MID-LIFE/MENTAL HEALTH

Two years ago I was the caregiver for someone with panic and anxiety disorder. Yesterday I had a panic attack. Today I am filled with so much anxiety that it is taking every ounce of energy I have to not go back to bed (I admit I stayed there all day yesterday and half the day today). I’m 50 years old and menopause is raging.

Are menopause, mid-life, and being a woman related?

I have suspected that they are for the past year as I find myself increasingly experiencing anxiety. Turns out there’s some science behind all of my suspicions.

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LIFE LESSONS

Have you ever thought about what you would tell your teenage self if you could go back in time? I mean really — there must be a lot, right? Because there are zillions of things that I wish I had known as a teenager that I know now.

Here are some things that I wish I could tell my teenage self:

1. Don’t be so serious all the time!

I was a very serious teenager. I was serious about school, religion, and romance. And I didn’t do particularly well in either the first or the last ones, but I certainly tried. Because I was religious, I didn’t do…

MID-LIFE, CAREERS

Maybe you were forced out of a position and need to start fresh. Maybe you retired and want to try something new. Or, maybe, you just got sick and tired of your last career. Whatever your story is, look at a new career as an exciting opportunity. A chance to do it all over again.

How to Switch Careers and Why?

Often the economy is the biggest motivator for why people switch careers. This recession has hit many industries below the belt. Factories have closed up shop. Small businesses have cut staff hours to part time to avoid layoffs. Bigger businesses have forced people into unwanted…

MID-LIFE CAREERS

Did you know that there are 9 essential skills that have been identified as being important in the workforce? These essential skills are used in almost every job. Employers are looking for people that already have these essential skills.

The 9 essential skills are:

Reading Text — This includes basic reading skills but also things like understanding text and being able to find the important information in a text. You may read 10 pages of a document, but are you able to tell someone what the document was about after? Can you pick out the information that pertains to a specific question?

Numeracy — Math…

Re-starting your career mid-life is not easy. We assume it won’t happen to us. The truth is 49% of people make a dramatic career change and the average age of those people is 39.

Many do it by choice, but just as many do it because they were phased out of a job or fired or just couldn’t do the job anymore for physical or emotional reasons. So, is it safe to assume that you will do the job that you’re currently in for the rest of your life? No. Is there anything you can do now, before you have…

Let’s make the mid-life gap year a thing. Or gap month. Or even a gap week. Because that’s when we need it the most.

In some parts of the world…

You know who I’m talking about. Toxic people are the ones that expect more, but never give in return. Toxic people are the ones that are quick to blame, calling it constructive criticism, but can’t take it in return. Toxic people bruise your soul and make you feel like you need to nap — for a month.

It’s important to be able to recognize toxic people so you can either eliminate them or keep them on the sidelines of your life. If you don’t, you may find yourself constantly feeling drained of both physical and mental energy.

Here are six…

FACEBOOK, MARKETING

I have a lot of business contacts on my Facebook profile. Some of them are promoting consulting businesses, some are promoting direct sales programs, and there are many other things that I see being promoted, too. And there’s a good reason for it. Facebook can be an excellent tool for promoting anything.

But there’s good promoting and there’s annoying promoting. What’s the difference?

The difference is that good promoting is subtle and interesting and not blatant advertising. Facebook is not an advertising platform. The annoying promotions mention their business name in every post. …