The Shifted Podcast with Amira Evolved

Amira Evolved

The Shifted Podcast is for women 40+ navigating midlife with their eyes open. Hosted by Amira Davis, each episode explores boundaries, identity shifts, and emotional intelligence—no victim narratives, no apologies, just the clarity you need to move forward on your own terms. Amira Davis is a leadership consultant, emotional intelligence strategist, and founder of D5 Consulting Group with over 25 years of experience working with organizations and leaders. She's also a Gen X woman who built a life, a marriage, and a business from the ground up—navigating early motherhood, career growth, toxic workplaces, cancer twice, and the full weight of midlife recalibration. She doesn't teach theory. She teaches from lived experience. Each episode digs into the real shifts happening in midlife: hormonal changes that impact decision-making, identity evolution after decades of holding everything together, boundaries as strategic tools (not just self-care), nervous system awareness, friendship shifts, and what it means to lead with emotional maturity instead of reactivity or urgency. You'll hear solo episodes where Amira unpacks frameworks and reflections, guest conversations with other leaders and experts, and real stories that challenge the "midlife crisis" narrative. This isn't about starting over—it's about cashing in on everything you've already built and living from a place of clarity, not chaos. If you're looking for surface-level empowerment or someone to tell you that you're enough, this isn't your show. But if you're ready for substance, strategy, and a voice that sounds like you—grounded, direct, and done with the fluff—you're in the right place. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe and shift with us.

  1. Jul 14

    Your Body Has Been Sending You the Bill: Nervous System, Marriage, and Midlife | Kayla Licari

    What If Every Symptom You Have Been Treating Is Actually the Same Signal? Neck pain every day. Migraines. Insomnia. Anxiety that wakes you out of a dead sleep. A sex drive that disappeared. A marriage that runs like a business partnership. And a medical career spent treating other people for the exact same symptoms she was ignoring in herself. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, I sit down with Kayla Licari, a former physician assistant turned nervous system and relationship coach, who spent 15 years in medicine making six figures before she understood that every symptom she was treating in her patients was the same one she was living with at home. Leaving her career saved her health, her marriage, and her relationship with her three kids. She and her husband are now redefining what success looks like for their family and coaching married parents who are on the edge of divorce to move back into feeling like a deeply connected team. In this episode, we discuss: Why chronic neck pain, migraines, insomnia, and low sex drive are often the same nervous system signal, not separate medical problemsHow Kayla went from treating patients for stress-related symptoms to realizing she was living in a frozen nervous system state herselfWhy women in midlife lose tolerance for things they used to push through, and why perimenopause forces authenticity whether you are ready for it or notHow nervous system dysregulation shows up in marriage, parenting, and physical health simultaneously, and why healing one heals the othersThe free tools that actually regulate your nervous system: breathwork, movement, scent, music, and physical touch from someone safe About Kayla Licari: Kayla is a former physician assistant of 15 years turned nervous system and relationship coach. After experiencing chronic stress symptoms, a frozen nervous system state, and a marriage that had become more business partnership than connection, she left her six-figure medical career two years ago. She and her husband now coach married parents through Licari Solutions LLC on nervous system regulation, trauma-informed healing, and rebuilding deep connection. They offer a free couples Q&A call for parents ready to start. Reflection Prompt: If you could have one honest conversation with your partner with no fear of how it lands, what would you finally say? Write the first thing that comes up. Not the safe version. The real one. For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Kayla Licari: Instagram: @kayla.licariFree Couples Q&A Call: https://stan.store/licaricoachingHer husband: @silvano.licari New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every Tuesday. If this episode described your life more accurately than you expected, send it to the woman in your circle who keeps saying "I'm fine" while her body says otherwise.

  2. Jul 7

    You Can Build an Entire Life and Still Go Missing Inside It | Angel Dionne

    What Happens When the Woman Everyone Leans On Disappears From Her Own Life? She was captain of the cheerleading team. Voted miss congeniality her senior year. The bubbly one. The one everyone came to. And behind all of it, she was comparing herself to everyone around her, talking to herself in ways she would never talk to another woman, and had no idea who she actually was underneath the performance. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, I sit down with Angel Dionne, self-love coach, speaker, and founder of Love Thine Self and Love Talk Media, for a conversation about what it actually costs to lose yourself and what it takes to come back. This is not the soft version of self-love. No affirmations taped to the bathroom mirror. We are talking about what happens when you have been putting everyone else first for so long that you cannot answer a basic question about what you actually want. In this episode, we discuss: How women lose themselves gradually through roles, responsibilities, and the conditioning to always be last on their own listThe telltale signs that you are disappearing: what your environment, your appearance, and your inner dialogue are trying to tell youWhy self-love is not a feeling but a refusal to betray yourself, and what that looks like in daily practiceHow Angel went from writing "do not compare yourself" on her mirror to building a nonprofit that reaches girls before the world teaches them to shrinkThe difference between knowing you are enough and actually believing it, and the daily tools that bridge that gap About Angel Dionne: Angel is a self-love coach, speaker, and founder of Love Thine Self, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and Love Talk Media. She helps women reconnect with themselves after years of people-pleasing, comparison, and putting everyone else first. Her nonprofit works with girls before the patterns set in. She offers one-on-one coaching, speaks on self-love and emotional clarity, and hosts conversations through Love Talk Media. Reflection Prompt: Where in your life are you the last name on your own list? Pick one place and ask yourself what it would actually cost to move yourself up a single spot. Then write down five things you love about yourself. Not five things you are good at. Five things you love. For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Angel Dionne: Website: angeldionne.comInstagram: @angboo_ and @lovetalkmedia New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every Tuesday. If this episode made you pause, send it to the woman in your life who takes care of everyone but herself. She needs to hear this.

  3. Jun 30

    She Left Corporate After 15 Years and Built It Her Way | Jennifer Hardiman on Midlife

    What Does It Actually Look Like to Walk Away From Corporate and Build Something New at 50? Christmas Eve. Ten o'clock at night. Wrapping presents while emails are flying because a deal needed to close before the holiday. That was the moment Jennifer Hardiman knew she was done. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, I sit down with Jennifer Hardiman, founder and chief event officer of Fabuluxe Events, who left a 15-year corporate career in commercial real estate and built her third career on her own terms. 2026 is her seventeenth year in business. This conversation is for every woman who has been wondering if it is too late to start something new. Jennifer walked away, downsized her house and her cars, worked two jobs for a year, and built a company that now works with high-end clients while protecting her team's weekends and her own sanity. In this episode, we discuss: The Christmas Eve moment that made her decide corporate was over and what the first year of building her own business actually looked likeHow she designed a company that caps the number of events per year so her all-female team never has to choose between work and familyWhat turned 50 changed about how she sees ambition, boundaries, and what success actually means in the second half of lifeWhy the skills you built in corporate, project management, logistics, people, transfer directly into whatever you build nextHer advice for any woman thinking about leaving: start with a plan, know what you do not want to be, and celebrate one thing you did every single day About Jennifer Hardiman: Jennifer is the founder and chief event officer of Fabuluxe Events, now in its seventeenth year. After 15 years in corporate commercial real estate, she built an intentionally capped, all-female event production company. She also offers mentorship and free 30-minute consulting sessions for women considering starting their own businesses. Reflection Prompt: What is one thing you are grateful for today? Write it down in two sentences. Do it every day this week. Jennifer has done this daily and it shifted her mindset from chaos to clarity. Try it and see what changes. For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Jennifer Hardiman: Website: fabuluxeevents.comInstagram/Threads/TikTok/Facebook: @fabuluxeeventsEmail: jennifer@fabuluxeevents.comFree 30-minute consulting session available New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every Tuesday. If this episode is for someone you know who keeps saying "maybe next year," send it to her now. Midlife is not the end. It is another beginning.

  4. Jun 23

    17 Rehabs, 2 Divorces, and the Unconventional Path to Sobriety | Cheryl McIntosh on Recovery

    What Do You Do When Every Conventional Path to Healing Has Failed You? Seventeen rehabs. Two divorces. Childhood trauma. Suicide attempts. A branding agency that looked polished on the outside while everything was falling apart underneath. And a woman who kept going back because she had not yet found the formula that worked for her body, her brain, and her history. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, I sit down with Cheryl McIntosh, photographer, writer, artist, and founder of Quanta Collective, who is now over two years sober and turning her story into a memoir called Resilient. This conversation is about what recovery actually looks like when the standard playbook does not work. Cheryl's formula was not rehab. It was psilocybin, AA, art, and community. An unconventional combination that finally did what seventeen attempts at the conventional path could not. In this episode, we discuss: Why treatment fails and what people fundamentally misunderstand about chronic relapse, including the underlying diagnoses that make recovery harderHow psilocybin rewired Cheryl's brain and removed the cravings that decades of traditional treatment never touchedWhat it means to write your story as a sober adult and see your childhood, your parents, and your relationships with completely different eyesWhy high-functioning women feel like they have not earned the right to fall apart, and why that belief keeps them stuckThe vision that turned eight relationships into eight spiritual pillars and became the framework for her memoir About Cheryl McIntosh: Cheryl is a photographer, writer, and artist based in Bend, Oregon, and the founder of Quanta Collective. After leaving home at 13, surviving domestic violence, and navigating seventeen rehabs, she is now over two years sober. Her debut memoir Resilient tells her recovery story through the lens of eight relationships that both destroyed and saved her. The book is expected in 2027. Reflection Prompt: Where in your life are you holding up a version of yourself that is costing you? And what part of your healing have you been waiting for permission to do differently? For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Cheryl McIntosh: Instagram: @greatthingsaredoneBlog: quantacollectiv.comBook updates: greatthingsaredone.com New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every Tuesday. If you know a woman who is quietly carrying something heavy and wondering if it is too late to put it down, send her this episode.

  5. Jun 16

    Surviving a Narcissistic Divorce: Legal Strategy and Self-Trust | Wendy Cooper

    Five years of divorce litigation. Police investigations. Child services complaints. A smear campaign. And all of it orchestrated by the man she had built a life with. Wendy Cooper is an attorney, writer, and self-described unintentional narc expert who earned that title through a five-year legal battle against a partner with pathological personality traits. After discovering a double life that included two simultaneous affairs and a calculated financial strategy, Wendy found herself fighting for her assets, her son, and her sanity in a legal system that was not designed to handle the person she was up against. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, Wendy gives women the language, the legal perspective, and the practical guidance for navigating psychological abuse and narcissistic divorce that most therapists and attorneys do not provide. In this episode, we discuss: How gaslighting and psychological abuse erode your reality slowly enough that you do not recognize it until you are outWhy love bombing is one of the earliest and most overlooked red flags in relationshipsWhat most divorce attorneys get wrong about narcissistic personalities and why mediation gives manipulators more powerHow Wendy rebuilt her self-trust after years of having her perceptions systematically underminedThe role of EMDR therapy in processing complex trauma and why she had to feel the pain she had spent a lifetime running from About Wendy Cooper: Wendy is an attorney, writer, and narcissistic abuse consultant living in the south of France. After navigating a five-year divorce involving psychological abuse, police investigations, and child services complaints, she now offers consultation for women navigating the legal and psychological dynamics of narcissistic relationships. Her memoir, Rebelle, is being prepared for publication. Reflection Prompt: What situations or relationships in your life have you questioning your own perceptions right now? Where do you need to trust your instincts more, even when nobody around you is validating what you sense? Write the first thing that comes up. For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Wendy Cooper: Instagram: @rebelle_2929 New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every other Tuesday. If this episode gave you language for something you have been living but could not name, share it with someone who needs it. That is how the show grows and how women find each other.

  6. Jun 2

    The Reason You Can't Set Boundaries (And It's Not What You Think) | Jane Bellis

    You have done the therapy. Read the books. Built the vision board. But the same patterns keep running your life. Jane Bellis is a sacred nervous system and shadow integration coach who works with high-performing women stuck in survival mode. After burning out multiple times in the fashion and beauty industry, she retrained in psychotherapy and neuroscience and discovered that the reason most self-development work doesn't stick is that nobody addresses the nervous system first. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, we go deep on why women over 40 are trapped in fight-or-flight without knowing it, what shadow work actually is and why it is not as scary as it sounds, and why you cannot set real boundaries until you know who you are. In this episode, we discuss: Why your nervous system is keeping you stuck in people-pleasing, overgiving, and burnout, and how to interrupt the cycle What shadow work is in practice and why midlife women are turning to it for healing that talk therapy alone cannot reach The medicine wheel framework: meeting your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health in balance Why the fawn response (people-pleasing as a trauma response) is the hidden driver behind most high-achieving women's exhaustion The difference between power and force and why Gen X women are being called to lead differently About Jane Bellis: Jane is a nervous system and shadow integration coach, shamanic practitioner, and founder of Mojo School. After multiple burnouts and deep retraining in psychotherapy and neuroscience, she now helps women integrate all parts of themselves through a framework that bridges clinical science and ancient wisdom. Based in Wales, she works with women globally. Reflection Prompt: Where do you find yourself saying "why does this always happen to me"? That repeating pattern is an unhealed wound at the root. And where are you keeping yourself small to keep yourself safe? Both answers are clues to the shadow work waiting for you. For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Jane Bellis: Website: mymojoschool.com Instagram: @mrsmojomindset Facebook: @mrsmojomindset New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every Tuesday. If this episode stirred something, share it with a woman who has been collecting insights for years but hasn't been able to make them stick. This might be the missing piece.

  7. May 19

    Rebuilding Confidence After a Brain Tumor at 41 | Beth Hammond on Resetting

    What does it actually look like to reset your life in midlife after everything falls apart? Beth Hammond was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 41. The diagnosis forced her to stop and look at everything she had been tolerating, her marriage, her friendships, her entire way of operating, and decide what was actually worth keeping. After 22 years as a confidence coach for women, Beth rebuilt her own life from the ground up and created a reset framework for women in midlife who know something needs to change but keep waiting for the right moment to start. In this episode of The Shifted Podcast, we talk about what rebuilding confidence and self-trust looks like when life has fundamentally disrupted who you thought you were. In this episode, we discuss: How a brain tumor diagnosis at 41 became the catalyst for resetting her marriage, friendships, and careerWhy self-trust, not performative confidence, is the foundation everything else is built onHow her 12-week reset framework helps midlife women reconnect with who they actually are nowWhy waiting for certainty keeps women stuck and what to do insteadHow to release relationships that no longer fit without guilt, even the ones with history About Beth Hammond: Beth has coached women on confidence and self-trust for 22 years. After her own brain tumor diagnosis, divorce, and life reset, she now runs a reset framework, group programs, and one-on-one coaching for women in midlife navigating major transitions. She is based in the UK. Reflection Prompt: What part of your life no longer fits who you are becoming? What feels heavy? What feels performative? Write the first answer that comes up. For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Beth Hammond: Website: resetwithbeth.co.ukInstagram: @reset_with_bethYouTube: RESET with Beth New episodes of The Shifted Podcast drop every other Tuesday. Subscribe so you don't miss the next conversation. And if this episode landed with you, send it to the woman in your life who keeps saying "I'll deal with it later." She needs to hear this.

  8. May 5

    The World May Be on Fire, But Your Business Doesn't Have to Be | Kimberly DeCarrera

    Your Business Should Support Your Life. Not Consume It. What happens when a lawyer and finance pro watches high-growth corporate culture burn out every person it touches, including herself, and decides to build something different? In this episode, I sit down with Kimberly DeCarrera, fractional general counsel, fractional CFO, and founder of Springboard Legal, to talk about the pressure business owners put on themselves to 10x every year and why that pressure is not only unnecessary but actively harmful. Kimberly walked away from a logistics company during the pandemic after watching it triple in size while burning through people. Employees quitting without new jobs. A CEO who stood in front of a town hall and said "everybody is replaceable." She left and built a practice around a different question: how do we grow without destroying ourselves in the process? This conversation is for the founder who lies awake wondering if payroll will clear. The business owner who designed her company around her clients and forgot to design it around her own life. The Gen X woman who was raised on hustle culture and is starting to wonder if there is another way. In this episode, we discuss: Why the 10x growth model creates chaos, cash flow crises, and burnout, and what sustainable scaling actually looks likeHow to design your business around your life instead of designing your life around your businessThe most common legal and financial mistakes founders make when scaling too fastWhy staff are your largest expense on the P&L but your greatest asset on the balance sheetHow financial forecasting reduces the mental and physical toll of business ownershipWhat Gen X founders can learn from younger generations about boundariesHow AI is transforming pricing models in professional services and why the people using it need as much training as the models About Kimberly DeCarrera: Kimberly is a fractional general counsel and fractional CFO and founder of Springboard Legal. She works with small and medium-sized businesses on sustainable growth strategies across legal, finance, and operations after experiencing firsthand how unsustainable scaling burns people out and drains cash. Reflection Prompt: What would your business look like if it was designed to support your life rather than consume it? Write down your ideal week. Then ask: where is the gap between what I wrote and what I am living? For deeper reflection, explore The Shifted Self: Evolution of Gratitude and Self-Reflection Journal on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Shifted-Self-Evolution-Gratitude-Self-Reflection/dp/B0F8NV1591 Find coaching and tools at https://www.amiraevolved.com/ Follow Amira at @AmiraEvolved on Instagram and Facebook. Connect with Kimberly DeCarrera: Website: https://springboardlegal.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/kdecarreraEmail: kimberly@springboardlegal.com Your growth does not have to come at the cost of your health, your relationships, or your sanity. There is another way.

About

The Shifted Podcast is for women 40+ navigating midlife with their eyes open. Hosted by Amira Davis, each episode explores boundaries, identity shifts, and emotional intelligence—no victim narratives, no apologies, just the clarity you need to move forward on your own terms. Amira Davis is a leadership consultant, emotional intelligence strategist, and founder of D5 Consulting Group with over 25 years of experience working with organizations and leaders. She's also a Gen X woman who built a life, a marriage, and a business from the ground up—navigating early motherhood, career growth, toxic workplaces, cancer twice, and the full weight of midlife recalibration. She doesn't teach theory. She teaches from lived experience. Each episode digs into the real shifts happening in midlife: hormonal changes that impact decision-making, identity evolution after decades of holding everything together, boundaries as strategic tools (not just self-care), nervous system awareness, friendship shifts, and what it means to lead with emotional maturity instead of reactivity or urgency. You'll hear solo episodes where Amira unpacks frameworks and reflections, guest conversations with other leaders and experts, and real stories that challenge the "midlife crisis" narrative. This isn't about starting over—it's about cashing in on everything you've already built and living from a place of clarity, not chaos. If you're looking for surface-level empowerment or someone to tell you that you're enough, this isn't your show. But if you're ready for substance, strategy, and a voice that sounds like you—grounded, direct, and done with the fluff—you're in the right place. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe and shift with us.

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