Episode 76 - Managing Stress & Anxiety for a Calmer Year Ahead: Nervous System Tune-Up for Menopause

Feeling like anxiety, heart palpitations, and brain fog have hijacked your midlife? You're not alone. In this deeply personal and practical episode, host Sam opens up about her own journey with anxiety—amplified by a major life transition and the profound physiological shifts of menopause. She dismantles the myth that menopause-related anxiety is "all in your head," revealing the critical role estrogen plays in mood regulation and why up to 51% of women experience heightened anxiety during this transition.

This episode is a masterclass in nervous system regulation, moving beyond standard advice to offer science-backed, adaptable tools for finding calm. We dive deep into:

• Polyvagal Theory: Understand your body's three-part stress response system (ventral, sympathetic, dorsal) and learn to identify if you're in fight-or-flight, shutdown, or a state of safety and connection.
• Adaptive Breathwork: Discover why "just breathe" isn't enough. Learn how to match your breathing technique to your specific state—using extended exhales to calm panic or sharper inhales to lift out of brain fog.
• Tailored Mindfulness Practices: Get specific strategies for menopausal symptoms, including how to "weather" intense mood swings and use sensory anchors to cut through mental fog.
• The Power of Yoga Nidra: Explore why this guided "yogic sleep" is a game-changer for insomnia and nervous system restoration, and a free resource to try it tonight.

If you're making resolutions for the year ahead, this episode makes the compelling case that prioritizing your mental and nervous system health is the essential foundation for everything else. Join us to build your toolkit for a calmer, more resilient you.

Key Takeaways:

1. Menopause is a legitimate biological stressor that can dysregulate the nervous system.
2. You can learn to map your state using Polyvagal Theory (Safe/Social, Fight/Flight, Freeze/Shutdown).
3. Breathwork must be adapted to your current state to be effective.
4. Practices like Yoga Nidra offer profound nervous system restoration, especially for sleep.
5. Building daily micro-habits for regulation is more crucial than ever during hormonal transitions.

Resources Mentioned:

• Insight Timer App (for free Yoga Nidra and meditations)
• The concept of Polyvagal Theory by Dr. Stephen Porges

Listen For: Personal stories of life stress, canine care, and honest talk about why an "older kids" divorce is still hard, paired with actionable, compassionate science.

Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that I have an amazing event coming up!

Registration is now OPEN for our next Flip Flops & Hot Flashes retreat in Cahuita, Costa Rica January 31 - February, 2026.

If you want to learn more, just go to flipflopsandhotflashes.com

Thank you for listening.