Creating Midlife Calm: Coping Skills for Stress & Anxiety in Family, Work & Relationships
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.
Episodes
271 episodes
Ep. 272 Why Restlessnes in Midlife Is Triggering Your Anxiety & Stress And The Surprising Coping Skill That Can Help You Feel Content Again
What happens when your life still looks good from the outside… but something inside no longer fully fits who you’re becoming?You’re not alone if midlife anxiety, restlessness, emotional flatness, or quiet disconnection have left you ...
Ep. 271 How To Feel Safe & Secure When Experiencing Uncertainty & Why You DON'T Need To Eliminate It To Reduce Anxiety & Stress in Midlife
Have you ever noticed how uncertainty can quietly consume your emotional energy even when nothing has fully happened yet?You’re not alone—many midlife adults spend enormous energy trying to escape uncertainty without realizing how mu...
Ep. 270 Why Anxiety & Stress Feel Worse When the World Feels Emotionally Intrusive— and How to Push Back To Find Calm In Midlife
Have you ever noticed how emotionally loud and intrusive the world has become—and how hard it can be to stay connected to your own life inside all the noise?You’re not alone—many midlife adults are absorbing far more emotional ...
Ep. 269 The Missing Coping Skill Your Nervous System Needs to Feel Alive Again and Decrease Anxiety & Stress in Midlife
What if feeling emotionally alive again has less to do with doing more self-care—and more to do with what your nervous system actually needs?There is a gentle, practical way to help your nervous system move beyond survival mode...
Ep. 268 Why You Still Feel Emotionally Flat, Anxious & Stressed Despite All the Self-Care
Why are you still feeling emotionally flat even though you’re doing all the “right” self-care things?There’s a meaningful way to reconnect to yourself, your nervous system, and the small moments of joy, calm, and emotional aliveness ...
Ep. 267 Use This 30 Second Daily Meditation to Help You Stay In Moments Of Calm, and Ease Anxiety & Stress in Midlife
What if you could notice calm—and then stay with it?There’s nothing wrong with you—your brain just needs practice holding onto what’s already going well, and you can build that skill inside your daily life.In this episode, you...
Ep. 266 The Surprising Coping Skill of Noticing Calm in Your Life to Reduce Anxiety and Stress in Midlife
What if your mind is already having moments of calm—and you’re missing them?There’s nothing wrong with you—your brain is trained to notice what’s wrong, and you can gently retrain it by noticing moments of calm.In this episode...
Ep. 265 What to Do When Anxiety & Stress Keep Your Nervous System Stuck on High Alert and Leave Your Body Desperate for Rest in Midlife
What happens when anxiety and stress train your nervous system to stay constantly on even when your body is desperate for calm?There is a calmer and more emotionally sustainable way to relate to your nervous system, In th...
Ep. 264 Why Your Stress & Anxiety Has NOTHING To Do With Overthinking, & The Real Causes You've Overlooked In Midlife
What if your mind isn’t exhausted from overthinking but from carrying responsibility for too much that was never fully yours to hold?There is a calmer and more emotionally sustainable way to relate to stress, anxiety and uncertainty....
Ep. 263 The Coping Skill That Actually Reduces Stress & Anxiety When Talking About It Makes You Feel Worse In Midlife
What if talking about your anxiety is actually making your stress worse in midlife?You’re not alone if you’ve tried to talk through anxiety and stress and still feel unsettled or stuck afterward.In this episode, you’ll discove...
Ep. 262 Why Talking About Stress and Anxiety in Midlife May Be Making Your Mental Health WORSE
Have you ever talked through your anxiety and still felt unsettled afterward?You’re not alone—many people turn to talking as a way to feel better, but it doesn’t always bring the calm you’re hoping for.In this episode, you’ll ...
Ep. 261 When Someone You Love Has Cancer: What Truly Helps (From Experience)
What actually helps someone you love in midlife when they’re facing a life changing crisis and you don’t know what to do?There is a steady, thoughtful way to show up that supports them without adding pressure or overwhelm.In t...
Ep. 260 Navigating a Midlife Cancer Diagnosis: From Shock to Clarity
What if cancer isn’t just something to survive—but something that can reshape how your life? There is a way to move through uncertainty with more clarity, self-trust, and even moments of real joy.In this episode, you’ll discov...
Ep. 259 Why Letting Go Of Control Feels So Wrong but Actually Reduces Anxiety and Stress in Midlife
Why does letting go feel so uncomfortable?There is a meaningful way to understand this discomfort that can help you feel more calm, present, and at ease.In this episode, you’ll discover:Why letting go can initi...
Ep. 258 Why Your To Do List & Overplanning Are A Faulty Coping Skill That’s Increasing Your Anxiety and Stress in Midlife
Are your plans helping you feel calm or quietly increasing your anxiety and stress?Understanding your overplanning can help you feel more grounded, present, and at ease.In this episode, you’ll discover:Wh...
Ep. 257 How to Stay Grounded as Springtime Busyness Increases Anxiety and Stress in Midlife
Is springtime busyness increasing your anxiety and stress in midlife more than you expected?There is a way to move through this season feeling more grounded, clear, and present without doing more.In this episode, you’ll discov...
Ep. 256 How To Use The Natural Calm Of Spring As A Coping Skill For Stress & Anxiety In Midlife
Are you moving through spring without actually letting it reduce your anxiety and stress in midlife?There is a simple, natural way to use this season to feel calmer, more present, and more grounded without adding anything new to your...
Ep. 255 How To Stop Seeking Reassurance In Midlife & Build Coping Skills That Actually Work for Stress & Anxiety
How do you stop seeking reassurance and begin trusting yourself when anxiety and stress feel overwhelming in midlife? There is a steady and empowering way to build inner reassurance. In this episode, you’ll discover:
Ep. 254 How Reassurance ACTUALLY Increases Anxiety and Stress in Midlife Even When It Feels Like a Coping Skill
How can something that feels like a coping skill actually increase your anxiety and stress in midlife?There is a calmer and more effective way to respond. In this episode, you’ll discover:1. ...
Ep. 253 How to Tell the Difference Between Anxiety and Your Inner Voice to Reduce Stress in Midlife
Have you ever noticed the anxious, urgent voice in your mind full of “what ifs”?There is a calm inner voice beneath that anxiety, and learning to recognize it can reduce stress.In this episode, you’ll discover:
Ep. 252 Spring Cleaning Your Mind To Reduce Anxiety & Stress In Midlife With These Coping Skills
It’s spring—what if you cleaned more than your closets and started spring cleaning your mind?There is a simple, compassionate way to understand tension and begin clearing mental clutter.In this episode, you’ll discover:<...
Ep. 251 When Family Relationships Hurt in Midlife and the Surprising Coping Skills That Reduce Stress and Increase Love
Why do family relationships hurt so much in midlife—and why does trying harder often increase stress instead of easing it?If you’ve felt disappointment in family relationships, there is a calmer way to respond that can reduce s...
Ep. 250 Understanding Why Unmet Family Expectations Create Anxiety & Stress in Midlife and Coping Skills That Help
Why do unmet family expectations create so much anxiety and stress in midlife?If you’ve ever wished someone you love would be different, you’re not aloneIn this episode, you’ll discover:1. Why unmet family...
Ep. 249 How to Calm Anxiety and Stress in Midlife When Your Overthinking
Why does anxiety in midlife make your mind spin even when thinking harder only increases the stress?There is a practical and hopeful way to calm anxiety and stress that doesn’t require figuring everything out first.In this epi...
Ep. 248 Why Trying To Get Clarity When You're Anxious Makes You Feel WORSE & Increases Stress During Midlife
Why does anxiety make you search for answers when the real problem may be the intensity moving through your nervous system?There is a powerful shift that can help anxiety and stress settle without trying to think your way out of t...