When Stress and Your Mood Start Hitting Different: Navigating Your 40s and Beyond

Remember your 20s? You'd pull an all-nighter, bounce back with a coffee, and feel totally fine. Stress was a quick visit, and moods were, well, pretty predictable.

But then you hit your 40s.

Suddenly, that same stress feels so much heavier, it sticks around for days, and your moods? They can feel completely all over the place for no good reason. If you’ve found yourself wondering, "Why is this so much harder now?" you're not alone.

Let’s talk about what’s really going on inside.

The Hormonal Rollercoaster

The biggest reason for this shift is often our hormones. As we enter perimenopause—that transitional period leading up to menopause—our key hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, start to fluctuate.

• Estrogen: This hormone is like your brain’s mood-boosting friend. When it starts going up and down, it can make you feel more anxious, irritable, or even just plain down.

• Progesterone: Think of this one as your body’s "calm-down" hormone. As it declines, that feeling of inner calm can go right along with it, making you feel more on edge and less able to handle the everyday stuff.

  
  

Basically, your body’s emotional thermostat is a little broken, and it can make you feel like you're overreacting to things that used to not bother you at all.

The Stacked-Up Life

And it's not just hormones. Life in your 40s tends to be a lot more… full. You might be:

• Juggling the demands of a busy career.

• Raising teenagers or young adults while also helping to care for aging parents.

• Dealing with changes in your long-term relationships.

• Worrying more about your health or the health of loved ones.

  
  

It’s the cumulative weight of all these responsibilities on top of a body that’s already going through a major transition. It’s no wonder you feel like you’re running on empty.

When Your Body Pushes Back

All this stress and hormonal change can create a vicious cycle that's tough to break:

1. Your "Fight or Flight" is Always On: Chronic stress keeps your cortisol levels high. That can mess with your hormones even more and even lead to stubborn belly fat.

2. Sleep Goes Out the Window: Anxiety and hormonal shifts often steal your sleep, and we all know a bad night's sleep makes everything feel ten times worse.

3. You Reach for Quick Fixes: Feeling overwhelmed? You might reach for more coffee, sugar, or a glass of wine to cope, but those can make your moods and energy crash even harder.

4. Hello, Brain Fog: All these factors working together can make it hard to focus, remember things, or feel sharp.

Time for a New Playbook

If any of this sounds like your life, know this: you don’t have to just grin and bear it. This stage of life is different, and it calls for a new way of taking care of yourself—one that truly honors your changing body and mind. It's time to start writing a new playbook.

Ready to get some actionable strategies to help you finally feel better? Join me for my upcoming free workshop, Thrive Over 40: Master Your Energy, Body & Mind.

We'll dive into why what used to work no longer does, and I’ll share simple, science-backed secrets to help you find more energy, reduce stress, and get rid of stubborn symptoms like bloating and brain fog.

Save your free spot here: Free Workshop 9/17 12pmET

(Can't make it live? Register anyway and I'll send you the replay!)