Turning 48: The Year Perimenopause Made Me Drop the Cape (And Why That’s Not a Bad Thing)
Tomorrow I turn 48. 🥳 And honestly? I feel every bit of 47 still sitting in my bones… because this last trip around the sun has well and truly kicked my arse hormonally.
I knew perimenopause was coming. I’d heard the stories. I’d read the books. I even sell things to help women through it. But actually living it this year? Whole different story. The brain fog, the sleep battles, the low patience threshold, the “why am I crying over a mushroom?” moments, the days where even thinking felt like an extreme sport. It wasn’t just that I noticed the changes… it was that I finally started to understand what this stage of life is actually doing to us.
The Hormone Shift No One Warns Us About
Here’s the thing I wish I knew earlier: as our oestrogen levels drop, so do our caretaker instincts. That internal, automatic, “everyone else first” programming we’ve run since our kids were born (or honestly, since girlhood) starts glitching. Not because we’re failing. Not because we’re becoming selfish. But because biologically, chemically, hormonally… we are less driven to prioritise everyone else over ourselves.
Oestrogen has been behind our nurturing, smoothing-the-edges, keep-the-peace behaviours for decades. When it dips, so does that natural instinct to keep saying yes, to keep absorbing the mental load, to keep performing the role of emotional manager of the household.
And suddenly we start asking: What do I want? Why am I still doing everything? What if I stopped saying yes to things that drain me?
We are not becoming selfish. We are becoming self-honouring. This shift is not a personality flaw – it’s a biological transition calling us to our next chapter. This year I stopped fighting that shift… and I started leaning in.
When Mum Said “Peace” – And I Finally Got It
When I was growing up, I’d ask my mum what she wanted for Christmas or her birthday and every single time she would say: “Just give me peace.” I’d roll my eyes and think, “Ugh, boring. Why not ask for something fun?”
But now? At 48? Oh I get it. Peace is the luxury. Peace is the gift. Peace is the pinnacle prize of womanhood. Not just quiet… but inner peace. The kind that comes from finally putting down the invisible roles no one told us we were allowed to hand back.
Which is why this year, my go-to essence has been Peace – not because my life is suddenly calm (it’s not), but because I want to vibrate on the frequency of peace regardless of what’s happening around me. It helps me stop reacting to every bump as if it’s an emergency and instead breathe through the chaos with a softer nervous system.
The Year I Stopped Being “The Good Girl”
I’ve spent most of my life being a very skilled people pleaser: the peacekeeper, the mediator, the one who made everything feel “fine” for everyone else. But 47 was the year my voice got louder – not in volume, but in honesty. I said things I would’ve swallowed five years ago. I asked for what I needed instead of hinting. I stopped apologising for existing.
My companion here has been Truth – that little nudge that says, “Use your voice, even if it shakes. Especially if it shakes.”
The Year of Firsts: Courage in Action
And then there were the big brave things I did this year – the things old me would never have allowed. I went overseas for 3.5 weeks without my family – the longest I’ve ever been away, and the first time I chose personal growth over mum-guilt. I started reformer Pilates in January and I’m still going – actually loving it! And I even said yes to doing a new photoshoot for work when I honestly didn’t feel like being in front of the camera.
That’s the energy of Courage – not loud, dramatic courage… but everyday courage. The kind that shows up quietly in the choices we make. The kind that says: I can love my family and still go live my life.
This season has asked for Truth to speak honestly, Peace to soften my nervous system, and Courage to keep stepping outside the comfort zone. If you’re feeling this shift too, these three together are beautiful support.
Funnily enough, these blends I have been leaning on are all in a pack that I created years ago within my chakra blend range. I put this pack together for connection to others but of course that begins with connection to yourself first.
If you are in your 40s, 50s, peri- or post-menopausal… please hear this: you are not losing yourself. You are returning to the self you never had space for. You are not broken. You are biologically shifting into a phase that asks you to prioritise YOU. You do not need permission to rest, say no, renegotiate the emotional contracts of your home, or choose desire over duty. Your hormones are literally moving you toward yourself.
Happy Birthday to me! 🎉
Yours in Health,
Alisha
Turning 48: The Year Perimenopause Made Me Drop the Cape (And Why That’s Not a Bad Thing)
Tomorrow I turn 48. 🥳 And honestly? I feel every bit of 47 still sitting in my bones… because this last trip around the sun has well and truly kicked my arse hormonally.
I knew perimenopause was coming. I’d heard the stories. I’d read the books. I even sell things to help women through it. But actually living it this year? Whole different story. The brain fog, the sleep battles, the low patience threshold, the “why am I crying over a mushroom?” moments, the days where even thinking felt like an extreme sport. It wasn’t just that I noticed the changes… it was that I finally started to understand what this stage of life is actually doing to us.
The Hormone Shift No One Warns Us About
Here’s the thing I wish I knew earlier: as our oestrogen levels drop, so do our caretaker instincts. That internal, automatic, “everyone else first” programming we’ve run since our kids were born (or honestly, since girlhood) starts glitching. Not because we’re failing. Not because we’re becoming selfish. But because biologically, chemically, hormonally… we are less driven to prioritise everyone else over ourselves.
Oestrogen has been behind our nurturing, smoothing-the-edges, keep-the-peace behaviours for decades. When it dips, so does that natural instinct to keep saying yes, to keep absorbing the mental load, to keep performing the role of emotional manager of the household.
And suddenly we start asking: What do I want? Why am I still doing everything? What if I stopped saying yes to things that drain me?
We are not becoming selfish. We are becoming self-honouring. This shift is not a personality flaw – it’s a biological transition calling us to our next chapter. This year I stopped fighting that shift… and I started leaning in.
When Mum Said “Peace” – And I Finally Got It
When I was growing up, I’d ask my mum what she wanted for Christmas or her birthday and every single time she would say: “Just give me peace.” I’d roll my eyes and think, “Ugh, boring. Why not ask for something fun?”
But now? At 48? Oh I get it. Peace is the luxury. Peace is the gift. Peace is the pinnacle prize of womanhood. Not just quiet… but inner peace. The kind that comes from finally putting down the invisible roles no one told us we were allowed to hand back.
Which is why this year, my go-to essence has been Peace – not because my life is suddenly calm (it’s not), but because I want to vibrate on the frequency of peace regardless of what’s happening around me. It helps me stop reacting to every bump as if it’s an emergency and instead breathe through the chaos with a softer nervous system.
The Year I Stopped Being “The Good Girl”
I’ve spent most of my life being a very skilled people pleaser: the peacekeeper, the mediator, the one who made everything feel “fine” for everyone else. But 47 was the year my voice got louder – not in volume, but in honesty. I said things I would’ve swallowed five years ago. I asked for what I needed instead of hinting. I stopped apologising for existing.
My companion here has been Truth – that little nudge that says, “Use your voice, even if it shakes. Especially if it shakes.”
The Year of Firsts: Courage in Action
And then there were the big brave things I did this year – the things old me would never have allowed. I went overseas for 3.5 weeks without my family – the longest I’ve ever been away, and the first time I chose personal growth over mum-guilt. I started reformer Pilates in January and I’m still going – actually loving it! And I even said yes to doing a new photoshoot for work when I honestly didn’t feel like being in front of the camera.
That’s the energy of Courage – not loud, dramatic courage… but everyday courage. The kind that shows up quietly in the choices we make. The kind that says: I can love my family and still go live my life.
This season has asked for Truth to speak honestly, Peace to soften my nervous system, and Courage to keep stepping outside the comfort zone. If you’re feeling this shift too, these three together are beautiful support.
Funnily enough, these blends I have been leaning on are all in a pack that I created years ago within my chakra blend range. I put this pack together for connection to others but of course that begins with connection to yourself first.
If you are in your 40s, 50s, peri- or post-menopausal… please hear this: you are not losing yourself. You are returning to the self you never had space for. You are not broken. You are biologically shifting into a phase that asks you to prioritise YOU. You do not need permission to rest, say no, renegotiate the emotional contracts of your home, or choose desire over duty. Your hormones are literally moving you toward yourself.
Happy Birthday to me! 🎉
Yours in Health,
Alisha
1 comment
Happy Birthday for tomorrow beautiful lady. My daughter and I 21 and 49 have been having so much success and lasting change with your essences. It’s a credit to you 💗✨🌈 you are our Naughty Naturopath Guru 😇🙏👏🎉
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