Nicola Farndell: Redundancy, Rock Bottom & Midlife Reinvention

In this week's episode of Geordie Pride: Voices from the North East, we're chatting with Nicola Farndell - a women's health and menopause coach who has rebuilt her life from the ground up after years of anxiety, burnout and big life changes.  Nicola shares her powerful story of going from decades of panic attacks, hiding her struggles at work, and feeling completely disconnected from herself… to finding confidence, purpose and a new career supporting women through midlife, health and menopause.  After being made redundant from Nike during the pandemic, Nicola reached a huge crossroads. Instead of going back to the life that was draining her, she chose to transform it - and now helps women understand their bodies, their hormones and their habits so they can feel strong, calm and in control again.     We chat about:  🔥 How panic attacks shaped her life for over 20 years  💼 Working at Nike while hiding her anxiety from everyone around her  ⚡ Redundancy, reinvention and rebuilding her self-worth  💛 Why women hit a "midlife crossroads" and why it can actually be a turning point  🧠 The difference between confidence and self-worth (and why that distinction matters)  🧯 Why so many women are 'firefighting' through life instead of feeling in control  🌙 How menopause impacts identity, relationships and everyday life — far beyond symptoms  ✨ How tiny habits, mindset work and self-awareness can create real long-term change  It's honest, emotional, inspiring, and full of the kind of real talk that so many women need to hear - especially at midlife.  🎧 About Nicola Farndell  Nicola Farndell is a women's health and menopause specialist, keynote speaker, and founder of Life Now Coaching. After two decades in senior leadership at Nike, Nicola hit burnout, anxiety, and perimenopause head-on - and turned that experience into a mission: to help midlife women reclaim their energy, confidence, and wellbeing with clarity and compassion.   Through her RESET method - built on mindset, movement, nutrition, sleep, and stress - Nicola helps high-achieving women ditch the surface fixes and create habits that genuinely last. She also works with organisations across sport, law, and finance to make menopause and women's health a cultural priority, not a tick-box exercise.  Whether she's on stage, on a podcast, or coaching 1:1, Nicola brings a grounded, real-world approach to health that helps women feel strong, focused, and empowered - not just in midlife, but for life.    Connect with Nicola  📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifenow_coaching/  💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolafarndell/  🎧 Podcast – Women's Health Unwrapped: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/womenshealthunwrapped  🧭 The Midlife Reset Quiz: https://nicola-w4qugfu9.scoreapp.com  📚 Book Mentioned – Worthy by Jamie Kern Lima: https://amzn.eu/d/gf5xpS5   🌍 More from Geordie Pride:   🎧 Website: www.geordiepride.co.uk   📺 YouTube: Geordie Pride Channel   📸 Instagram: @geordiepride   💌 Apply to be a guest or sponsor an episode: geordiepride.co.uk/apply   📮 Want a shoutout? Tell us what you love about the North East: [email protected]