For the past few years, I’ve made a quiet ritual of stepping away from social media over Christmas.
At first it was just a few days. Then, in 2024, I stayed offline for sixteen days – and it felt incredible. Like a reset I didn’t realise I was craving. Space to reconnect with myself. With my family. With what actually matters.
So by the time 2025 came around, I already knew: I’d be doing it again.
What I didn’t expect was how much this time away would reveal – not just about social media, but about energy, menopause, time, creativity, and the way we’re conditioned to live.
The decision to step back
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, a familiar tension crept in. I’d made new connections during the year. What if I missed opportunities? What if going quiet meant falling behind?
And yet, when I really sat with it, the truth was obvious.
My clients don’t come from social media – they come through recommendation. What I would miss out on, if I stayed online, was my mental health. My clarity. My energy.
Menopause has taught me, sometimes brutally, that if I don’t protect my energy, I’m no use to anyone. So the decision made itself.
I chose quiet.
Clearing the digital noise
Before signing out, I started gently preparing. Not dramatically – just intentionally.
Unsubscribing from emails I no longer needed. Turning off notifications. Leaving groups I hadn’t engaged with for years. Cleaning up digital and physical spaces alike.
Each small action felt surprisingly powerful. Every notification silenced was a tiny reclaiming of focus. Of breath. Of nervous system calm.
It struck me how much energy we’ve normalised giving away – especially during menopause, when energy is already precious.
Then, just as the detox began, my body joined in too – flu, fatigue, and the unmistakable message to slow down even more. I rested. I listened. I stopped pushing.
Life without the scroll
Once the apps were gone, something unexpected happened.
My screen time dropped from an average of six hours a day to under two. I started meditating again. Properly resting. Watching television without scrolling at the same time – something I hadn’t done in years.
And I realised something quietly profound: I don’t actually enjoy social media.
For me, it had become a means to an end. A business tool. Not a place of nourishment.
As the days passed, the pull weakened. I stopped reaching for my phone without thinking. I stopped wondering what everyone else was doing. I started being fully present – with family, with ordinary moments, with myself.
There was no pressure to capture anything. No need to share. Life was happening – and for the first time in a long time, that was enough.
What emerged in the space
With the noise gone, creativity slipped back in.
I tidied my office and felt something open – like a gate. An idea that had been hovering for months suddenly had room to land. I found myself finishing tasks without overwhelm. Thinking clearly. Writing again.
Time felt different too. Not stretched, not rushed – just neutral. Constant. Almost irrelevant.
There were emotional moments as well. A morning of unexpected tears. A deep realisation that landed hard and true:
I want to live my life for myself – not for how it looks or reads online.
Owning that felt edgy. Liberating. Necessary.
Menopause, after all, isn’t a time for performing. It’s a time for truth.
Questioning the role of social media
As the weeks went on, a question kept returning:
Why would I go back, if it isn’t giving me what I need?
I noticed how even without the apps, my mind still defaulted to “shareable” thinking – taking photos with an imaginary post in mind. It showed me how deeply embedded social media had become, not just in behaviour, but in thought.
And yet, the longer I stayed away, the more that mental clutter began to dissolve.
I slept better. Woke earlier. Had more energy. Whether that was menopause easing, supplements helping, or simply nervous system regulation – I can’t say. Probably a little of everything.
What I do know is this: the absence of scrolling created space. And in that space, clarity arrived.
A menopause sabbatical
While rereading Wise Power, a phrase leapt out at me: menopause sabbatical.
A period – days, weeks, months – where a woman steps back from expectations, productivity, and noise. Where she potters. Rests. Plays. Listens.
That’s when it clicked.
This wasn’t just a digital detox.
It was my menopause sabbatical.
A sanctuary for my energy. A place where life could soften. Where intuition could speak again. Where creativity didn’t have to be forced.
And perhaps, somewhere out there, the universe let out a sigh of relief that I’d finally taken my own advice.
Returning – with intention
After forty-four days, I felt ready to return. Gently.
When I reinstalled the apps, something had shifted. Notifications no longer demanded attention. I could choose what – and who – I let into my space.
The lesson wasn’t “never go back.”
It was boundaries.
Going forward, I’m choosing:
- Regular, intentional breaks from social media throughout the year
- Clear times for checking in on social media
- Less ease of access at the weekends
- Presence over performance
Because menopause has taught me this, again and again:
Thriving isn’t about doing more.
It’s about being more deeply present with what matters.
And sometimes, the most radical thing you can do…
… is step away, and listen.
With love 💫
Caroline x
The Menopause Alchemist®
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