Feeling constantly exhausted, overwhelmed, or like you’re running on empty — even after resting? In this episode of Midlife Reclaimed, Shannon A Swales explores pacing, a powerful and compassionate approach to managing your energy in midlife.

If rest is how you refill your tank, pacing is how you spend your energy — wisely, intentionally, and without slipping back into burnout mode. This episode is especially supportive for midlife women navigating burnout, perimenopause, chronic stress, or emotional overload.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

What “energy budgeting” really means and why it’s essential for burnout recovery

- Why midlife women overspend their energy due to internal “shoulds” and invisible mental load

- How to complete an energy inventory (including the hidden emotional labour you may be overlooking)

- How to identify your personal energy drains vs. energy restorers

- Simple pacing strategies to prevent burnout and reduce overwhelm

- Daily check-ins that help you stay within your energy limits

- Why pacing is not laziness — it’s sustainable wellbeing

Shannon breaks down the mindset shift required to step out of the pressure to “just keep going,” and instead move toward sustainable energy management, self-connection, and compassionate boundaries.

Who This Episode Is For

This conversation is especially supportive if you’re a midlife woman experiencing burnout, perimenopause symptoms, stress, or chronic exhaustion, or if you’re learning to regulate your nervous system after years of pushing past your limits.

Host: Shannon Swales: Clinical Psychologist, award-winning author, and midlife woman who’s walked through burnout and come out the other side. Shannon combines clinical wisdom with lived experience to support others navigating chronic stress, burnout, and big life transitions. Through gentle conversations and evidence-based insights, she helps women reconnect with themselves, reclaim their energy, and grow through what once felt like breaking points.

If you enjoy the Midlife Reclaimed Podcast, join our community:

• Midlife Reclaimed Online Community - a place to come back home to self - https://midlife-reclaimed.mn.co/

• Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn @shannon.a.swales

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Disclaimer: This podcast does not create a therapist-client relationship with Shannon A Swales. The views expressed are general & not a substitute for personalised therapy. If in distress, seek professional help. Remember—you don’t have to face your struggles alone.

Engaging with this podcast does not intend to create, nor does it create, a therapist-client relationship between you and Shannon A Swales. All views, opinions, and tips expressed by me or my guests are general in nature and not a replacement for personalised therapy. As I have done for myself, I encourage anyone experiencing distress to seek professional support. In Australia, if you are in a life-threatening emergency, please dial 000. For immediate counselling, contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or 13YARN (13 92 76) for First Nation Australians. Stay safe, and remember—you don’t have to face your struggles alone.

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