E14 - Interview with Women's Midlife Coach Clarissa Kristjansson (and Alvin rescues an injured owl?!)

In this episode we are excited to have on as a guest Clarissa Kristjansson, a women’s midlife coach who is also the host of the podcast “Thriving Through Menopause.” Before getting to our interview with Clarissa, Alvin and I spend a few minutes discussing an idea for a Saturday Night Live sketch involving Spock from Star Trek, and then hear about a recent situation in which Alvin was called on to rescue an injured owl, and a story about how he was accosted by a llama during his travels in Peru. If you want to skip ahead to the interview you can jump to minute 30 in the audio feed. In our interview we discuss how Clarissa made the journey from a PhD in neuroscience to being a women’s midlife coach, the difference between peri-menopause and menopause, the typical physiological and psychological changes associated with menopause, ways in which Clarissa helps her clients adjust to these changes, how one can support their partner who is going through menopause, how women and men experience  anhedonia in the midlife, Clarissa’s perspective on how the typical journey through menopause maps onto the life happiness curve, and other topics. After the interview Alvin and I reflect on some of the take home points from Clarissa’s interview that we might put into practice, and discuss how Clarissa acts as a model of demonstrating wisdom. Clarissa's podcast: https://www.thrivethrumenopause.com/ Clarissa's women's coaching website: https://clarissakristjansson.com/about Clarissa's blog and other media resources: https://linktr.ee/thrivethrumeno Clarissa's Twitter/X feed: @thrivethrumeno Clarissa's books: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Menopause-Balance-Vitality-Clarity/dp/916399416X https://www.amazon.com/Potent-Power-Menopause-Perspective-Transformation-ebook/dp/B09ZHCZZVT