Creating Midlife Calm: Coping Skills for Stress & Anxiety in Family, Work & Relationships

MJ Murray Vachon LCSW
  • 5.0 (22)
  • MENTAL HEALTH

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.      

  1. 2D AGO

    Ep. 238 Why Meditation Feels So Hard For Anxious Midlife Minds and the Coping Skill That Makes It Possible (Part 1)

    Why does meditation feel so frustrating when you’re already anxious and overwhelmed in midlife? If you’ve tried meditation and quit—more than once—you’re not broken, and you’re not alone. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1.    Why anxious midlife minds resist traditional meditation—and how understanding this reduces self-blame 2.    How a simple, compassionate coping skill can calm anxiety without forcing your mind to be quiet 3.    Why learning to “sit” with your mind differently can gradually retrain your nervous system and restore calm  Take 16 minutes to relate to your mind with more compassion and ease—you’re worth it. Phyllis Coletta, JD Learn to train your wild puppy mind... The Book: How to Be a Good Dog Apple Podcast: Sit, Stay, Heal Send a text **** 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.

    16 min

  2. 6D AGO

    Ep. 237 The Surprising Coping Skill That Builds Connection When Love Feels Hard in Midlife

    Why does love sometimes feel harder in midlife—even when you care deeply and want connection? If relationships feel more complicated than you expected, you’re not failing—you’re encountering the real work of love. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why anxiety and stress often rise when relationships move into disharmony—and why that’s normal in midlifeHow learning to stay present through discomfort becomes a powerful coping skill for connectionWhy love grows through repair, not perfection, and how that understanding can calm stress and deepen intimacy🎧 Take 12 minutes to learn the coping skill that helps you move through disharmony and build real connection—right where you are—you’re worth it.   Send a text **** 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.

    13 min

  3. FEB 9

    Ep. 236 Why Valentine’s Day Triggers Anxiety and Stress in Midlife—and What Attachment Reveals About Love

    Why does Valentine’s Day bring up anxiety and stress in midlife—even when love is present? If this week feels complicated, you’re not broken—your nervous system is responding to real relational patterns. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1.     How attachment styles shape anxiety, stress, and emotional safety in relationships 2.     Why love is one of the most powerful coping skills for calming anxiety and stress 3.     How understanding your attachment patterns helps you give and receive love with more ease and agency 🎧 Take 13 minutes to understand your attachment patterns and build coping skills that support calm, connection, and self-trust—you’re worth it. Send a text **** 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.

    14 min

  4. FEB 5

    Ep. 235 The Fastest Way Out of Overwhelm: Midlife Anxiety, Stress, and Coping Skills Made Simple

    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 a text **** 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.

    12 min

  5. FEB 2

    Ep. 234 When Midlife Feels Like Chaos: Anxiety, Stress, and Coping Skills That Bring You Back to Calm

    Why does midlife anxiety and stress spike the moment you feel out of control? If overwhelm has been pulling you into fear, spiraling thoughts, or exhaustion, you’re not alone—and nothing is wrong with you. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1.     Why overwhelm in midlife is a nervous-system response—not a personal failure 2.     What anxiety and stress are doing to your brain and body when you feel out of control 3.     How understanding overwhelm becomes the first coping skill that helps you reconnect with calm 🎧 Take 11 minutes to understand your stress response and begin easing anxiety in midlife—you’re worth it. Send a text **** 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.

    12 min

  6. JAN 29

    Ep. 233 The Surprising Way Disconnection From Yourself Causes Loneliness, Anxiety & Stress, in Midlife

    Why do anxiety and stress linger in midlife—even when you’re surrounded by people? You’re not broken—your nervous system may be responding to a quieter form of loneliness that often goes unrecognized. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1.     Why anxiety and stress in midlife can stem from disconnection from yourself—not just from other people 2.     How coping skills rooted in self-alignment (not performance or pressure) naturally lower anxiety 3.     Why restoring calm first makes connection feel safer—without forcing yourself into uncomfortable situations 🎧 Take 13 minutes to learn coping skills that reduce anxiety, stress, and loneliness in midlife—without pushing, performing, or forcing connection—you’re worth it. Send a text **** 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.

    14 min

  7. JAN 26

    Ep. 232 Why Loneliness Increases Anxiety and Stress in Midlife and How Understanding This Brings Calm

    Why does loneliness in midlife so often show up as anxiety and stress instead of sadness? Nothing is wrong with you—your nervous system is responding exactly as humans are wired to respond. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1.     Why loneliness acts as an amplifier for anxiety and stress in midlife 2.     How modern connection and emotional unsafety can quietly increase loneliness 3.     How coping skills that reduce pressure—not performance—restore calm and safety  🎧 Take 12 minutes to understand how loneliness fuels anxiety in midlife—and what actually helps—you’re worth it. Send a text **** 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.

    13 min

  8. JAN 22

    Ep. 231 The Real Obstacles to Midlife Exercise—and Coping Skills to Calm Anxiety, Reduce Stress, and Keep You Moving

    Why does exercise feel harder in midlife—even when you know it matters? You’re not failing or falling behind; your body and stress load have genuinely changed. In this episode, you’ll discover: 1.    Why midlife anxiety, stress, and self-comparison quietly derail exercise 2.    How fatigue and shame create predictable obstacles that aren’t personal failures 3.    Doable coping skills to help you keep moving without pressure or burnout  Take 15 minutes to reduce anxiety and stress around exercise and learn a calmer way to keep moving—you’re worth it. Send a text **** 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.

    16 min
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5
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

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.      

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