Thriving Through Anxiety in a World on Fire
How to build resilience and find peace amid global chaos
The past decade has been a relentless storm.
Brexit, two Trump administrations, COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and global economic instability have left many of us feeling unmoored.
Values and identities are shifting on a global scale.
For me, the turbulence isn’t just global, it’s been deeply personal.
In 2014, I moved back to Brussels from Brighton after losing my mother to cancer. My dad found himself alone and wasn’t coping.
I was unemployed and rebuilding my life from scratch. Over the years, I held three different jobs, traveled, made new friends. I also got reacquainted to a few familiar faces, and slowly pieced together a new sense of stability.
But the challenges kept coming.
In 2021, I became my father’s hospice carer for three months (85 days to be exact) until his death. That came just eight months after we had to put down our beloved family dog, Mademoiselle Louise.
The past decade has been a lot. For all of us.
Yet here we are, still rowing.
One thing I learned? Resilience isn’t about avoiding anxiety but navigating through it with intention.
Here’s how I’ve managed to hold on, and how you can too.
The Psychological Toll of Relentless Crises
When crises pile up, whether global or personal, our brains struggle to cope.
Chronic stress keeps our nervous system in overdrive, leading to anxiety, depression, and even physical health issues.
Studies show that prolonged exposure to stress can accelerate brain ageing and impair cognitive function.
For women in midlife, the stakes are even higher. Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause can amplify stress responses, while societal pressures around ageing and caregiving add additional layers of strain.
In my case, balancing grief with the demands of rebuilding my life felt like running a race with no finish line in sight.
But here’s what I’ve learned: acknowledging the toll is the first step toward healing.
Anxiety isn’t a weakness, it’s a natural response to overwhelming circumstances. Recognising this helps us move from self-blame to self-compassion.
Why Women in Midlife Are Especially Vulnerable
As single women in our 50s, we often find ourselves juggling multiple roles: caregiver, breadwinner, friend, and sometimes even parent to adult children or pets who feel like family members.
When my father’s health declined in 2021, I stepped into the role of hospice carer. An emotional experience that left little room for processing my own grief over losing him or our dog earlier that year (anticipatory grief paired with disenfranchised grief).
Financial pressures also weigh heavily on midlife women, especially those navigating career transitions or recovering from unemployment, even short term, like I did when I returned to my home country.
Research shows that women over 50 report higher stress levels than any other demographic group, often due to these intersecting responsibilities and societal expectations.
But here’s the good news: midlife is also a time of incredible strength and resilience if we learn how to harness it.
How to Stay Sane When the World Isn’t
Immediate Strategies for Calming Anxiety
When the world feels overwhelming (or when grief hits hard), small actions can make a big difference:
Breathe through it
Techniques like box breathing (inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4) can help reset your nervous system during moments of panic or overwhelm.
Before making tough decisions or checking stressful news updates, try grounding yourself with deep breathing exercises.
Move your body
During my toughest days as a carer for my dad, even short walks helped clear my mind and release pent-up tension.
Gentle yoga or stretching can also be incredibly calming when you feel stuck emotionally.
Micro-workouts (5 to 10 minutes) can clear your head and give you an energy boost (indoor cycling or bouncing on a rebounder).
Set boundaries with news consumption
Avoid doomscrolling and 24-hour news. You’re better off reading, listening to a podcast, or watching Seinfeld for the umpteenth time.
One news check per day is enough, and you might want to skip it altogether to truly focus on uplifting content.
Long-Term Resilience Practices
Building mental resilience isn’t just about quick fixes. It’s about creating habits that protect your brain and body over time:
Prioritize sleep
Sleep disruptions were common for me during periods of grief and stress, but I found relief through magnesium supplements (this doesn’t work for everyone though) and establishing a consistent bedtime routine.
Nourish your brain
Foods rich in omega-3s and antioxidants support cognitive health and reduce inflammation linked to stress.
Reconnect with joy
After our family dog and my dad passed away, I made it a point to revisit hobbies I’d neglected, like writing and traveling, to remind myself there’s still fun and beauty in life.
Find your people
Whether it’s family members and friends who understand your struggles or online communities where you can share your story (hello Substack!), connection is key. You need to be able to vent from time to time. Find your people, they are out there, I promise.
Action Is The Antidote
The past decade has tested me in ways I never imagined but it’s also taught me this: resilience isn’t about avoiding pain; it’s about choosing hope despite it.
You won’t stop wars or fix economies by worrying, but you can:
Protect your brain through sleep, movement, and nutrition.
Limit despair by focusing on what you can control.
Build community because healing happens together.
The world may keep burning, but you don’t have to burn out with it.
Your Turn
How have you coped with anxiety over the past decade? Share your story! I’d love to hear what’s worked for you (and what hasn’t).
Let’s keep this conversation going. Because none of us are alone in this journey.
Related posts:
If you liked this post, support Shenmag:
→ If this sparked something in you, give this post a like.
→ If you have a thought to share or just want to chime in, leave a comment.
→ And if it made you rethink something and you want to spread the word, restack.
Shenmag is more than a newsletter. It’s a conversation about ageing on our own terms. Every interaction helps it grow. Let’s rethink midlife. Redefine ageing. And rewrite what comes next.
Thank you for this beautifully honest and deeply grounding piece, Stephanie. It’s comforting to hear someone articulate the quiet weight of cumulative grief and anxiety with such clarity—especially the reminder that resilience isn’t about bypassing the hard stuff, but moving through it intentionally. That reframe, from self blame to self compassion, struck a chord.
What you shared about micro-actions—like movement, boundaries with news, and reconnecting with joy—feels like a gentle lifeline. Sometimes it’s the smallest acts that pull us through the biggest storms. I’m grateful for your voice in this space—it feels like a warm hand reaching out across the noise.