Perimenopause: When You Don’t Recognize Yourself Anymore

Have you ever felt like you don’t recognize yourself anymore?

In this episode, I’m talking honestly about a season I know a lot of women experience in midlife, when everything feels disjointed. Work feels harder. Social plans feel draining. Relationships shift. And you don’t quite know how to explain what’s wrong, even to yourself.

Instead of focusing on physical symptoms, I’m sharing what this transition has been like for me mentally and emotionally as I’ve moved through perimenopause toward menopause. The fog. The need to pull back. The guilt around saying no. And the quiet grief that can come with changing friendships, priorities, and capacity.

I talk about pulling back socially and professionally, prioritizing sleep, stepping away from a business that no longer fit, and giving myself time to stabilize instead of forcing clarity. This episode is my reminder to you, and to myself, that pulling back doesn’t mean you’re failing or quitting.

It means your capacity has changed.

And giving yourself space may be exactly what helps you find your footing again.

In this episode, I talk about:

• 🎤 Why pulling back socially was one of the first signs something was shifting for me
• 🎤 The pressure to keep showing up when you don’t feel like yourself
• 🎤 How alcohol, sleep, and energy started to affect me differently
• 🎤 Friendship changes and the grief that can come with them
• 🎤 Why stabilizing myself mattered more than pushing forward
• 🎤 Letting go of goals that belonged to an earlier version of me
• 🎤 What it feels like to slowly start coming back online in a more grounded way

If you’re in a season where your life feels quieter, slower, or smaller than it used to, I want you to know you’re not broken and you’re not behind. You’re moving through a transition that asks for rest, honesty, and a lot more self-compassion than we’re used to giving ourselves.

If you know a woman who’s in this phase and might feel less alone hearing this, please share the episode with her.

Thank you all so much for listening!

It genuinely means a lot to know that my journey, and what I’m learning along the way, helps you too.

If this episode resonated, feel free to reach out and share anytime on Instagram: @iamshanarecker

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