Anxiety in Midlife: Women Worriers with Elizabeth Cush

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7hmhws/Biz_Cush_final_-_3_8_21_525_PM6k47o.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY

As entrepreneurs, mothers, partners, and more, midlife women understand all too well the struggle of worrying about everything. We often spend our time worrying so much about others that we forget to take a step back and focus on our own wellbeing. As a licensed professional, Elizabeth Cush of Progression Counseling is well-versed in the woes of worrying, and in today’s podcast, we sat down to discuss how worrying in midlife impacts women and how we can combat it. First, we started with the most obvious yet basic question: why do women worry? Elizabeth explained that, compared to men, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Women are more likely to ruminate and be traumatized, which can lead to increased anxiety. Women also have to face the social stigmas and expectations surrounding appearances, motherhood, and marriage.

We then asked Elizabeth about worrying in midlife, and she told us that, although midlife gives us freedom in some areas, it also often forces us to face anxieties that we’ve kept buried for a long time. With kids leaving home and us having more time to ourselves, we are able to explore and reconnect with ourselves, which can help both bring worries to light and eventually overcome them. To help women overcome their worries, Elizabeth reminds her clients that their voice matters. She emphasizes the importance of taping into your feelings, being comfortable with boundaries, and asking yourself what you need to feel safe, be your best self, and do your best work. For women struggling with guilt when setting boundaries, Elizabeth suggests that they remind themselves that if they’re setting proper boundaries for themselves, then they can meet the needs of others as their best self. It is not about prioritizing anyone, but rather ensuring that both themselves and others are being taken care of. We then asked how mothers can learn how to put themselves first as their children grow up, and Elizabeth said it is important that mothers take a moment and check in with themselves every now and then. If a moment arises that a mother feels she needs to worry and intervene, she should wait and ask herself what she is trying to fix and why.

For alternatives to conventional therapy, Elizabeth suggested methods such as yoga, acupuncture, meditation and mindfulness, art therapy, and sand tray therapy. Not everyone feels they can calm their minds enough for meditation, so for those who struggle, Elizabeth says that it is not necessarily about having a completely quiet mind. For mindful meditation, a person is trying to train their brain to be aware of straying thoughts and to work at remaining focused and shifting from worried thoughts to calmer, more rational paths of thinking. We then asked about how one could go about redirecting their mind from worried thoughts, and Elizabeth spoke about how we are not living in the present if we are looking for things to worry about. To help, she brought up the suggestion of gratitude practice and trying to find things to be grateful for in life. Finally, we asked how people can get in touch with her, and Elizabeth said the best ways to contact her are through her website, podcast, and newsletter.

Elizabeth Cush

Elizabeth’s bio (from her website):

I know what it’s like to feel overburdened, overwhelmed, and as if you don’t have anything left to give. I know firsthand the struggle of prioritizing my own needs. At age fifty I found myself in a graduate school classroom. Let me rephrase that: I didn’t just find myself there, I had rearranged my life to go back to school to become a therapist.

This was a new chapter of life and I assumed everything would get easier somehow. But even though my children were nearly grown, I was still struggling to balance it all.

That’s when it hit me: I had spent a lifetime ignoring my own needs and putting other people first. I didn’t know how to be me. Only when I immersed myself in the art and science of psychology did I realize how much inner work I still had to do. I had to learn how to tend to my own unhealed wounds and reconnect with my own needs and desires.

Through my studies, but even more importantly, through my own return to therapy, I healed childhood traumas and recognized that my old coping mechanisms would only get me so far. I needed to create a new, stronger foundation for myself and begin from the ground up. I needed to tend to the roots of my own tree so I could continue to grow, thrive, and support the people who mattered most to me – my family, my friends, and now my clients and my broader professional community.

Since graduating and launching my own private practice, I discovered mindfulness and meditation. These techniques can help you calm your inner critic, be more compassionate with yourself, and give you a break from those constant feelings of stress and overwhelm. I integrate these simple yet profound tools and practices into all my sessions.

Degrees, Certificates, and Professional Association Affiliations:

Degrees and Certificates
- Maryland State Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor
- Master of Arts Counseling Psychology (Towson University)
- Level II Trauma Certificate from the Ferentz Institute
- Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
- Crisis Counselor, Anne Arundel Medical Center
- Therapist Intern, Mosaic Community Services
Professional Association Affiliations
- American Counseling Association
- Maryland Counseling Association
- International Association of Trauma Therapists
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of Maryland