Shannon Swales Psychologist

10/04/2026

🌿 Finding Strength and Solace in Nature

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
— Rachel Carson, American Marine Biologist and Writer

From the very beginning of my recovery from burnout in early midlife — and now, five years on — nature has played a powerful role in my healing and growth.

It continues to be a place I return to daily — to soften, to connect, and to remember what matters.

A place that supports me to live with more purpose, meaning, and vitality — not through doing more, but through being with what is.

Something I’d gently invite you to reflect on:

How much time do you get to spend in nature?
And in that time… how connected are you to the experience?

I’m currently learning more about forest bathing — a practice that invites us to slow down and fully immerse ourselves in the natural world.

And next time you are in nature, perhaps take a few moments to really connect with her.
There is something deeply restorative there — a kind of medicine for the soul.

🌻 Take gentle care of you
🧡 Shannon

09/04/2026

🌻 The Midlife Reclaimed podcast has been nominated in the Women Podcasters Awards 🧡

If you’d like to support, here’s how to vote:

✨ Complete one online form
✨ Select Midlife Reclaimed in Mindset & Mental Health
✨ Select Midlife Reclaimed in Podcast Guest
✨ Submit — it takes less than 5 minutes

You can vote here:
https://www.womenpodcasters.com/awards-voting [Link in bio]

Voting closes April 30.

Thank you for being part of this space 🌻🧡

08/04/2026

I’ve just recorded this week’s meditation for the Midlife Reclaimed community.

Mindful meditation is something I return to again and again — both in my own life and in the way I support others through therapy, coaching, and community.

Not as a perfect practice.
Not as something to “get right.”
But as a way of being with ourselves with more awareness and compassion.

So much of this work isn’t about doing more —
it’s about relating to ourselves differently within what’s already here.

This week’s practice is a simple one, designed to meet you in your everyday life.

If this way of working resonates, you’re always welcome to explore it with me 🧡🌻

Midlife Reclaimed Community for Women: https://midlife-reclaimed.mn.co/
Website: www.shannonaswales.com

07/04/2026

Showing up honestly today — the fatigue of perimenopause is real.

This book (The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi) has been such a helpful guide.
Staying informed really matters. 🌻

06/04/2026

There’s no one right way to navigate midlife…

But there are spaces we can come back to when things feel overwhelming, uncertain, or disconnected 🧡

Over time, I’ve created a range of offerings to support women in this season of life, each one designed to be something you can engage with gently, in your own time.

🌻 Podcast
🌻 Book (Nothing Left to Give)
🌻 Blog
🌻 Free guided journal (when you subscribe)
🌻 Monthly newsletter

This isn’t about doing more
It’s about finding what supports you… and letting that be enough 🌿

If this feels like something you’ve been needing, you’re so welcome to explore all my resources and more at:
www.shannonaswales.com

Take gentle care of you 🧡

05/04/2026

🌻 Coming Home to Self — A Midlife Teaching

There’s something I want to name, because I think it matters.

So often, when women reach midlife and feel disconnected from themselves, there can be a quiet sense of:

“What’s wrong with me?”

But what I’ve come to understand — both personally and professionally — is this:

It’s not that we’ve lost ourselves.
It’s that many of us were never taught to truly value a relationship with ourselves in the first place.

Our worth has been shaped around what we give, how we look, how we care for others, and what we achieve — not who we are underneath all of that.

So of course disconnection can happen.

Not because we’ve failed —
but because we were never supported to build that connection in a sustainable way.

This was part of my own burnout experience.

And my way back wasn’t about fixing myself…
It was about gently rebuilding a relationship with myself.

✨ This is what shapes my next teaching:

Coming Home to Self: Mindful Compassionate Journaling in Midlife

A gentle, supportive space to reconnect with yourself — without pressure or expectation.

🗓 Thursday 21 May
🕕 6:00 – 7:30 pm AEST
💻 Online

✨ Early bird tickets (20% off) available until 20 April

If this speaks to you, you are so welcome 🧡

🔗 Explore more and Book here:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/coming-home-to-self-mindful-compassionate-journaling-in-midlife-tickets-1983923678127?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

Join us online to explore mindful, self-compassionate journaling and reconnect with your true self in midlife.

04/04/2026

🌻 The Midlife Reclaimed podcast has been nominated in the Women Podcasters Awards (Mindset & Mental Health category) 🧡
And I’ve also been nominated in the Podcast Guest category.

If you’ve listened or connected with the podcast, thank you — it really does mean a lot.

If it feels right to vote:

✨ You’ll complete one form only - online
✨ Vote for Midlife Reclaimed in Mindset & Mental Health
✨ Vote for Midlife Reclaimed in Podcast Guest

It takes less than 5 minutes.

You can vote here:
https://www.womenpodcasters.com/awards-voting

Voting is open until April 30.

Take gentle care of you,
Shannon 🌻

03/04/2026

“Menopause impacts the brain just as much as it impacts the ovaries.”

This line from The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi really stayed with me.

As a perimenopausal woman experiencing some of the cognitive symptoms that can come with this transition, this book has helped me understand what’s happening — and eased a lot of the fear that can arise when things feel unfamiliar.

Menopause is not just a reproductive transition — it’s a neurological one too.

This impacts over half the population if we live long enough.

This is something we should all understand — for ourselves, for each other.

Highly recommend this read 🌻

02/04/2026

🎨 New Episode Out Now 🎨

There’s something many of us quietly leave behind as life gets fuller…
busier…
more demanding…

✨ Creativity ✨

In this episode of Midlife Reclaimed, I sit down with Chrissy (Artuition Studio) — an Art Therapist working with midlife women and in the neurodivergence space — for a deeply nourishing conversation.

We begin with a very real midlife experience…
that kind of tiredness where your body is asking for something different.

And from there, we explore how creativity can become a gentle way back to yourself.

Not through pressure.
Not through perfection.
But through curiosity, expression, and permission.

🌿 This is a longer episode — so take your time.
Go for a walk. Listen in parts. Let it meet you where you are.

🎧 Watch here: https://youtu.be/JjybaPfIXa0?si=as2NmzrJ_0YcRRKe
🎧 Listen here: https://shows.acast.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear/episodes/art-therapy-for-midlife-women-reconnecting-with-creativity-j

If this resonates, sharing helps this reach other women who may need it 🧡

🌻 I’d love to hear — what is your relationship with creativity these days?

01/04/2026

🌻 A little share… and a gentle ask

As I’ve mentioned recently, the Midlife Reclaimed podcast has been nominated in the Women Podcasters Awards — in the Mindset & Mental Health category 🧡
I’ve also been nominated in the Podcast Guest category.

Both feel really meaningful.

The podcast itself… and the opportunity to sit in conversation with others — speaking openly about burnout, midlife, and coming back to ourselves.

If you’ve listened, shared an episode, or connected with this work in any way — thank you. Truly.

And if it feels right for you, I’d be so grateful for your vote.

✨ You can vote here:
https://www.womenpodcasters.com/awards-voting
Make sure you vote for Midlife Reclaimed in the Mindset & Mental Health category and for the Podcast Guest category

✨ Voting is open until April 30

No pressure at all — just an open invitation.

Take gentle care of you,
Shannon 🌻

31/03/2026

Over time, I’ve realised that not all support needs to look the same.

Some seasons call for therapy — a space to be held through burnout, overwhelm, or anxiety.

Some call for community — to feel less alone, to share, to soften.

And sometimes it’s not about healing something broken, but about gently asking:
- What do I want now?
- Who am I becoming?

That’s where coaching has emerged in my work. A space for reflection, direction, and change without the weight of crisis.

If you’ve been wondering how you might step into support, this is a little map of what’s available.

You’re always welcome to reach out if you’re unsure where to start 🌻

— Shannon 🌻

🌿 Learn more or book: www.shannonaswales.com
📩 Email: admin@shannonaswales.com

30/03/2026

There’s something I keep seeing in my work with midlife women…
and it gently challenges so much of what we’ve been taught.

We’ve been told to push, to hold it together, to get it “right.”
But growth doesn’t happen there.

Growth happens in spaces that feel safe enough to soften.
To unravel a little.
To be human.

Lately, I’ve been sitting with this truth:
✨ the most healed humans are often the messiest
✨ they don’t force themselves into rigid ideals
✨ they bend, respond, and move with life as it is

And maybe that’s not a flaw…
maybe that’s the work.

I’ve shared a few “truth bombs” in the post…
and I’d really love to hear yours.

What’s something midlife has taught you — gently or the hard way?

🧡🌻