If you are self-aware, emotionally intelligent and still finding yourself people-pleasing or walking on eggshells in your relationship, this episode will help you understand why, without blaming yourself.

Trauma-informed coach and somatic therapist Steffi Seefeld joins me to unpack why so many high-achieving women feel confident and successful on the outside, yet anxious, unseen, or unsure in their relationships.

If you’re a midlife woman who identifies as empathetic, driven, and emotionally aware — but still finds yourself people-pleasing, self-abandoning, or choosing emotionally unavailable partners — this conversation will help you understand why and what actually helps create change.

Steffi explains how early childhood conditioning, emotionally unavailable caregivers, and family dynamics wire the nervous system for survival, not self-trust. We talk about why insight alone isn’t enough to break relationship patterns, how people-pleasing shows up in love and at work, and why learning to feel safe in your body is the key to choosing healthier relationships in midlife.

This episode is especially relevant for women navigating midlife transitions who are questioning their relationships, struggling with guilt or over-functioning, or sensing in their body that something needs to change — even if they don’t yet know what.

In this episode, we discuss:

•Why self-aware women still end up in unhealthy relationships

•How people-pleasing and self-abandonment are learned survival strategies

•The link between childhood emotional conditioning and adult relationship patterns

•Why insight and therapy aren’t always enough to create lasting change

•How the nervous system keeps us stuck in familiar but unsafe dynamics

•Signs you may be dimming your light or editing yourself to keep the peace

•How people-pleasing shows up for high-achieving women and female leaders

•What it actually means to rebuild self-trust in midlife

•How slowing down and nervous system regulation support healthier choices in love and life

•Why healing in community can accelerate change

Steffi also shares details about her group program, Rising Woman, which supports women in midlife who are ready to move out of survival mode and into relationships — and lives — that feel safer, steadier, and more aligned.

Connect with Steffi:

Book a Discovery Call

3-Min Nervous System Reset

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Understanding Emotional Safety in Relationships

02:58 Childhood Experiences and Their Impact

08:10 Understanding Narcissism & Wounded Empaths

10:37 Sibling Dynamics

13:01 Learning Self-Awareness

20:37 The Importance of Nervous System Regulation

26:30 Key Takeaways

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

Most midlife women don’t burn out because they’re doing something wrong. They burn out because they don’t know how to stop pushing.

Why does rest feel so uncomfortable for so many capable, high-functioning midlife women?

In this short solo episode, health coach and podcast host Jessica Long gets honest about burnout, nervous system conditioning, and why stepping back can feel scarier than staying exhausted. After pushing through the holidays without a real break, Jessica reflects on what midlife is asking of us now: not more effort, but more awareness.

This episode is an invitation to notice where you’re still pushing out of habit, obligation, or fear—and to consider what might become possible if you eased off, even a little.

If you’re navigating midlife while juggling work, family, hormones, and expectations (both internal and external), this conversation offers permission to pause—and a reminder that burnout isn’t a failure. It’s information.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why taking a break feels harder than staying busy in midlife

• How nervous system conditioning keeps high-achieving women stuck in overdrive

• The difference between honoring yourself and chasing arbitrary goals

• What it means to choose possibility instead of exhaustion

• A gentle invitation to take your foot off the accelerator—without guilt

➕Follow the show to catch upcoming episodes on midlife relationships, perimenopause, parenting through puberty, and peptides for sleep, energy, and brain fog!

▶️ Aphukenbrake video

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

This episode explores how midlife women can use the Enneagram to plan a more aligned year at work and at home, instead of bracing for the Sunday Scaries every week.

Leadership coach and Enneagram facilitator Ali Dunn returns to the podcast to help midlife women plan a year that actually fits—without forcing goals, burning everything down, or fantasizing about moving to Fiji (tempting though it may be).

The Enneagram isn’t about personality labels or behavior. It’s about motivation—and when you understand what truly drives you, you can make better choices in your career, relationships, parenting, and daily life.

Take Ali's quiz to learn your Enneagram type and what motivates you!

In this conversation, we talk about how deep self-awareness can help you advocate for yourself at work and at home, recognize when something is out of alignment, and set goals that support your energy instead of draining it.

In this episode, we cover:

•Why the Sunday Scaries are often a sign of misalignment—not weakness

•How knowing your Enneagram type and what motivates you helps you plan a more aligned year

•The difference between goals that stretch you and goals driven by “shoulds”

•What to do when your job or work environment feels off

•How to advocate for yourself at work without quitting or blowing everything up

•Why your strengths can quietly become blind spots—and how to work with that

Whether you know your Enneagram type or not, this episode will help you get more intentional, self-aware, and aligned as you plan the year ahead.

How to Get Really Clear About What Matters to You

It’s not about resolution-setting or vision boarding (no shade). It’s about asking yourself specific questions and getting really honest about the answers.

Get my full list of New Year reflection questions here!

Connect with Ali Dunn

Alidunn.com | @enneagrambyali

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Understanding the Enneagram

05:48 How to Use Your Enneagram Type to Plan Your Year

10:29 How to Know If Your Goal is Right for You

15:02 When Your Job is Not Aligned with Your Enneagram Type

19:56 Use the Enneagram to Improve Your Relationships

26:14 Use Your Enneagram Type to Identify a Theme for the Year

29:02 Key Takeaways

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

Eating less and exercising more does not help with weight gain in perimenopause. It can actually backfire. Here’s what works instead.

In this episode, I talk with registered dietitian and holistic nutritionist Betsy Markle about why traditional dieting stops working in perimenopause and what actually supports metabolism during midlife. We unpack why the old “calories in calories out” advice fails so many women, how fluctuating hormones impact blood sugar, cravings, sleep, and weight gain, and why restriction often makes everything worse.

We also talk about what a metabolism-first approach looks like in this phase of life, including balanced meals, stabilizing blood sugar, reducing stress hormones, and making mindset shifts that feel supportive instead of punishing.

If you’ve noticed new belly fat, stubborn weight gain, low energy, joint pain or intense cravings despite healthy habits, this episode will help you understand what’s going on and how to work with your body instead of against it.

In this episode, we cover:

•Why dieting backfires in perimenopause

•What metabolism actually means in midlife

•How hormones affect blood sugar, cravings, and fat storage

•Why restriction increases stress hormones

•How balanced meals support energy and mood

•When women typically start feeling better

Connect with Betsy: SunshineWellnessInstitute.com | @betsywellness

⭐️ If this episode helped you, please follow the show, leave a 5-star rating, and write a quick review on Apple Podcasts. It helps me bring on more badass guests like Betsy with so much wisdom to share!

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

Did you accomplish a lot this year but still feel oddly unfulfilled? This episode will help you understand why and what to do next.

In this solo episode, I share some of my favorite end-of-year and New Year reflection prompts for midlife women who are done moving through life on auto-pilot and ready to get honest about what it takes to live life “awake.”

✨ Get the full list of end-of-year and new-year reflection questions sent straight to your inbox.

This episode is not about goal-setting, resolutions, or fixing yourself. It’s about reflecting on what drained you, what lit you up, and what you’re ready to put down.

You’ll hear how these reflection prompts can help you:

✔️Identify what’s out of alignment in your life

✔️Make decisions that feel like YOU

✔️Release obligations that no longer fit

✔️Live in greater alignment with the woman you’re becoming

If you’re a midlife woman craving clarity, alignment, and a more intentional way of living, this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 Reflecting on the Year: Intentional Living

01:37 End of Year & New Year Reflection Journal Prompts

05:46 Exploring Who I Want to Be & Relationships

08:16 Wellbeing & Habits to Support My Future Self

11:35 Living Intentionally in the New Year

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

A short and sweet check-in on slowing down, protecting your bandwidth, and savoring the holiday week instead of letting it blur.

In this episode, I’m sharing a few small, meaningful ways I’m protecting my energy and sanity during the holiday week — in case it inspires you to do the same.

This is about slowing down enough to actually feel this season and not miss the joy because you’re on auto-pilot.

If the holidays feel a little overwhelming, this is your chance to choose your own version of ease.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Small, sensory rituals that make the holidays feel more meaningful

• What I noticed when gift-giving crossed into overstimulation

• How protecting your bandwidth can help you feel calmer and more present

• Asking yourself how you want to feel this holiday week — and honoring that

Coming Up

Next week, I’m sharing some of my favorite end-of-year reflection prompts to help you celebrate how far you’ve come and set intentions for an aligned year ahead. Make sure you are following the show so you don't miss this episode!

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Introduction

01:37 My Small Traditions for Savoring the Season

05:07 Simplifying Gift Giving

07:06 Mini Digital Detoxes for More Presence

09:38 Questions to Ask Yourself

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

If midlife has you thinking, “Why don’t I feel like myself anymore?”—this episode is for you.

After 50 episodes of interviewing doctors, coaches, healers, and badass midlife women (plus sharing plenty of my own solo reflections), I’ve noticed the same themes rise to the surface again and again. Today, I’m pulling together the most important lessons from the first 50 episodes to help you feel less alone, more informed, and way more empowered in this chapter of life.

We cover:

✔️Why perimenopause feels so confusing and isolating

✔️The many ways women are managing symptoms (hormone therapy, Ayurvedic practices, pelvic floor PT, Reiki, microdosing, nutrition shifts, fitness, and more)

✔️The unbelievable strength and resilience midlife women show through illness, divorce, career upheaval, and identity shifts

✔️How reinvention becomes possible—sometimes even necessary—after 40

✔️Why “feeling like yourself again” is absolutely possible

I also share what’s coming to the podcast in 2026, including metabolism myths, planning an aligned year using your Enneagram type, midlife marriage support, puberty talks with your kids, and inspiring reinvention stories you won’t want to miss.

If you haven’t yet, hit Follow so you never miss an episode!

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction and Overview of Themes

01:35 Theme: Perimenopause is a B*tch

03:29 Theme: So Many Options to Feeling Like Yourself Again

07:50 Theme: Midlife Women are F*cking Strong & Resilient

10:52 Theme: Midlife Career Evolution & Reinvention

15:04 What's Coming in 2026

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com

The holidays are here — which means parties, pressure, family expectations, and enough sugar to take down a small village. If you’re a midlife woman who’s finally feeling good again thanks to protein, strength training, better sleep, and smarter nutrition… the holidays can feel like a threat to your hard-won progress.

Good news: you can stay true to your healthy habits and have fun.

In this episode, Jessica talks with Jacquelyn Reale, the vibrant natural chef behind Marin Mama Cooks, who shares the holiday eating tips every midlife woman needs to feel grounded, energized, and guilt-free all season long.

You’ll hear:

✔️Simple mindset shifts to release guilt and holiday pressure

✔️How to set loving boundaries with food, alcohol, and family dynamics

✔️The blood-sugar-friendly trick to avoid overeating at parties

✔️Ways to enjoy the foods you love without spiraling

✔️Easy, make-ahead side dishes that bring color and nourishment to any holiday table

Perfect for women navigating perimenopause, stress, chaotic schedules, and the emotional labor of the holidays.

Find Jackie:

marinmamacooks.com

@marinmamacooks

Marin Mama Cooks recipes mentioned:

Kale & Brussels with Toasted Almonds

Vegan Kale Salad

Green Beans & Shallots

Broccolini & Shallots

Roasted Honeynut Squash & Red Onion

CHAPTERS:

01:42 How to Stick to Your Healthy Values & Have Fun During the Holidays

04:03 How to Refuse the Food You Don't Want

04:55 Release Judgment of Others and Yourself

07:27 Food Guilt & Mindset Shifts

09:09 Jackie's Healthy Holiday Party Strategy

11:58 How Jackie Started Marin Mama Cooks

14:54 Jackie's Favorite Healthy Holiday Side Dishes

17:41 Time-saving Tips in the Kitchen

22:28 Top Tip for Health: Read Ingredient Labels

24:26 Key Takeaways

I want to hear from you. Send me a text!

✨Get my favorite New Year Journal Prompts and plan for an aligned AF 2026!

For more midlife musings: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @belongwellness
Check out my website: belongwellness.com