One of the most powerful ideas I learned early on from A Course in Miracles is that fear and anxiety distort perception. It doesn’t just make us anxious. It changes how we interpret everything happening in our lives.
I see this constantly with women in midlife.
Perimenopause or menopause begins, and suddenly the body feels like a stranger. All of a sudden you can’t sleep, you have no energy, you’re gaining weight around your middle for no reason and you feel like your mood swings are worse than when you were a teenager. And almost immediately, fear and anxiety step in and starts narrating the experience.
Something is wrong with me.
I’m losing control.
I should be handling this better.
But here’s what I want you to hear clearly. Your body changing is not the crisis. The fear and anxiety layered on top of it is what makes everything feel overwhelming.
When fear and anxiety are running the show, every symptom feels like proof that you’re failing or falling behind. When you tell those fear and anxiety gremlins to quiet down, the same symptoms become information. And information is something we can work with.
In my coaching, the first thing I help women do is separate what’s actually happening in their bodies from the story that fear and anxiety is telling about it. When we do that, everything becomes more manageable.
Instead of “I’m broken,” it becomes “My hormones are shifting and my body needs different support.”
Instead of “I can’t keep up,” it becomes “I need a new strategy, not more effort.”
That shift alone often makes all the difference.
Here’s something practical you can do this week. When a symptom shows up, pause and ask yourself two questions.
1. What is actually happening in my body right now
2. What story am I telling myself about it
Write them down separately. Most women are shocked by how different the first answer is than the second.
This phase is not here to take you down. It’s here to ask you to listen more closely and respond with more grace, understanding and real information.
And that is something you are fully capable of doing.
If this resonates, I have an exclusive invite for you.
Her Turn is a private community for women navigating midlife, perimenopause, menopause, and everything that comes with this chapter. It’s a space for clarity, support, honest conversation, and grounded guidance without overwhelm or judgment.
This is where we talk about what’s actually happening in your body, your energy, your emotions, and your identity, and how to move forward with strength and confidence.
If you’re craving real conversations, smart support, and a place where you don’t have to explain yourself, you belong here.
Join the Her Turn Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/herturnonlinecommunity