Marie McLaughlin on Stress, Grief, Perimenopause and Nature

In this episode of Life & Depth, I sat down with Marie McLaughlin for a conversation that felt honest, grounded, and deeply human.

Marie is from Donegal, raised on a farm, and now works as a learning and development consultant, author, and founder. Her story sits at the meeting point of stress, grief, resilience, perimenopause, and the healing effect of nature.

Understanding Stress Beyond the Mind

A big part of this conversation was around what stress actually is.

A lot of people think stress is just in the mind, but Marie explained it in a much more real way. Stress shows up in the body. It can affect sleep, mood, patience, clarity, and energy. It can leave you irritable, overwhelmed, and not feeling like yourself.

For Marie, learning about physiology changed the way she understood her own life. It helped her see that regulation is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about helping the body come back into balance through simple things like breathing, movement, and getting outside.

Grief and Its Physical Impact

One of the deepest parts of the episode was Marie’s story of losing her 17-year-old brother when she was 20.

His illness came on suddenly, and within seven weeks her family’s whole world had changed. She spoke openly about how grief affected her, not only emotionally but physically too. Sleep changed. Anger came up. Even ordinary things felt heavier.

It was a reminder that grief is not something that only lives in the mind. It moves through the body as well.

The Role of Nature in Healing

Marie also spoke about the role nature played in helping her through that time.

Growing up on a small farm in Donegal shaped her resilience, work ethic, and connection to the outdoors. Later, when grief hit, nature became a place of steadiness. Walking, breathing, and being out in the hills helped her process what she was carrying.

She described nature as something that balances you. There is no pressure in it. No noise. Just space to breathe, settle, and come back to yourself.

Navigating Perimenopause

Another important part of the conversation was perimenopause, and how many women are going through it without fully understanding what is happening in their bodies.

Marie shared her own experience of navigating perimenopause while juggling family life and high-pressure work. At the time, she thought it was just stress.

She was dealing with poor sleep, night sweats, irritability, weight changes, and feeling unlike herself, but it did not immediately occur to her that hormones might be behind it. That is the reality for a lot of women.

Why This Matters to Men Too

What also stood out was Marie’s message to men.

She made the point that this matters to men too, because perimenopause is happening to the women in their lives—mothers, wives, sisters, colleagues, and friends.

Men may notice changes in sleep, mood, patience, or energy without realising there may be a hormonal reason behind it. More awareness leads to more support, more compassion, and better conversations at home and at work.

Simple Tools for Regulation

We also spoke about simple tools that can help regulate the nervous system.

Marie shared how breathwork has become a big part of her life, and how even slowing the breath for a few minutes can calm the body.

She also spoke about movement and getting outdoors—not as a magic fix, but as real practices that help bring steadiness when life feels too much.

Sometimes the most powerful things are also the simplest.

Final Reflection

What stayed with me after this conversation is that a lot of people are carrying more than we realise.

Stress, grief, hormonal change, and burnout do not only affect how we think. They affect how we feel in our bodies every day.

Marie’s story is a reminder that healing often starts with awareness. It starts with listening, slowing down, and returning to what grounds us.

This is a conversation about loss, resilience, burnout, and coming home to yourself.

If life has felt heavy, confusing, or overwhelming, this episode will speak to you.