International Women’s Day: The Impact of Midlife on Women’s Mental Health
International Women’s Day serves as a powerful reminder to reflect on the unique challenges women face across various stages of life. While the conversation often focuses on issues like gender equality, reproductive rights, and workplace discrimination, one aspect that remains under explored is the psychological impact of midlife on women’s mental health.
As a woman who has recently turned 50, I have found midlife to be a period of profound psychological and physiological transformation. In my twenties and thirties, I could mask my social anxieties and power through challenges without much reflection. However, as I entered my forties, I experienced a significant shift. The onset of menopause, compounded by years of unresolved trauma, led to a state of nervous system burnout that could no longer be ignored.
Research shows that midlife is a critical period for women’s mental health. According to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry, women aged 45-55 experience a peak in depressive symptoms, often linked to hormonal changes and the stress of balancing multiple roles.
Additionally, unresolved trauma can resurface during this time, manifesting as anxiety, depression, or chronic stress. Understanding the somatic nature of trauma—how it is stored in the body rather than just the mind—has been key to navigating this complex phase of life.
This article explores how midlife can act as a catalyst for addressing unresolved trauma and why a somatic, trauma-informed approach is essential for healing.
The Hormonal and Neurological Impact of Midlife
Menopause is often portrayed as a purely physical transition, characterised by symptoms such as hot flushes, weight gain, and fatigue. However, its impact on the brain is profound. A study published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology indicates that declining oestrogen levels during menopause affect neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which play crucial roles in mood regulation. This hormonal upheaval can exacerbate pre-existing mental health conditions, making it more challenging for women to manage anxiety and depression.
In my case, the hormonal fluctuations of menopause significantly heightened my anxiety and disrupted my ability to regulate stress effectively. The coping mechanisms that served me well in my younger years—like compartmentalising emotions and maintaining a busy schedule—began to fail. This is not unusual. The American Psychological Association (APA) has noted that the stress response becomes less flexible with age, particularly for women, making it harder to recover from traumatic triggers. The result is a nervous system that feels perpetually on edge, unable to return to a state of equilibrium.
Trauma in the Body: The Somatic Perspective
Traditional approaches to trauma often focus on cognitive processing—understanding and re-framing traumatic events. While this can be beneficial, it overlooks a critical component: how trauma is stored in the body. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a leading trauma researcher and author of The Body Keeps the Score, argues that trauma fundamentally alters the body’s stress response system, causing physiological symptoms that cannot be resolved through talk therapy alone (Bessel van der Kolk). This understanding aligns with my own experience of midlife. The anxiety that I could previously rationalise away became unmanageable, manifesting physically as chronic tension, fatigue, and hypervigilance.
Somatic trauma-informed approaches offer a pathway to address this. By focusing on body-based interventions—such as breathwork, grounding exercises, and mindful movement—women can learn to regulate their nervous systems more effectively. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology supports the efficacy of somatic techniques, showing that they significantly reduce symptoms of PTSD and anxiety by targeting the autonomic nervous system. For me, incorporating somatic practices was transformative. Simple techniques like deep diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation helped recalibrate my stress response, allowing me to process emotions that had been stored in my body for decades.
The Role of Interoception in Healing
Interoception, or the ability to sense internal bodily states, is a crucial aspect of somatic trauma-informed approaches. For many women, especially those who have experienced trauma, this sense is often dulled or distorted. A study published in Psychological Science found that improving interoceptive awareness can significantly reduce anxiety and improve emotional regulation. Interoceptive exercises—such as body scans and mindful attention to physical sensations—have been instrumental in my own healing process. By learning to recognise and interpret bodily signals accurately, I was able to distinguish between genuine threats and trauma-related triggers, reducing my overall sense of anxiety and hypervigilance.
Midlife as an Opportunity for Integration
Midlife is often depicted as a period of loss—of youth, fertility, and identity. However, it can also be an opportunity for profound integration and healing. Jungian psychology refers to this stage as the “second half of life,” a time when individuals are called to integrate the unconscious parts of themselves that were neglected in the first half. This resonates with my experience. As my nervous system forced me to confront unresolved trauma, I found that midlife was less about reinvention and more about integration—bringing together the fragmented parts of my identity and history into a coherent whole.
A study in The American Journal of Psychiatry supports this perspective, showing that individuals who engage in trauma-focused interventions during midlife report higher levels of life satisfaction and emotional resilience. The somatic trauma-informed approach, by addressing both the mind and the body, facilitates this integration process. It empowers women to move beyond merely surviving past traumas to actively thriving in the present.
Reclaiming Agency Over Our Bodies
For women, societal conditioning often teaches us to distrust our bodies—to view them as flawed, unpredictable, or dangerous. This internalised distrust can make it difficult to engage fully with somatic practices, which require a willingness to listen to the body’s signals without judgement. However, as feminist theorists like Dr. Audre Lorde have argued, reclaiming agency over our bodies is a revolutionary act. It challenges patriarchal narratives that reduce women’s worth to their reproductive or aesthetic functions (Sister Outsider). In this sense, somatic trauma-informed coaching is not just a therapeutic tool but a political one—a way for women to reclaim sovereignty over their bodies and their narratives.
Looking Forward: Midlife as a Catalyst for Change
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to reframe midlife not as a crisis but as a catalyst for growth. By addressing the somatic impact of trauma, women can transform this stage of life into one of profound self-awareness and empowerment. This approach acknowledges that healing is not about erasing the past but about integrating it into a more resilient and authentic self.
For those navigating midlife, somatic trauma-informed coaching offers a scientifically grounded, compassionate pathway forward. It allows women to process and release the trauma stored in their bodies, restore balance to their nervous systems, and embrace the next chapter of life with clarity and strength. In doing so, it transforms midlife from a period of loss into an opportunity for profound growth and liberation.
International Women’s Day reminds us of the importance of honouring all stages of a woman’s life—especially those that society often stigmatises or overlooks. By embracing midlife with honesty, compassion, and a commitment to somatic healing, women can reclaim this phase as a time of empowerment and self-discovery.
If reading this has resonated with you and you’re finding midlife to be a complex and challenging time, please know that you’re not alone. Sometimes, having a space to talk things through with someone who understands can make all the difference. If you feel that support could help, I welcome you to reach out and connect. You can book a discovery call with me, simply as a space to share your experiences and explore what you might need going forward—no pressure or obligation.