THANK YOU. My weird uncharacteristic behavior is starting to make more sense, after reading the New Perimenopause book, and learning from people like yourself who are diving in.
Great piece, Ellen. We talk so much about motivation and mindset —but rarely about how hormonal shifts are literally lowering the brain's threat threshold, making everything feel harder to start. It's not a discipline problem. The biology changed.
Thanks for the story it really resonates with me. I am basically on day one of trying to follow the path of my heart. Being in recovery I learned so much throughout my whole life I just want to live a peaceful healthy abundant Life. I want to travel I want to show people that they can do what their heart desires and keep it simple.
I’m reading this as someone in midlife who went through losing our hotel and the threat of bankruptcy, and the level of fear I felt at the time was intense in a way I couldn’t explain. Not just worry, but real, physical terror. It makes me wonder now if it was all being amplified far more than I realised 🌹
How different yet similar we all are. I can’t get enough of reading short sentences. …
Side note: for individuals following creatives on Substack because they enjoy reading their articles, if they have a question re possible usage of AI and its that important for them to know and understand why, it would beneficial to write to the creator directly. Just my humble opinion. 💕
I know this piece is addressed to women but I as an older guy it also resonated with me. To weigh in on your question: I'm not sure that men do have this problem less than women, it only expresses itself differently, I think. That's why most suicides in this country are men 40,000 or something a year. Men sort of die off in silence I think and/or undergo a quiet giving up. Testosterone also declines over time from age 35 at like 3% a year or something, so our ability to be aggressive towards a problem is increasingly declining and we find this disconcerting and so we do things like watching sports, buying clownishly large trucks, and hidden alcoholism, etc. Finally, I share your concern about the Ai feel of this article. TBH I have asked ChatGPT this same problem -- i.e., *why* am I not starting that big new project I'm working on, and I get pretty much this same content. Try it for yourself. I suspect that Ms Scherr does have something to say in her own right and I'd be far more interested in her hot take (pun intended) and life experience rather than this sort of anodyne AI clinician chat :"It's a feature not a flaw" which can certainly be helpful but only go so far.
Wow. I feel like this article had me in its sights and laid out all my struggles. Everything new felt like a threat hanging over me, and I felt completely unable to deal with it, even though a year ago it would have been almost second nature. Maybe I am not broken? This gives me so much hope. Thanks!
Well done! I really love when authors can take the science and rework the vernacular to make it accessible to the people who actually need it! As an artist and someone on the flipside of menopause, there is a certain comfort and joy in seeing information presented that you knew deep down, but weren’t really able to grasp onto because you were too busy resisting! And as a gal with low to no oestrogen the ability to roll with it has definitely decreased. Thanks for the mirror and a bit of an “oh riiight” reminder.
THANK YOU. My weird uncharacteristic behavior is starting to make more sense, after reading the New Perimenopause book, and learning from people like yourself who are diving in.
Great piece, Ellen. We talk so much about motivation and mindset —but rarely about how hormonal shifts are literally lowering the brain's threat threshold, making everything feel harder to start. It's not a discipline problem. The biology changed.
This is spot on for me. Male
A great read explaining that you aren't going mad, it's your brain chemistry doing its thing.
In midlife, even more fun if you didn't realise you had ADHD traits until everything falls apart in perimenopause.
Such a great read, thank you!
Thanks for the story it really resonates with me. I am basically on day one of trying to follow the path of my heart. Being in recovery I learned so much throughout my whole life I just want to live a peaceful healthy abundant Life. I want to travel I want to show people that they can do what their heart desires and keep it simple.
I’m reading this as someone in midlife who went through losing our hotel and the threat of bankruptcy, and the level of fear I felt at the time was intense in a way I couldn’t explain. Not just worry, but real, physical terror. It makes me wonder now if it was all being amplified far more than I realised 🌹
Good explanation re predators etc., but why are men less prone to this problem than women? Testosterone?
Also, while I really appreciate this article, I find material with all short sentences hard to read. Is it an AI tic? Or your own writing preference?
Cheers.
How different yet similar we all are. I can’t get enough of reading short sentences. …
Side note: for individuals following creatives on Substack because they enjoy reading their articles, if they have a question re possible usage of AI and its that important for them to know and understand why, it would beneficial to write to the creator directly. Just my humble opinion. 💕
I know this piece is addressed to women but I as an older guy it also resonated with me. To weigh in on your question: I'm not sure that men do have this problem less than women, it only expresses itself differently, I think. That's why most suicides in this country are men 40,000 or something a year. Men sort of die off in silence I think and/or undergo a quiet giving up. Testosterone also declines over time from age 35 at like 3% a year or something, so our ability to be aggressive towards a problem is increasingly declining and we find this disconcerting and so we do things like watching sports, buying clownishly large trucks, and hidden alcoholism, etc. Finally, I share your concern about the Ai feel of this article. TBH I have asked ChatGPT this same problem -- i.e., *why* am I not starting that big new project I'm working on, and I get pretty much this same content. Try it for yourself. I suspect that Ms Scherr does have something to say in her own right and I'd be far more interested in her hot take (pun intended) and life experience rather than this sort of anodyne AI clinician chat :"It's a feature not a flaw" which can certainly be helpful but only go so far.
I love the short sentences. It's great for neurodivergent minds! 😌
Yesss!!
a reminder I needed right now! thank you ✨️
Wow. I feel like this article had me in its sights and laid out all my struggles. Everything new felt like a threat hanging over me, and I felt completely unable to deal with it, even though a year ago it would have been almost second nature. Maybe I am not broken? This gives me so much hope. Thanks!
Well done! I really love when authors can take the science and rework the vernacular to make it accessible to the people who actually need it! As an artist and someone on the flipside of menopause, there is a certain comfort and joy in seeing information presented that you knew deep down, but weren’t really able to grasp onto because you were too busy resisting! And as a gal with low to no oestrogen the ability to roll with it has definitely decreased. Thanks for the mirror and a bit of an “oh riiight” reminder.
Interesting! TY!