Meegan Care

Some seasons of life aren’t about pushing harder... they’re about listening more closely.

And that can feel strange at first.

You realise you can’t keep overriding your body, your emotions, your exhaustion, your need for space… and expect to feel okay.

You see through the collective call for performance and perfection.

And begin to ask different questions.

Less proving.

More moments of actually being with ourselves.🤍

For several years, I noticed a pattern. In the days before the anniversary of my mother’s death, I would wake with a heaviness in my chest. A patch of dread. A sadness that sat just beneath the surface, unable to find release.

Then, on the anniversary itself, something would shift, and the weight would lift.

This happened for a number of years even when I hadn’t consciously registered the date approaching.

My body knew before my mind did.

This is called an anniversary reaction, maybe you recognise it?
Anniversary reactions occur on or around the date of a significant loss or trauma.

It can look like:
🩶 Sadness or emotional numbness
🩶 Anxiety or a sense of foreboding
🩶 Physical symptoms like headaches, fatigue, or stomach discomfort
🩶 Irritability or difficulty concentrating

While often most intense in the first year, they can recur for many years afterward, sometimes without any conscious awareness of the approaching date.

These reactions are not a sign that something is wrong. They are the psyche’s way of continuing to process, perhaps by what couldn’t be fully held at the time of loss. An invitation to tend to what remains unfinished.

When met with compassion, they can reconnect us to meaning, to life, and to the deep thread that still connects us to those who have died.

If you find yourself feeling inexplicably low or unsettled at a particular time of year, it may be worth gently asking: what does this time of year hold for me?

Have you experienced anniversary reactions? I’d love to hear your reflections in the comments.

If it’s hard to say in therapy, it’s probably important.

Some of the most helpful things you can say in therapy:
• “I don’t know where to start today.”
• “I feel embarrassed saying this.”
• “I think I’m avoiding something.”
• “I feel numb.”
• “Part of me doesn’t want to change.”
• “I don’t know who I am anymore.”
• “I’m scared of what will come up.”

You don’t have to be brave.
You just have to be honest.

That’s enough.

Stress isn’t just a mindset issue.

Stress lives in the nervous system, the body, and the breath. It’s shaped by the world around us, relationships, trauma, hormonal fluctuations, social and financial pressures...

That’s why my approach isn’t just talk-based. We work with awareness, regulation, and embodied tools that help your system feel safer and more settled, especially important in midlife.

When your body feels supported, clarity often follows.

📅Counselling & Craniosacral Therapy online and in-person appointments available.

Women tell me: “I don’t even know where to start.”

You don’t have to arrive with a clear story, the right words, or even a clearly defined problem. Counselling isn’t about explaining yourself perfectly, it’s about exploring what’s present, at your pace.

We start exactly where you are.

I am available for in-person and online appointments, book through my website.

Menopause and midlife can feel like a breaking point, but it’s also a recalibration.

Your body is changing.
Your nervous system is tired.
Your tolerance for “pushing through” is lower.

That doesn’t mean something is inherently wrong with you. It means your system is asking for a different way of living.

Thereapy in midlife is about learning how to listen to those signals and respond with care instead of self-criticism.

Counselling isn’t about being “fixed.”
It’s about being met.

I work with women in midlife who feel overwhelmed, stuck, or quietly exhausted by holding everything together. This is a space to slow down, speak honestly, and reconnect with yourself, without judgement or pressure to perform.

You don’t need to be in crisis to benefit from counselling and craniosacral therapy. Sometimes you just need somewhere safe to land.

Book a free "coffee-chat" to see if working together would be a good fit.

Wrangled the kid away from packing and my husband away from mountain biking for a wee family hike yesterday.
Savouring these moments before the kid moves out and it’s just the two of us after 25 years 😱

As my clinic year comes to a close, I’m stepping back from social media for a while.

I’m still seeing clients through Christmas and into the New Year, but this pause has me reflecting on what I see most in my work with women in midlife and menopause.

There is no single right way through menopause.
Not everything can be fixed with a patch.
Not everyone wants or needs HRT.

What causes increased suffering is rigid thinking about how it should be done.

As the year ends, my invitation is simple:
Practise flexibility.
Choose curiosity over certainty.
Meet yourself with compassion in the messy middle of midlife.

Meegan xo