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Midlife Rising

Midlife Rising

By: Jennifer Reimer PhD and Sheri Johnson | Midlife Experts | Holistic Nutritionist | Theta Healer
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This is not just another midlife podcast about belly fat, Botox, or bone broth.
We’re not here to help you stay young, offer makeup tips, or share recipes to sneak kale into your brownies. If you’re looking for hacks to stay small or “age gracefully,” this might not be the space for you.


We’re here to burn down the old rulebook - and help you rise from the ashes.
We unpack the invisible systems and internalized conditioning that keep midlife women stuck, over-functioning, and exhausted. We talk about the links between patriarchy, stress, and menopause symptoms. This is the conversation behind the conversation—raw, wise, and necessary.


We’re Sheri and Jen - twin sisters, former “good-girls” turned paradigm-breakers, and your new favourite midlife truth-tellers. Our unfiltered conversations crack open the things women don’t say out loud. We’re here to offer you the tools, re-frames, and permission slips to finally stop performing and start becoming.


Expect “why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?!” kinds of insights, advice to nix your menopause symptoms without HRT, and paradigm-shifting “aha” moments that make you want to take your power back.


So if you’re ready to stop performing, and rise into the woman you were always meant to be - pull up a chair. We saved you a seat.



© 2026 Midlife Rising Alternative & Complementary Medicine Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Social Sciences
Episodes
  • 46: Night Sweats: Three Things Nobody Tells You

    46: Night Sweats: Three Things Nobody Tells You
    Jun 25 2026
    Night Sweats: Three Things Nobody Tells YouYou wake up in the middle of the night soaked. PJs drenched, sheets drenched. You throw off the covers, change, put a towel down, and try to fall back asleep - only to wake a few hours later and do it all over again.You might be thinking this is just your estrogen dropping and there's nothing to do but ride it out or go on HRT. That's pretty much all you'll hear in a doctor's office. But here's what your doctor probably won't tell you: night sweats aren't your body malfunctioning. They're a signal, and that signal has a root cause you can actually address.In this solo episode, Sheri shares her own story of waking up soaked in her early 40s with no idea what was happening and how, once she understood it, she made it through perimenopause with only a few weeks of night sweats on and off. We break down all three layers — physical, emotional, and spiritual — because understanding all three is what points you to real relief.What actually causes night sweats in perimenopause?Estrogen doesn't just take a nosedive in perimenopause. It fluctuates up and down, which is why night sweats come in waves: a rough stretch, then nothing, then back again. As estrogen swings, it narrows the "neutral zone" of the hypothalamus, the part of your brain that regulates temperature. Suddenly a tiny temperature change your body used to manage gets read as an emergency, triggering a full-on sweat. Nighttime is worse because your body temperature naturally drops to initiate sleep, which can pull the trigger.Why do night sweats so often hit at 2 or 3 AM specifically?Cortisol. If you're running a high-pressure life, cortisol can spike in the middle of the night when it's supposed to be calming down — and that amplifies the whole response. Blood sugar is closely tied to this: instability from refined carbs, sugar, or alcohol before bed can cause cortisol surges overnight, even if you don't feel especially stressed.What you'll learn in this episode:How cortisol and blood sugar instability set off middle-of-the-night sweating, and what makes it worseThe physiological root-cause approach no one is talking aboutWhy the worst thing you can do for night sweats is treat them as purely physical and ignore the emotional componentA simple reflection practice to connect what you felt during the day to the night sweats that followedWhat's the emotional connection to night sweats?Here's the part most women have never considered: night sweats aren't just physical. Heat in the body often reflects suppressed inner fire and there are specific emotions, especially common in women raised to keep the peace, that have been building for decades with nowhere to go. As your fertility-era hormones shift, the buffers that kept those feelings in check start to fade, and that inner heat looks for an exit. Sheri shares the surprising place in the body where she could actually feel it begin and the everyday situations that set it off. If you've done all the physical things and your night sweats still won't budge, this is the layer you're likely missing.What's the spiritual meaning of night sweats?There's a third piece almost no one talks about - and it may be the most interesting part. Sheri uses the chakras as a framework to explain why night sweats show up as fire, which energy centers are involved, and what it means when that fire is blocked versus actively moving. There's also a simple reflection practice she walks through during the episode: a question to ask yourself the morning after a night sweat that can reveal exactly what your body was processing. Tune in for the full picture - and why working with the fire, rather than resisting it, is what finally lets it move.This episode is for you if:You wake up drenched and dread the laundry, the exhaustion, and the brain fog that followYou've been told it's "just low estrogen" and that HRT is your only optionYou've done all the physical things and night sweats still won't budgeYou get hot flashes during the day, not just at night (much of this applies to you too)You're ready to look at what your body might be trying to tell you beyond the physicalIf you want to nix night sweats for good so you can sleep through the night soundly, get free access to our secret podcast here: The Midlife Sleep Reset. If this episode resonated, share it with a woman in your life who gets night sweats - chances are many of your girlfriends do. And if you're getting value from the podcast, follow or subscribe so you know the moment we drop a new episode.Find us on instagram: @midlifewomenrising
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    26 mins
  • 45: What No One Tells You About UTIs After 40

    45: What No One Tells You About UTIs After 40
    Jun 18 2026

    What No One Tells You About UTIs After 40 - Body, Mind, Spirit

    Have you suddenly started getting UTIs in your 40s or 50s and wondered why? You're not doing anything differently, but your body is.

    In this solo episode, Sheri shares her own story of having her very first UTI at 53, and breaks down exactly what's happening in the body, mind, and spirit when urinary tract infections show up in perimenopause and menopause.

    This isn't just about bacteria. It's about estrogen, your pelvic floor, your emotions, and the deeper message your body may be sending you.

    Why do perimenopausal women suddenly get UTIs?

    As estrogen declines in perimenopause, the tissue lining the bladder, urethra, and vaginal walls thins and loses moisture. Thinner tissue means less protection — bacteria adhere more easily and the body becomes more vulnerable. At the same time, the vaginal microbiome shifts, allowing more pathogenic bacteria to take hold. This combination is why so many women who never had UTIs in their 20s and 30s suddenly start getting them in midlife.

    What you'll learn in this episode:

    • Why estrogen loss changes your urogenital tissue
    • Why post-sex UTIs increase significantly in midlife — and the shame spiral that keeps women from talking to their doctors or partners about it
    • Why antibiotics for your last UTI may actually be setting you up for your next one
    • What the emotional connection is to UTI's and the somatic expression of those emotions
    • How examining the spiritual connection can give you clues to what's out of balance, not just in your body but in your life

    What is the emotional connection to UTIs?

    Somatically, the bladder is associated with release and suppression of what needs to be released. Sheri explores the literal and emotional meaning of being "pissed off," what it means to hold everything together for everyone else, and the pattern of putting your own needs last - including something as basic as going to the bathroom when your body tells you to.

    What is the spiritual meaning of UTIs in midlife?

    The bladder and urinary system are connected to the sacral chakra — the energy center that governs water, flow, pleasure, creativity, sexuality, and boundaries. A contracted, dried-out body may be pointing to a sacral imbalance. Perimenopause is also the life stage where we're biologically shifting from nurturing others to nurturing the self. For women who haven't made that turn yet - who are still pouring out without replenishing - UTIs may be one of the ways the body calls that forward.

    This episode is for you if:

    • You've had your first UTI in midlife and wondered why now
    • You've been getting recurrent UTIs and feel stuck in the antibiotics cycle
    • You're ready to look at what your body might be trying to tell you beyond the physical

    We're accepting new members into the Midlife Red Tent! Find the details and join us here: Midlife Red Tent

    Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

    Not Done Yet: A Podcast For Midlife Women with Rachel Perry

    Find us on instagram:

    @midlifewomenrising
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • 44: How to Set Boundaries Without Guilt (and the Nervous System Secret No One Tells You)

    44: How to Set Boundaries Without Guilt (and the Nervous System Secret No One Tells You)
    Jun 11 2026

    How to Set Boundaries Without Guilt (and the Nervous System Secret No One Tells You)

    Do you find yourself saying "yes" when every part of you wants to say "no", and then spend hours wondering why? If you feel guilty setting boundaries, you're not weak and you don't lack willpower. In this solo episode, Jen explains why boundaries feel so hard in your 40s and 50s, and why the usual advice to "just set stronger boundaries" keeps failing you.

    If you've ever frozen in a "deer in the headlights" moment and agreed to something you resented seconds later, this episode shows you exactly what's happening in your body, and what to actually do about it.

    In this episode:

    • Why boundaries get harder in midlife. As estrogen fluctuates in perimenopause and declines in menopause, you lose a key buffer against stress, making chronic overcommitment more harmful to your health than before.
    • The research linking poor boundaries to illness. Jen unpacks Dr. Gabor Maté's three traits that predict who gets sick: selflessness, suppressed anger, and over-conforming to who society says you should be.
    • Why it isn't really guilt, and isn't your fault. What women call "guilt" is often obligation, shame, or fear of being a "bad person." The real driver is nervous system dysregulation: the fawn and freeze responses.
    • What the fawn response is. Less known than fight-or-flight, fawning is a people-pleasing survival response wired in childhood. It's a subconscious program like "if everyone's happy, I'm safe."
    • Why boundary scripts don't work alone. When your nervous system is activated, your body overrides your brain. Lasting change comes from somatic tools and subconscious reprogramming, not rehearsing the perfect words.
    • A 3-part reflection to start today: notice where you feel it in your body, name the emotion (guilt, obligation, shame, fear), and uncover the hidden narrative running underneath.

    Questions this episode answers:

    • Why do I feel guilty when I set boundaries?
    • How do I set boundaries without feeling guilty?
    • What is the fawn response and how do I stop people-pleasing?
    • Why is it harder to say no during perimenopause and menopause?

    Free download: Download our free boundary-setting scripts here.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    • Our first international retreat in Peru's Sacred Valley — midlifewomenrising.com/peru
    • Theta healing and somatic nervous system work inside the Midlife Red Tent

    Find us on instagram:

    @midlifewomenrising
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
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