Ep. 235 The Fastest Way Out of Overwhelm: Midlife Anxiety, Stress, and Coping Skills Made Simple
Thu Feb 05 2026
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, personalized flood plan that helps you move from overwhelm to calm in real time
🎧 Take 11 minutes to learn coping skills that turn midlife anxiety and stress into calm—you’re worth it.
Send us a text
Have you tried journaling, deep breathing, podcasts, therapy—even medication—and still feel anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed in midlife?
I’m creating a new program to help you experience real midlife calm, and instead of guessing what you need, I want to hear directly from you.
👉 Take this short, anonymous 2-minute survey:
https://forms.gle/zU92vegG8ruAXEGZ7
Thank you!
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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.
Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.
More
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, personalized flood plan that helps you move from overwhelm to calm in real time 🎧 Take 11 minutes to learn coping skills that turn midlife anxiety and stress into calm—you’re worth it. Send us a text Have you tried journaling, deep breathing, podcasts, therapy—even medication—and still feel anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed in midlife? I’m creating a new program to help you experience real midlife calm, and instead of guessing what you need, I want to hear directly from you. 👉 Take this short, anonymous 2-minute survey: https://forms.gle/zU92vegG8ruAXEGZ7 Thank you! **** About the Host: MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN. Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.