no? People-pleasing may look helpful on the outside, but it fuels midlife anxiety and stress while leaving you disconnected from what you really want. In this episode, you’ll discover: How to notice the wave of feelings that trigger people-pleasing.Why anchoring in your breath helps break the fawning cycle.How the FAWN steps—Feel, Anchor, Watch, Name—move you from automatic yes to standing strong. Take 11 m...
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