When Mid Life Thriving co-founder Erica Gibbon mentioned Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals to a fellow member of her church congregation in Southport, Cat Linley, she was intrigued. Having had a long career break during which she had two children and moved 245 miles north from Southampton in the UK, Cat was looking to rediscover herself and return to work in a way that would work for her family. So, not only was the timing right in terms of where she was in life, but Cat feels she has also found a community in the six participants from three countries that she went through the Mid Life Thriving experience with, some of whom she still remains in weekly contact with. 

Cat explained: “I was a bit apprehensive as I didn’t know what to expect, and I was nervous about coming together with a group of strangers online, but thought the programme sounded interesting, and Erica, Sophie and Aaron are all lovely and they do make you feel comfortable. It was also nice knowing someone going into it.” 

A biochemist with a doctorate in cancer immunotherapy, Cat’s career has so far centred on research, most recently in vaccine immunology. But having spent almost a decade focusing on family life, she feels she had lost confidence when she began her Mid Life Thriving journey. 

She said: “I felt a bit flat and unsure how to keep going. The thought of rejoining the workforce was daunting because I had lost a lot of confidence through Covid as well. We’d been safe in our little bubble. My daughter was at school and I was doing that with her and that gave me a purpose. But then she went back to school and everything had to go back to normal. It’s quite a big thing to leave your bubble.” 

However, having completed the 13-week online programme in the summer of 2024, Cat is now glad she did leave her bubble, albeit virtually, as she has found a connection with several of her coursemates. 

She said: “Frances and I message weekly but quite a few of us have connected. One of the things I really enjoyed was daily contact with other people on WhatsApp, who just cheer you along and help you. 

“At first the course facilitators start off the engagement in the WhatsApp group, but then you make it your own and I think they were surprised in the end how much we took it on! 

“At first you’d share things in the group and be a bit nervous about it, but you’d get all these nice messages back and be really glad you’d shared because everyone opened up more. It’s nice because speaking to other people, it reminds you that actually, we need other people to meet with and interact. 

“What I found in the group was shared likes and experiences, like gardening. And towards the end of the programme we had a little breakout which was nice because you got to speak to people on a one-to-one or one-to two-basis.” 

In addition to finding common ground with a group of like-minded individuals who cheer on her successes, Cat has continued her development in the wider Mid Life Thriving community, by participating in regular HeartMath sessions as part of the Mid Life Thriving Academy, even attending a recent face-to-face meet-up in Manchester, UK. 

Half-hour long online HeartMath sessions, led by Erica, take place monthly and use a type of heart-focused breathing meditation that leaves participants with a sense of calm that aligns mind, body and feelings. 

Cat said: “I really like Heartmath - it piques your interest so I wish there had been a little bit more of that on the Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals programme, which I could have had go on past 13 weeks.” 

Having carved the one-hour required for her weekly sessions at 6pm UK time on a Monday (1pm New York time), Cat felt the benefit of this personal diary planning from the outset. 

She explained: “I was prepared for it. You need the time away from everything to break down your learning, then build up to each subsequent session so you’ve got the tools from last time ready. You need that time afterwards for yourself too. I felt kind of chilled after each session and a bit reluctant to go back to ‘real life’. It was worth it. It’s worth investing in yourself.” 

Among the changes Cat has found have taken place in her life since her time on Mid Life Thriving Fundamentals came to a close, the most impactful have been around breakfast-time, and in the way she feels about herself, as well as how she responds to stressful situations. 

She said: “Breakfast is the meal I really concentrate on and we have a really good breakfast. I think I’m more conscious of what I’m eating. Even if I eat the wrong things I know that I’ve done it and I’m not going to keep doing it every day or beat myself up over it.

“I’ve also started doing a gratitude journal and I’ve worked that in in the morning with the kids and after school, so it’s not just me doing it, and that’s been really good. It starts the morning off quite nicely - thinking positive to start off with, even when you’re having a day where you’re like, ‘I don’t want to be doing this today’. 

“I go swimming a couple of times a week, and where I used to use that to clear my head, now I’m just feeling the water and hearing my breathing. I feel really chilled out now afterwards. 

“Maybe I didn’t really know it before but I think I’m a lot more present as well. I think it’s a lot to do with what I learned on the programme around sugar and sleep, because when you have kids your sleep patterns change so much. My son was still coming in at night so I’d be waiting for that and wouldn’t really go to sleep. I’d have the telly on. But while on the programme I changed my night-time routine. 

“When I’m in stressful situations now it’s starting to come where I take a minute and respond rather than react. The whole thing has been quite good in allowing me to step out of the cycle of it all when it comes to stress, and think ‘how could I react differently to cope with it a bit better?’ 

“It’s funny because I know my life hasn’t completely changed as I’m still doing the same things, but I would say the course has been life-changing because I think it’s just a difference in my outlook and that positivity.”

Although Cat already had a sunny disposition following a brush with cancer at the age of 14 that has left her on permanent crutches but very grateful to be alive, she feels her experience as part of the Mid Life Thriving community has supported her to reconnect with that determination within.