Between You and Me

This episode celebrates and summarises the first Season, as Maria and Alana discuss their favourite topics and reveal their own personal processes and pointers for not just surviving, but thriving in midlife.   Season 2 will be back in the autumn.

The struggle is real! Often filed under 'Women's Issues' the struggle to juggle the needs of family and work can be overwhelming. If we're not careful. the dream of 'having it all' can quickly turn into the nightmare of just 'doing it all'. In this episode we explore why the juggle to manage can often turn into a contortion act, and give advice on how to drop some of those juggling balls without your world falling apart. Yes, like everything else, the answer is your responsibility.

Success. What does it mean to you?  For many of us, if we don't actually define what it means for us, we can end up striving for someone else's idea of success, and let's face it, who likes sloppy seconds?  Success is how you live every day, not some distant goal to strive for. In this episode, we explore why it's vital to think about your ideal of success, and  how to go about defining - and then living - it. Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here.  Follow the show on Facebook here

We have 70,000 thoughts a day... and if you're anything like us, the majority of those are batshit crazy. We think we're in control of everything in our life except our thoughts... but the truth is, the only thing in our lives we have control over is our thoughts.  Often though, we just sit in the passenger seat instead of taking the controls.  In this episode, we shatter the thought that thoughts are real, and explore how we can stop being driven by damaging ones, and start driving our thoughts to create a mind that minds us. Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here.  Follow the show on Facebook here

We tried not to unleash our inner Cyndi Lauper on you and blast out Girls Just Want to Have fun at full volume on this podcast but this week, we are all about the fun… Remember a carefree, fun and more courageous you? All too often we get caught up with the kids, house, job, chores, parents, dog and life - and we forget to have fun. We get all responsible and sensible AND stuck in a rut and we often lose that sense of fun we had when we were younger! This week we talk about why that happens and more importantly, how can you inject more fun (and joy) into your life every day…

By the time we get to the prime of life at mid-age, we've more than likely been battling body image for decades.  It's hard to feel comfortable in our own skin, when some faraway fashionista is dictating what size our skin should be.  We forget that our bodies are an ever evolving, changing creation. In this episode we talk big buts, wine bellies and fashion freedom and why embracing our bodies is the best accessory we can wear. Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here.  Follow the show on Facebook here

We were torn between not adding to the onslaught of Covid-conversations that are pelting us from the airwaves and social media, but not ignoring the socially-distanced elephant in the room.  We opted for a well washed hand-wringing in the middle.  In this episode we discuss the ways in which we can stay sane as well as safe during these strangest of times.  Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here.

While this podcast was recorded just prior to the current (very uncomfortable, for most) Covid challenges, it couldn't be more relevant.  Most of us are all now feeling discomfort on many levels, and there just may not be enough wine left in the house to deal with them. Thankfully, we have a better (and healthier) option than sucking the dregs of the cooking Sherry bottle.  We think that uncomfortable feelings are something we should avoid, ignore or gloss over, when in fact if we learn to acknowledge them, accept them and even try to understand them, we are far more likely to deal with them effectively.  Discomfort is an emotion, and often we feel that we are our emotions. In this episode, we tell you why this isn't true at all, and we give you practical advice and tips on how to become comfortable with discomfort, so that you can spend more time getting comfortable with the things we really want to enjoy in life.  Cooking Sherry optional. Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here.

As if any of us need reminding right now that for all the best laid plans in the world, life can throw you a curve ball.  In this podcast, we explore how to handle situations that didn't go according to plan, and explain useful techniques to help you catch those curveballs, rather than stand frozen in fear as it hurtles towards you, knocking you to the ground.

We think every day should be a day to celebrate women, but this Sunday, the whole world joins in to recognise what still needs to be done to achieve gender equality, but also to recognise women's wonderfulness. This episode is a personal perusal of some of the women who have inspired us, role-modelled for us and reminded us that bravery and courage is part of our female DNA. Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here

It feels great and it keeps you healthy. Actually gratitude work is one of the most effective ways to increase happiness and study after study has found solid links between higher levels of gratitude and wellbeing, including protection from stress and depression, more fulfilling relationships, better sleep and greater resilience.  That is a lot of good stuff! It's impossible to be grateful and angry at the same time, it is impossible to be grateful and fearful at the same time and neuroscientists have found that the practice of gratitude can, in fact, rewire our brains.  In this episode we share our love of gratitude and how it has helped us, what you get out of giving thanks and why it’s a crucial part of staying mentally healthy. It’s definitely a habit you’ll want to add to your life! Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here

Today's episode is about inoculating ourselves from the terrible affliction that has beset many of us.... and no, you won't need a vaccine or a face mask. The infection we're discussing is the painful, damaging disease of People Pleasing.  As the grown up child of the Good Girl Syndrome, the belief that we have to please all of the people all of the time can leave most of us feeling drained, overwhelmed and frankly, more than just a bit pissed off.   In this episode, we look at how is has become so deeply embedded in our DNA, why it's really not doing us any favours, and how we can learn to set boundaries that allow for some self-pleasing, in a way that won't leave you abandoned by your family and friends (because this is often the fear behind the People Pleasing Plague).  Between You & Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Check out all the episodes and more here

We talk incessantly about the lack of it, yearn for it, sabotage it, would pay a fortune for it, underestimate it, and even (weirdly) dream of it; a good night's sleep.  Sleep has become a currency we just can't seem to get rich in as we juggle busy lives, screens and responsibilities. How did something that is (was?) such a normal, natural part of the human life cycle, seem to have become so totally fecked up? Exploring the difference between Hygienic and Dirty sleep, we'll be chatting about the importance, disruptors, and science of sleep, and how it affects the very consciousness of how we live our lives, especially as women.  As we navigate the maze of mid-age, the pressure to sleep well can become yet another stick to beat ourselves with. Well, it's time to stop beating ourselves into exhausted zombies, and start beating the odds, to make sleep our new best bed buddy. Between  You and Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can check out all the episodes and more here

This introductory podcast explores the concept of Middlescence, and how we can shake off that midlife malaise that often creeps up on us. It's not really a crisis, but a deep sigh of "Really? All this effort and this is it?" We follow some well-followed signposts assuming we'll arrive at Destination Happy, only to discover that the room is too small, it overlooks the bin area and the Welcome Cocktail has run out.  But often it's because we are living on autopilot, running on empty, driven by lists and expectations that bear no resemblance to what actually makes us shine, and we're totally exhausted. In this episode, Maria and Alana chat about the importance of pressing pause. Because what's really exciting about this time of life is that even though it is often the busiest and most overwhelming time of our lives, we also now have a gift that no other generation of women before us have had.  This episode reveals that gift, explores how to use it, how to make self-care about self-awareness, and how to kick some serious ass at this time of life.  Let's run our own lives, not let our lives run us, and stop living that "If only...." life, to live a life that is about us. Between  You and Me is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. You can check out all the episodes and more here

Between You & Me: the podcast for fabulous (but maybe slightly frazzled!) women who want to take charge of their lives. Because let's face it - we'd all love to press pause and get our lives together! Co-hosted by journalist and NLP coach Maria McHale, and writer and The MidLife Coach Alana Kirk.