Case Study: Sarah - A Successful Woman With Midlife Challenges
Sarah came to me overwhelmed and with an uncharacteristic loss of confidence. This is her story of how she found her way back from overwhelm and exhaustion, back to a more healthy and balanced life, through exploring and reinforcing her personal and interpersonal boundaries. She regained her sense of value and found ways to regain her voice in communicating her needs.
Sarah Thompson is not her real name, and she had given me permission to share her story, in the hope that it will help others. Age 45, Sarah is a Middle Manager in a Financial Services Company.
She’s married with two teenage children.
Her personality type is introverted, conscientious, and empathetic. Her hobbies are reading, gardening, and yoga (though she rarely finds time for them anymore).
Sarah has always been the reliable one. As a middle manager in a financial services company, she has built a reputation for her meticulous work, keen attention to detail, and empathetic leadership. At home, she's the pillar that holds her family together, managing the household, supporting her husband, and attending to her teenagers' myriad of activities and emotional needs.
But lately, Sarah has felt the weight of her responsibilities pressing down harder than ever before. Her work demands have escalated, with her company undergoing a major restructuring that has doubled her workload. Simultaneously, her family life has become increasingly hectic, with her teenagers requiring more emotional support as they navigate the turbulent years of adolescence.
Sarah is slowly crumbling under the strain of overworking.
Sarah starts her day at 5:30 AM, squeezing in a quick check of her emails before preparing breakfast and ensuring her kids are ready for school. Her workday officially begins at 8 AM, but by then she’s already been on conference calls and responding to urgent messages for over an hour. The demands at work are relentless: managing her team, meeting tight deadlines, attending back-to-back meetings, and handling the constant influx of emails. She often finds herself staying late at the office, missing family dinners, and working several hours over weekends to keep up.
Despite her efforts, Sarah feels like she's barely treading water. The once-clear boundaries between her work and personal life have blurred, and she feels like she’s always on the clock. Her performance reviews remain positive, but internally, she feels drained and increasingly disconnected from the work she once found fulfilling.
Sarah has a hectic family life.
At home, Sarah faces another set of challenges. Her husband, while supportive, has his own demanding job, leaving much of the household management to her. Her teenagers are both navigating critical phases in their education and social lives, requiring significant emotional and parental support. Sarah’s evenings are spent shuttling her kids to extracurricular activities, helping with homework, and mediating sibling disputes. By the time she gets to bed, she’s exhausted, with little time for herself.
Feeling lost and unmotivated.
Sarah’s stress has reached a point where she feels she's lost her way. She finds herself questioning the point of her relentless efforts, both at work and at home. The passion she once had for her career has faded, replaced by a sense of monotony and dread. Her hobbies, which once brought her joy and relaxation, have fallen by the wayside due to a lack of time and energy.
Sarah's introverted nature makes it naturally difficult for her to express her feelings. She fears that admitting her struggles would be seen as a sign of weakness, both professionally and personally. She doesn’t want to burden her already busy husband or her friends, who all seem to have their own lives perfectly together. At work, she worries that speaking up about her lack of motivation might jeopardise her position and be perceived as a failure to cope.
Seeking solutions.
Sarah, feeling overwhelmed and lacking confidence, knew she needed to make changes but didn’t know where to start. She saw my “Living your life on purpose” Facebook post and booked an appointment to come and see me.
I created a space to help Sarah navigate her feelings of burnout and we developed strategies to manage her stress and workload more effectively.
We explored how to set boundaries: to slowly implement clearer boundaries between her work and personal life, such as setting a strict cut-off time for work-related tasks and prioritising family dinners.
Sarah was reminded how she needed to delegate more tasks at work and at home. She has begun to train her team members to take on more responsibilities and now involves her family in sharing household chores.
She has found time to reconnect with her hobbies: Sarah schedules regular time for her hobbies, starting with a weekly yoga class and weekend gardening sessions.
Sarah was able to rediscover her sense of self, through exploring her needs, her unique values and beliefs, as well as revisiting her positive attributes.
Gradually Sarah practiced open communication:
Finally, when the time was right, Sarah decided to have an honest conversation with her boss about her workload and her need for a more sustainable balance. She also opened up to her husband about her feelings, seeking his support in managing their family life more equitably.
Sarah's journey is one of resilience and rediscovery. By acknowledging her struggles and taking proactive steps to address them, she has regained her sense of balance and motivation. Her story serves as a reminder that even the most dedicated and reliable individuals need to prioritise their well-being, manage their interpersonal boundaries, and seek support when facing overwhelming challenges.
If you resonate with Sarah’s story and her feelings of stress and overwhelm, reach out to me for how we can work together to get back your sense of self and direction and live your life on purpose.
