Hella Good Livin

Hella Good Livin
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Hella Good Livin is a lifestyle + podcast + community brand for women 35+ who are done sleepwalking through the messy middle and ready to explore their more – more joy, more energy, more honesty, more life they actually want.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    Bare minimums and non-negotiables - Dating in midlfe

    Tonya and Erin talk over margaritas about dating in your 50s, focusing on bare-minimum expectations, non-negotiables, and protecting your peace after divorce and healing. They discuss how younger generations feel less pressure to marry, why therapy and personal work matter, and how unhealed patterns show up as red flags like speaking poorly about an ex, love bombing, or dysregulating your nervous system. They share lived experiences of carrying the load in marriage, the emotional toll of divorce, and how standards evolve over time. They also unpack why dating apps feel like “window shopping,” common app frustrations (photos, bios, ghosting, misleading ages), and offer ideas for meeting people organically through hobbies, the gym, coffee shops, and “third places,” while building a full life without settling.

  2. Jul 15

    Who am I when no one needs me?

    Tonya and Erin discuss how motherhood builds corporate-relevant skills and then shift to the emotional whiplash of kids gaining independence, especially when 16-year-olds start driving. Tonya describes crying and feeling less needed as her schedule opens up, while both reflect on being constantly “on call,” the loss of car-ride conversations, and the resentment and guilt that come with trying to do everything. They emphasize setting boundaries with kids, partners, and employers, and note workplace double standards around pregnancy and perceptions of women’s dedication. The conversation turns to midlife reinvention, perimenopause brain fog, and rebuilding structure, suggesting listeners write down three things that used to “light you up,” start small, use a village differently, and choose achievable goals to avoid disappointing yourself.

  3. Jul 8

    Keys to the mindset you crave

    Erin and Tonya talk about curating mindset in midlife, especially after Tonya stops an antidepressant and feels overwhelmed by situational stress, perimenopause, money scarcity thinking, and self-doubt. They distinguish optimism from toxic positivity, focus on control and identity shifts like empty nesting, and discuss tools: regulate the nervous system, limit negative inputs (including self-talk and social media), build self-trust by keeping promises, take micro risks, pause and reframe, and surround yourself with growth-minded people. Tonya commits to 21+ days of daily journaling with gratitudes and self-appreciation.

  4. Jul 1

    Your Dr may not know either: The perimenopause info gap

    Erin and Tonya discuss how many women learn about perimenopause from social media rather than doctors, and how symptoms are often dismissed or treated separately instead of hormonally. They share their experiences finding relief with a menopause-trained specialist, cite gaps in medical training, and warn about misinformation and risks like assuming you can’t get pregnant. They recommend tracking symptoms, seeking second opinions, and using menopause.org to find certified providers, noting growing policy efforts to improve education. Resources: The Menopause Society (menopause.org), ACOG (acog.org), and the NIH Office on Women's Health (womenshealth.gov).

  5. Jun 24

    Midlife Friendships: Finding Deeper Connections

    Midlife Loneliness: Rebuilding Friendships After Kids, Divorce & Busy Life | Tonya & Erin Tonya and Erin discuss a statistic that 4 in 10 adults 45+ are lonely and unpack how empty nesting, raising kids, work, proximity, couple-friend dynamics, divorce, moving, and financial changes can erode friendships over time. They talk about how hard it is to make new close friends in midlife, including the idea that it can take 200 hours to build real closeness and that 58% feel no one truly knows them due to a lack of depth. They connect loneliness to health risks like heart disease, cognitive decline, and mortality, and share practical takeaways: prioritize depth over head count, create recurring meetups, lower the bar to reconnect with simple texts, use tools like Marco Polo, join places where repetition happens (classes/leagues/volunteering), be the initiator, practice vulnerability, and audit your circle. They each commit to reaching out more and trying new activities to meet people.

  6. Jun 3

    Rage Bait: Where rage comes from and how to handle it

    Over wine, two friends discuss feeling unusually ragey—possibly from perimenopause, aging, or accumulated unmet needs—and swap pet peeves like Dollar General checkout lines, commuting, loud trucks, mouth breathing, bad driving, and kids loading dishwashers wrong. They connect rage to grief, scarcity, and carrying invisible labor, and describe setting firmer boundaries with kids, exes, and others (including consequences for a lost school laptop). They share tools like therapy language, pausing conversations, and breathing to regulate the nervous system.

  7. Mar 21

    Aging, Confidence, and Living Alively

    Tonya and Erin unpack how “anti-aging” instantly signals products, wrinkles, and procedures—especially for women—while men are praised as “distinguished.” They argue the term is an impossible, anxiety-producing goal fueled by a massive industry and decades of exclusionary beauty marketing. Instead, they reframe anti-aging as aging well: movement (even walking), sleep, hydration, body check-ins, budget-friendly habits, and flipping negative self-talk toward gratitude, strength, mobility, and mental health. They end with a prompt from Jen Hatmaker’s “Awake”: recall a time you felt beautiful that didn’t involve a mirror.

  8. Mar 19

    Let’s Talk About the Dreaded P Word. Yep. Perimenopause.

    Perimenopause is the dreaded “P word” no one warned women 35+ about, and Tonya and Erin break down why it can feel like you’re losing your mind when it’s really your hormones shifting for 4–10 years before menopause (which is officially 12 months without a period). They share their own wake-up calls—hot flashes, night sweats, 3 a.m. wake-ups, rage, anxiety, brain fog/word loss, body changes, GI issues, joint pain and even frozen shoulder—plus how often doctors dismiss it as stress and how little training and research exists. This episode is a table-talk reality check that you’re not broken, you’re not “just dramatic,” and you don’t have to white-knuckle it: track patterns, advocate for yourself, adjust expectations, consider women’s health specialists, and start finding what actually helps.

  9. Mar 1

    Is This It? What the Hell is HGL?

    Tonya and Erin kick off Hella Good Livin, a podcast for women 35+ who feel exhausted, emotional, a little ragey, and like they’re questioning everything, and they remind you you’re not broken, you’re probably just in the hormone-and-life-shift years. Both 52 and longtime friends since kindergarten, they share what life looks like now: divorce, dating (or trying), kids (teen boys and empty-nest daughters), aging parents, long-term relationships, work, health scares, grief, and that “what’s next?” feeling. They’re here for the messy middle, think perimenopause, boundaries, relationships, and the stuff no one warned us about, with honesty, humor, research, and real tools. No toxic positivity, no guru energy, just short, manageable episodes that feel like you’re sitting at the table with them.

  • 9 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Hella Good Livin is a lifestyle + podcast + community brand for women 35+ who are done sleepwalking through the messy middle and ready to explore their more – more joy, more energy, more honesty, more life they actually want.

Information

  • Creator
    Hella Good Livin
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Hella Good Livin
  • Show Website
    Hella Good Livin