I’m Laurel Edmundson, MD

Over my 20 years working as a Family Medicine Doc in diverse settings, I have seen how our mindset, habits, and behavior directly affect our health.  Our psychological/ emotional well being is intimately tied to how good (or bad) we feel in our bodies.  This fact is particularly important to recognize during times of transition, as women experience in midlife and menopause.  During this chapter, there are many real physiologic changes happening in our bodies that can cause significant discomfort.  Simultaneously, many women experience some degree of existential turmoil–questioning our roles and responsibilities within families and the larger society, our careers, interpersonal relationships, basic desires, motivations, goals, and even our fundamental identities.  

I can relate to all of this, having gone through significant personal changes in my own life over the past several years.  What I have found is that while this midlife chapter can feel destabilizing, it can also be a period of extraordinary growth and self-discovery–especially if we approach it with self-compassion and trust in ourselves.

This does not have to mean making changes in our external environment, though that may feel appropriate and necessary.  By just tuning into our own wisdom and learning to choose our thoughts on purpose, we can feel more grounded and live more intentionally, no matter what is swirling around outside (and inside) us.  Helping women realize this for themselves has become my greatest passion.