About This Blog

My Midlife Mayhem is a blog for women of a certain age and attitude who see “the change” as an adventure and an opportunity for growth.

Backstory

After I lost my job eight years ago, my confidence took a severe knock that triggered a massive anxiety episode. I found the best way to combat my negative thoughts was to diarise them and My Midlife Mayhem was born.

It didn’t take long for me to discover the massive gap in our blogging market for humorous, thought-provoking content targeted at women like me, over-50 and seeking new meaning to their lives, validation and visibility.

And since then, I’ve discovered a passion for the literary equivalent of verbal diarrhoea and extended my writing into a full-blown writing career that has included opinion pieces for women’s and lifestyle magazines as well as blog posts for small business websites. As an interior decorator and property stylist, I have also created The Styling Consultant – an interiors blog, full to the brim of wonderful styling tips and ideas for people looking to sell or renovate their property.

Content

Middle-Age:

Middle-age can be a scary period of life for those women who are badly affected by menopause and other health issues, relationship break-downs, parenting issues, poverty and job insecurity. Not only are we confronted by the physical changes that come with ageing, society’s warped perception of who we should be means we aren’t even allowed to age gracefully.

Inevitably, these issues may lead to anxiety and a dip in confidence, and one of the missions of this blog is to empower women to embrace this period of their lives – to highlight WHAT THEY CAN DO not what they can’t.

Mental Health:

This is a key topic of this blog. ANXIETY has been a life-long friend of mine for which I’ve tried numerous treatments – therapy, exercise, mindfulness, and medication. These days, I rely on a combination of all of them, but I will never forget the first time I put a name to the feeling of terror and anger that followed the birth of my first child, when what should have been a milestone achievement felt closer to an overwhelming experience of which I had no control. More recently, my anxiety has been triggered by menopause and the struggles caused by the mental health of my son.

Parenting:

I am the mother of two adult children, and like many of us I learnt about parenting on the job. As the mother of a child with mental health issues, I’ve also been a special needs parent, another reason why this blog has been so cathartic for me. I have a forum to dump tips and the advice I pick up along the way about the best ways to navigate parenting with these special kids – with ADHD, OCD, DEPRESSION and ANXIETY – and I have felt supported by many of my followers.

Relationships:

Whether you are married, partnered, or single, I give you my spin on relationships in this blog – usually at the expense of my husband. As a proud feminist, I’m also not short on opinions about the differences between men and women and what we still need to do to stop the discrimination of women, in particular women of colour.

Health:

I’m a proud believer in “all things in moderation in life”, and I know I drink and eat too much, especially when those pesky hormones get involved. I try to balance out my vices with exercise and positivity, but I will be honest about my failed diets, my body’s natural aversion to exercise and the change in my outlook that my new appreciation of nature and a more minimalist lifestyle has brought about.

It is safe to say I have an opinion about most things – my husband will vouch for that – and as a passionate feminist, social justice advocate and proud Leftie, I also like to stir the pot on politics – particularly gender politics.

Aim

In a nutshell, My Midlife Mayhem is a high-five to middle-aged women who find themselves in this craze new arena of life after fifty. It is a safe space where everyone’s opinions are valued (as long as they are respectful), in which I look at the difficulties of “having it all” whilst maintaining your sanity; living with adult kids or empty-nesting; coping with the body changes and health issues that come with ageing and trying to hold relationships together. It is mainly about learning to give fewer fucks.