Midlife Mood Swings — What Helped Me Tame Them

Have you ever replayed a moment in your head and physically cringed?

The face you made.
The vicious comment you fired off.
The anger or aggravation that came out way bigger than the situation deserved.

You remember the look of surprise on the other person’s face. But what lingers longer is your own surprise — that split second afterward when you think, Did that really just come out of me?

If so, were you born in the 1900s?

Because if you were, you may recognize this kind of moment. The one where the reaction feels outsized and uncharacteristic. Not because you didn’t know better — but because it happened faster than you could stop it.

And girl — I’ve been right there myself.

I’m somewhat patient and usually avoid confrontation — with the same urgency I use to avoid the cell phone guy at Sam’s Club. But when I entered midlife, my moods became sporadic, and they often bent toward the unpleasant. I didn’t always recognize them coming, and I didn’t always have time to intercept them before they showed up out loud.

It wasn’t constant. But in those moments, I didn’t even like myself.

And to be honest, there’s one moment that keeps coming back to me.

Finding the Beauty in Midlife & Beyond

THE CONVERSATION THAT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND MY PURPOSE

A friend pulled me aside recently and said,

“You know… she told me that her conversation with you changed her life.”