Peace Signs, Petty Parking & Protecting Your Energy
From 40ish - Navigating midlife and perimenopause by 40 ish: Navigating midlife and perimenopause
April 2, 2026 · 35 min · Season 5 · Episode 24
About this episode
The episode discusses midlife friendship dilemmas, personal boundaries, and a humorous take on driving gestures.
Today on 40ish: Nicole has officially had enough of the algorithm, and Lauren is launching a bold new driving movement: replacing the universal thank-you hand with a casual two-finger peace-out gesture. Will it catch on? Only time will tell. We dive into a listener dilemma about friendships in midlife. She used to be the organiser and emotional support system for everyone. Now the energy to keep friendships running just isn’t there. Is this burnout from years of carrying the load, a normal midlife shift towards protecting your energy, or the slow drift into becoming a bad friend? We talk about balance, boundaries, and what showing up for people really looks like in your 40s. Plus, midlife meltdowns are in full swing as a listener has a full internal breakdown in a supermarket car park after being silently pressured by a woman waiting for her parking space resulting in an act of slow-motion petty resistance that honestly deserves a medal. Friendship burnout, car park standoffs, failing eyesight, rogue algorithms, and a potential driving hand-gesture revolution. It’s just another calm and normal week in midlife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…
People in this episode
Hosts: Nicole, Lauren
Topics covered
- friendship burnout
- midlife dilemmas
- personal boundaries
- driving gestures
- energy protection
Keywords
- midlife
- friendship
- energy
- driving
- burnout
- personal boundaries
- humor
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Instagram, TikTok, Spreaker
More episodes of 40ish - Navigating midlife and perimenopause
- Family Feuds, Gym Friendships & Hangovers · June 11, 2026 · 34 min
- HRT Hack, Midlife Confidence and Padel is for Losers · June 9, 2026 · 36 min
- Driving Anxiety, Midlife News & A PCOS Update · June 4, 2026 · 35 min
- Live Show is Live! · June 3, 2026 · 1 min
- Itchy Pubes, Friendship Fallouts & the Fear of a Shrinking Fanny · June 2, 2026 · 38 min
- Making Female Friends in Your 40s & Becoming ‘Mumsy’ · May 28, 2026 · 42 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the 40ish - Navigating midlife and perimenopause podcast page.