My Story of Thriving in Midlife

Growing up in Ireland, wellness wasn’t a word we used. It was more about fresh air, swimming in the freezing sea, and a loving hug. 

But like many, I struggled—quiet battles with social anxiety, self-doubt and the weight of unspoken expectations or lack of. 

Therapy wasn’t something people talked about, so I turned to music, books, journaling, and eventually, my studies to become an Occupational Therapist. 

It was here that I first encountered the idea of holistic health and how our mental, emotional, and physical selves are interconnected.

But even as I practiced as an OT, I knew something was missing. 

My passion was rooted in prevention, helping people thrive before things went wrong—not just treating them afterward. 

That seed of interest in well-being stayed with me as I moved continents, became a mother, and navigated the joys and challenges of raising children without close family support.

Life has thrown me more than a few curveballs, but each one has shaped who I am today:

→ Moving alone to New York City in my 20s taught me bravery and showed me I was more capable than I had ever before believed.

→ Becoming a mom forced me to reckon with an identity crisis but also introduced me to the power of habits, mindfulness, and community.

→ Leaving my career as an OT allowed me to finally honor my deeper interests in well-being science and personal growth.

→ And like so many of us, the pandemic was a wake-up call. It made me realize just how short and precious our time on this earth is and how urgently I wanted to hone and use my gifts and experiences to support others in living a life aligned with their values and dreams.

Over the years, I’ve worn many hats—therapist, mother, volunteer, advocate, friend—and through it all, I’ve learned to lean on the tools and practices that I now teach my clients.

• Self-Compassion: I learned (with difficulty) to quiet my inner critic, replacing judgment with kindness.
  
  

• Well-Being Basics: I learned techniques to balance my self care needs such as sleep, movement, nutrition and stress reduction.
  
  

• Connection: I prioritized deep, meaningful relationships after years of feeling isolated.
  
  

• Emotional Awareness: I gained the language to sit with difficult feelings, overcame the fear that they would crush me and learned to let them pass without overwhelming me.
  
  

• Visioning and Growth: I visualized a future self that felt aligned with my values and purpose and began taking small, science-supported steps to get there.

These shifts weren’t overnight. I’ve had plenty of knocks along the way, but they were life-changing and have given me the tools to regroup again and again.

The biggest effect of my transformation in midlife is the quality of my relationships. I’m no longer the Mom who has a short temper and is constantly stressed out, only paying half attention, thinking about how to just get to the end of the day. 

By living authentically into my true self, I have deepened my presence and joy in life despite challenging times. I hold space every day for the light and dark moments because life will always include both.

Through this process, I’ve learned to approach it with the lens of self compassion, curiosity and joy. 

→ I’ve shed the deeply damaging inner critic that used to keep me living small and fearful. 

→ I have developed strategies which create much needed balance in my life. 

→ I have a much more joyful and purpose driven mindset, underpinned by a deep clarity on who I am and what I have to give this world! 

Now, it’s your turn

Katriona Burrow is aCertified Health and Wellbeing Coach who specializes in supporting women 40+ to thrive in their second half of life with vitality, purpose, and joy.  While mainstream culture tells us that “it’s all downhill from here,” she believes passionately that midlife is a fork in the road, a choice not a decline. It’s an opportunity to reflect, reset, and move forward with a deeper sense of what truly matters. Today, she’s on a mission to help her clients reclaim their power, elevate their wellbeing, and live the heck out of their beautiful lives no matter their age.

Katriona grew up in Ireland, but has lived in the New York/ New Jersey area for 25 years. She has a BSc Hons. in Occupational Therapy and practiced in various settings for 14 years. Since then she wore the stay-at-home-mom hat for 15 years to her two amazing girls, and her life is richer for that choice. She marries her background in OT with her coaching skills and wide reaching lived experiences to show up as a deeply empathetic and knowledgeable coach.

After years of volunteer and advocate work in both school and wellness field and spearheading school learning gardens, she finally took the leap during the pandemic, to train to become a  Certified Health and Wellbeing Coach with Wellcoaches. Four years later she feels like this is what she was meant to do on this planet.