What happens when life changes in an instant—and you have to find a way to keep moving forward?

In this deeply personal episode of The Iconic Midlife, Roxy Manning sits down with entrepreneur, wellness executive, and Make Time Wellness co-founder Helen Christoni for a powerful conversation about grief, resilience, caregiving, women's brain health, and rebuilding a meaningful life after unimaginable loss.

After losing her daughter Bella and witnessing the devastating impact of dementia and cognitive decline on loved ones, Helen found herself reevaluating everything—from how women care for themselves to the emotional burdens so many carry in silence.

Together, Roxy and Helen discuss the realities of child loss, navigating grief in midlife, supporting aging family members, protecting cognitive health, and why women must stop waiting until they are completely depleted before prioritizing themselves.

This is a conversation about heartbreak, healing, purpose, and finding strength you never knew you had.

Listener Note: This episode contains discussion of child loss, grief, caregiving, dementia, and mental health. Please listen with care if these topics are sensitive for you.

In This Episode:

• Helen's journey through the loss of her daughter Bella
• How grief changes your perspective on life
• The emotional realities of caregiving
• Why women are at greater risk for cognitive decline
• The connection between brain health, stress, and overall wellness
• The invisible emotional labor many women carry
• Reinvention after loss and adversity
• Building purpose through pain
• Practical ways women can prioritize themselves in midlife

This Episode Is Sponsored by DefenAge

If you're looking for smarter, science-backed skincare, you'll want to check out DefenAge.

DefenAge's award-winning products are powered by Age-Repair Defensins®, proprietary technology designed to help support your skin's natural ability to renew itself and address multiple visible signs of aging.

And listeners of The Iconic Midlife can receive the DefenAge Fly Kit for just $29 (a $98 value).

Use code ROXY29 at checkout.

Visit: DefenAge.com/Renewal

Connect with Helen Christoni

Instagram: @helenchristoni

Connect with Roxy Manning & The Iconic Midlife

Social Media: @theiconicmidlife

Social Media: @redcarpetroxy

Website: theiconicmidlife.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the show, download the episode, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music. Your support helps us continue bringing you meaningful conversations with extraordinary women redefining midlife on their own terms.

#TheIconicMidlife #HelenChristoni #ChildLoss #Grief #BrainHealth #Caregiving #MidlifeWomen #Women'sWellness #MentalHealth #Resilience #DefenAge #RoxyManning

Mentioned in this episode:

DefenAge Special Offer for The Iconic Midlife Listeners

This episode is sponsored by DefenAge. DefenAge's award-winning skincare is powered by Age-Repair Defensins®, proprietary technology designed to help support your skin's natural renewal process and address multiple visible signs of aging. As a listener of The Iconic Midlife, you can receive the DefenAge Fly Kit for just $29 (regularly $98) using code ROXY29. Visit: DefenAge.com/Renewal Offer valid while supplies last.

DefenAge Special Offer for The Iconic Midlife Listeners

This episode is sponsored by DefenAge. DefenAge's award-winning skincare is powered by Age-Repair Defensins®, proprietary technology designed to help support your skin's natural renewal process and address multiple visible signs of aging. As a listener of The Iconic Midlife, you can receive the DefenAge Fly Kit for just $29 (regularly $98) using code ROXY29. Visit: DefenAge.com/Renewal Offer valid while supplies last.

Women are just built different. They're maternal. We have these hormones that make us feel this way. No one talks to women about their brain health.

No one's really talking to us about our mental health. No one's actually even talking to us about like, hey, how are you doing? If your brain's fried, it's fried. It needs help. You need to take care.

Our brain controls everything. One in five women will get Alzheimer's and that's crazy. That's crazy. No one's talking about it.

Welcome back to the Iconic Midlife, the podcast where we stop shrinking, stop apologizing, and start having the conversations women actually need.

I'm your host, Roxie Manning, and today's guest is Helen Crestoni, entrepreneur, wellness executive co creator of Make Time Wellness, and a woman whose personal experiences with grief, caregiving, loss and reinvention completely reshaped the way she thinks about women's health and cognitive well being.

After losing loved ones to dementia and mental health struggles, including the devastating loss of her daughter Bella, Helen found herself asking bigger questions about what women carry emotionally, mentally and physically in midlife and why so many of us wait until we're depleted to finally prioritize ourselves. This conversation goes far beyond wellness trends or supplements.

We talk about grief, identity, resilience, caregiving, reinvention, and the invisible emotional labor women are expected to absorb while still functioning at full capacity. And honestly, I think a lot of women are going to feel seen in this one.

If you're enjoying the iconic midlife, it would mean a lot if you would take a second to follow the show, download this episode, and leave a rating or review on Apple podcasts or Spotify. Those reviews genuinely help us grow, reach more women, and continue bringing you conversations like this.

Now here's my conversation with Helen Christoni. Welcome to the Iconic Midlife. Helen, how are you today?

I'm doing beautiful, Roxy. I'm so excited to be here. How are you?

I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Same. It's Friday, you know, the end of the week. Ready to kind of dive into that weekend a little bit?

It seems like the weeks get crazier as I've gotten older. There's just. I feel like the time just goes so fast.

Yes, this is exactly why we need to make time.

Yes, exactly. Nice mention. Yes, absolutely.

Well, I have been doing my research on you ladies, so really, you just have such an interesting story to me, so I really wanted you to come on the show so we could talk about it. I was scrolling through social media as we do Kind of taking a deep dive. I think your story is amazing, so I kind of wanted to get into it.

Absolutely, absolutely. First of all, I love what you're doing with brain health because I think in midlife that is something that we really should be paying attention to.

It's really just so important. And I'm glad the conversation's opening up about that.

Your work with brain health and cognitive wellness, it seems like it wasn't born out of, you know, wanting to just be on a simple wellness trend. It really seems deeper than that with you. It's about personal loss and grief.

How did grief change the way you think about like health and time and what actually matters?

Oh, wow. So let's talk about that first of all, from a brain health perspective. I lost my grandmother to dementia.

And then right before we launched Make Time Wellness, I lost my mother in law to frontal temporal dementia. I didn't even know that's what she had, to be quite honest with you. I found out after the fact.

And then a few months after we launched the brand, I lost my daughter. The most horrible thing that can happen to a mother, to a father, to anybody is to lose a child.

And so, as you can imagine, we launched this brand and she was my biggest supporter and you know, the worst thing possible happened.

And so I think that first of all, I'm so grateful that I have such amazing people in my life, including my partner, Emma Hemingway, who's my partner and my dearest friend. But when I came out of that, you know, I kind of came out of the fog that, the brain fog that is grief.

And you know, because it's an out of body experience for, for, you know, quite a while, I now I'm really only focused on things that fill me with purpose.

And I was that way before, but now, I mean, I am double downed on purpose and, and it's really given me a reason to wake up in the morning in a couple ways, you know, emotionally, mentally. But I also found myself with this bandwidth and that I never anticipated having.

You know, I mean, you know, when something so massive is just removed, you know, it has given me this beautiful outlet to do something so meaningful and important for women.

And it really has been my pleasure to be able to dig in here and have this conversation that's so important for us because no one, no one talks to women about their brain health, really talking to us about our mental health. No one's actually even talking to us about like, hey, how are you doing? You know, like really tell me what's going on with you. So.

So at Make Time Wellness, that's what we really try to do.

And.

And, yeah, my grief has inspired a lot of how I show up, show up for this conversation.

So when you're going through such a profound grief like that, was there a moment when you realized, I'm not, you know, it not only is life different, but I'm not the same as I was before? Like, was there just, like some sort of a realization or, like you're saying, finding purpose in every single day? What was that moment?

Oh, I mean, it was a parent. I mean, very. I mean, as a mom of a beautiful daughter, you know, that had a beautiful relationship. And I'm so grateful for my.

The beautiful relationship I had with my daughter Bella. You know, I was also a single mom, and she's my only child.

It was very quickly, like, my identity as a mother is something that I had done for, you know, 26, 27 years, you know, if you consider also pregnancy. And so. And I mean, she was my number one. She was, you know, my first thought. She was why I did what I did. She was the reason I got out of bed.

She was the reason I went to work. I mean, she was my why. And so re. I mean, it was so instant that. That just all.

It just all kind of changed for me, you know, I mean, I'm still absolutely her mom, and I'm still a mom, and I'm still her parent, and I still do things to really live in her honor. But I've had to really kind of think about who am I now that I'm a, you know, a bereaved mom and an angel mom, and. And how does this look like?

You know, and I've had to really. I mean, everything gets affected. You know, your weekends get affected. You know that. Your. Your phone calls, your text messages get affected. My phone.

I mean, it's like, I. Honestly, there's, like, when I. On the weekends, when I go out with my husband, I mean, there's no reason to take my phone with me.

It's such a profound, weird thing that happens. And, you know, you reset. It's like there's tremendous loss there. And I've had to really refill that with. With.

I mean, you could refill it with many things. And. And I'm so. And I'm so grateful that I've had such a great support system around me and therapy and all the things that I've done in groups.

And people, you know, some people can fill it, you know, with things that harm them. Some Things that can, some people can fill it with things that are really positive. I chose positive.

I'm a much different person today than I was, you know, before losing, losing my daughter Bella.

I'm sure there are women out there who are listening and watching who have experienced, you know, profound grief as well.

What are some of the things that really kind of took you out, you know, that really helped you in those first sort of, you know, days, weeks, months, and probably still do.

So first of all, just to acknowledge if anyone's listening, that's that's had tremendous loss, whether it's been a sibling or heaven forbid, your child, a parent,.

I.

Don't think anything can ever prepare you for any of that, especially if it's someone that, you know is so, is so important to you. And honestly, I just have to say, like, I mean, I had a complete mental breakdown.

This was when I, when I first heard and you know, people talk about, you know, nervous breakdowns. I could literally feel the nerves running through my body when this was landing on me, what had happened to Bella.

And I quickly, and I mean, it might have been for me, fight or flight.

I went to my primary care doctor that night, you know, and she, she like, you know, brought me in and I remember I was there with my husband and, and I was like, I am dying and you need to help me, you know, and so, so, you know, I mean, she, she gave me things to help me sleep. I mean, just quite honestly, she gave me things, things to sleep. She prescribed antidepressants, which I didn't take.

I, I made a decision not to take them. You know, I was immediately put under care of a psychiatrist, a psychologist.

And then I also found a really beautiful therapist that, that really helped me with talk therapy and energy work. I do this combo and you know, some years have passed now where are coming up on my three year anniversary.

So I think that this therapy I've been doing every, every week, every week for all this time, and it is one place I feel like people need, whether it's a friend, a therapist, a journal, you know, a grief group. I think it's so important you have one place where you can put this without judgment because unfortunately, life moves on.

And it's like, I have amazing friends I can talk to all the time about things like this, but it's like, you don't necessarily feel comfortable like going to, you know, a friend over and over and over again. So having an outlet I think is key. And make an appointment, like making time for that outlet is so important. So I have a schedule.

Once a week, I go in and I really dump all my feelings, all my thoughts, all my anger, all my shock that I still carry. And then I'm able to really kind of move on. And so therapy has been a godsend.

I was looking at one of your posts, and it said, you know, you. You're posting your beautiful daughter, and you said, you know, it brings me so much joy to talk about her.

It does, right?

Which is just amazing. So what would you want people to know about her? What. What was she like?

Oh, wow. I mean, Bella is like an angel before she really even became an angel, you know, so. So she was always very angelic and spiritual.

She was much more spiritually inclined than me. You know, I'm really pragmatic. I mean, I'm very like, business. You know, I'm that girl. I'm always on.

I'm flying here, I'm going there, conference call here. I'm all like, my whole life has been that way. And she is very gentle. She was an artist. She was just about to finish school, actually.

She was going to school, music production school. She was about to graduate when we lost her and profound. Singer, artist, music maker.

She had just gotten a job to become a producer, you know, to produce music with other women. And. And she. Her. She was very passionate about helping women.

And the reason she wanted to produce music is because, like, she'd go in with her songs and she'd go into production with these guys, you know, and. And she felt like she was, like, pouring her soul out, you know, to these, like, you know, old guys in the room. And nothing against old guys.

This is just her feeling.

And she wanted to create this safe space for women to be able to share their most personal words and, you know, with an empath, you know, so that was Bella. You know, she was beautiful, a little feisty, and she. She still is. Her. Her spirit is very, very loud. So thank God for her.

Yes. And I love that you're putting out her music. I saw that you've been dropping her music because she really did make beautiful music.

Ye. When Bella Peshi had two songs, like, produced and scheduled. We're actually. I have a. We have another charity for her. It's called Bella's Angel Fund.

And I'm continuing to. It took some time. Right. Like, all good things in good time. And, you know, this year we're actually going to be releasing some of her music.

She's got dozens, dozens of songs. Just. It was like a gift. Like, you know, I have her laptop. I have her music. And so.

So I'll continue to release it as I think it's, you know, as the universe speaks to me, you know, that's how I'm. That's how I'm releasing it. Yeah.

That's amazing. You know, I think one thing a lot of us in midlife sort of deal with is this anticipatory grief.

You know, it's, you know, aging parents, you know, maybe we're caregiving in the future. It's all of these things. And so I think the emotional toll of just that, too, is so heavy for us.

And I think women are often, you know, expected, especially midlife, to absorb all of this. How do we do that and kind of navigate that while still trying to operate at full capacity?

Essentially, I'd love to just, you know, highlight Emma Heming Willis, my partner at Make Time Wellness. I mean, she. She is a caregiver to her husband, Bruce. I think it's watching her navigate. This has been.

Has been, you know, this anticipatory grief has been very eye opening for me. You know, I, unfortunately, was in a shock situation. She has been walking through this for quite some time now.

And I think it's really important that we ask for help and that we actually. And Emma, you know, in her book the Anticipated Journey, she tells the readers to, like, people are always asking, how can I help you?

How can I help you? But we don't know what they can do. So write down a list.

Honestly, if you're in a situation where you're caregiving or someone's sick in your family, or whether it's a child or a parent or a sibling, and if, like, think about what you really need help with and ask for help because people truly want to help you, they just don't know what to do. And so making a list is super important. And then you have to fill your own cup.

So, you know, you can't really take care of anybody if you're not filling your own cup. And so, you know, one of the messages she and I both talk about so much is making time. And it looks different for everybody.

And it could be taking a walk, like grabbing a friend, going for a walk, talking about your problems. It could be journaling, to quote Emma also, she always says, better out than in. And I love that because some people don't have time.

They can't go to a therapist. They can't go to a group session. They can't go even for a walk with their girlfriend. They want to. So if that's You.

And you're listening, like, just get it out. Just write it out, you know, and so those are a few things that I think are super helpful.

I think, to your point also, people don't really know what to say to somebody who has gone through something very, you know, tragic improv. So can you speak to that a little bit, too? Because I think, again, I think people want to be helpful.

They want to say the quote unquote right thing, but they just don't even know what to do.

Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, like, we're really grief illiterate here, and I. As was I before I went through this with my daughter.

And that's okay, you know, But I think if you have someone that you're close to that is grieving, I mean, just love them. You know, they need love. They're so, like, just void and bankrupt if, you know, when they're.

When they're dealing with something like this, I think just love and compassion goes a long way and. And, you know, sitting with them, like, don't. Don't have them ask for things, just do things for them.

You know, whether it's just sending them a note or, you know, a sweet treat to eat, if they can eat, you know. You know, like, with me, you know, when. When Bella passed, I mean, my house became a bakery. I mean, it was wild.

I mean, nothing was getting eaten around here, but. But I mean, it was. It was wild. I mean, it was. And it was so beautiful. But I think. I think also, just sitting with people and.

And letting them just talk, I think there's time to share stories. But in the beginning, I don't know, for me, like, you know. You know, Bella's with you. And I'm like, yeah, no, she's not.

I'm like, she's not with me right now. You know, I was so, like, insane now, you know, like, I can have that conversation. But I think just being gentle, listening is so important.

Holding someone's hand, sitting with and being creative about just letting you know. I mean, my dear. I have a very dear friend of mine. Her name is Myra. She. She just lost her husband. You know, I sent her evil eyes for her house.

Like, I just talked to her yesterday, and she has evil eyes. Literally. She's like, you sent me, like, a hundred evil eyes. I literally have them. You know, just things. She's like, you were insane.

Like, you know, and it, like, put a smile on her face, you know, that I. I did this. And, you know, hey, let me, like, come over and do some wash for You. And.

And just there's little things, because when someone's in the throes of just a recent grief journey, they are mentally not able to ask for help. They don't have that. They're. They're. They're just not cognitively there. So I think just.

Yeah, sit with them, listen to them, think out of the box on things that can, like, touch them and. Yeah.

So when did that joy start coming back into your life? Like, was there a point that you noticed? You know, I can laugh again or I can smile again, like, things like that.

So in the beginning, Joy had to find me, you know, and it's. You just have to be open to, like, recognizing that, oh, hey, I'm laughing, you know, and it was slow. I. I really have to say, it was. It was slow.

I think in the. In the first year of, you know, after La Bella, I just had to be open to the windows, and it could be.

A lot of it was from spending time with her friends. And, you know, I'm so blessed that her friends really came around and they wanted to spend time with me. I wanted to spend time with them.

So I think, like, just telling stories and sharing with them gave me joy and some reprieve. And also, it's the smallest things, you know, like, just the breeze, going for a walk, nature sitting outside. For me, I really needed to be outside.

I call, like, I had a calling for green. Like, I couldn't be in the house. I just had to be out. And it took some time.

I feel like it really took probably a good, I don't know, year and a half, you know, for me to really be, like, active. I'm like, hey, let's do something. And, like, don't have lunch, you know, like, let's get together.

Like, you know, there was a long time that I just was. Thank God for my husband and my partner, Emma, and my friends around me. I mean, they were. They were not making me think of these things.

You know, I was surrounded by a bunch of people who were filling my time, and I dove into work and.

Because that's what I know how to do, you know, I knew how to be a mom, and I really knew how to work, and so I really dove into work, and so it took a while.

And now I feel like, you know, I just had a birthday, and I feel like at this point, I can take my grief vest off and put it in the closet, and I could take it out when I want to hold it, and it becomes something that is so important, you know? There's times that I want to sit and I want to spend time grieving my beautiful daughter.

Like, I want to be in that place of missing her and longing for her and. But, you know, I also, I am me, and I am kind of redefining who I am now and what my path forward is. And that's exactly what she'd want me to do.

You know, she wanted me to go out there, kick ass, take names, you know, be that boss mom she had and, you know, like, do, you know, affect change in the world? And so that's really, that's really. Now I have this reinvigorated, you know, let's get out there and get after it.

Absolutely. I wonder if success looks different to you now because of course you have all these amazing companies.

You're like a serial entrepreneur, like, killing it. But I wonder if. Go.

Of course.

I wonder if after going through, you know, the grief and the loss and does that change what success looks like to you?

100%. Like, nothing really matters. I mean, you know, like, has really shifted my, my person in every aspect because I'm much more.

Like my emotional IQ has changed tremendously.

So I feel like my connecting with other people, understanding what they have at home, like allowing people the grace to do whatever they need outside of work, connecting on that has really become much more important to me. And then as it relates to business, look, you know, I mean, business is business.

And I think that as a business person, we still need to build companies that have a positive impact roi, that we're good partners, you know, I mean, I'm a real business person in my DNA, so I think that all that stuff drives me. KPIs, OKRs, all that stuff, you know, But I think the, the, the purpose driven brand piece telling those stories has become front and center to me.

Like, how am I helping you? How am I helping your customers? How can I help people behind the cash register?

How can we work together as companies and as it relates to what we're doing at Make Time, and our mission is to get the world talking seriously about women's brain health. I'm just not sure.

We're just not trying to get on a shelf, you know, we're trying to get on the shelf and go behind the door at these retailers and touch the women that are working there. Because, you know, one in five women will get Alzheimer's and that's crazy. That's crazy. No, no one's talking about it.

And like, and we have to do things, you know, and we have to do things today to protect ourselves 30 years from now. And no one knows that.

No, no one knows that.

And so this purpose driven work is, is really what matters to me now. And so, you know, success does look different.

My success now is the impact I have on how many tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands or millions of people I can touch and, you know, share important, invaluable information that may help prolong and help them. And also now, like this, you know, we're talking about grieving and loss.

And if I can be of any service to another grieving parent, it is my pleasure. And it took a minute for me to get to here.

It really took some time, didn't it?

Yeah, it really did. I mean, you know, child loss is just. It's just.

I mean, I just had an out of body experience for the first year, you know, and in the second year I was like, whoa, I have to really deal with all this stuff. And then, you know, and here I am in year three and I'm like, okay, I'm starting to get my, my grounding, you know, and so it's, it's been a journey.

But I think that a lot of people go every day someone goes through this.

Unfortunately, we need a lot, whether it's your parent or your sibling or your husband or your kid, you know, kids, friends, you know, these kids, you know, it's horrible. It's happening to our children. And so, yeah, happy to be of service.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think a lot of women shelve their own cognitive health and their emotional health and, you know, put it to the side.

And it's really unfortunate because we're probably the ones that need it the most because I feel like we're holding down the fort in a lot of ways. We're sort of the glue a lot of times in our family system and everything.

So why do you think it is so difficult for women to make time for their selves in that way to take care of their cognitive health and their emotional health?

I mean, women are just built different. They're maternal. We have these hormones that make us feel this way and that sends signals to our brain to behave in this way.

So we are absolutely different than men. And, you know, and a lot of it has to do with our hormonal makeup. We were talking about one in five women are at risk for Alzheimer's.

That's compared to one in ten men, mind you. And so, you know, it's like, hello, ladies. No one's talking to you about your brain health. And it's not hard to really take care of it.

And you know, one of the reasons I think that, you know, women are this chief medical officers of the household, they, like I said, they are programmed to be, you know, the, the caregivers and we. And off also like societally, they, they, you know, it's just been this way.

You know, the women are the ones who do the things and you know, men are stepping up, right. And this isn't like I in no means want to, you know, throw shade on guys, but this is just historically this is what it's looked like.

It is what it is. And we feel so much pressure now.

I think also with social media it's like, you know, you need to be a mom to your kids and do drop offs and look cute and do target hauls and go to girls trips and then, you know, be a perfect wife to your husband and have a organic, you know, grass fed meal on the table. And there's so much external pressure that we're all under that, that I mean, how could you make time?

So I think that that making time looks different for everybody. And first of all, you, everyone needs, if you're a woman, you need to be supplementing, period.

You're losing your cellular energy, things are going the wrong way, we're losing our short term memory at the age of 30. You know, like these things are happening whether we like it or not. So supplementation is super important.

But when it comes to feeding your soul, for instance, I love to run, right? I'm a runner and I love being outside.

I saw that you were doing like marathons, right?

Yeah, yeah, I'm a super runner and that is how I make time. I go, I grab my girlfriend Jackie, we go for a run and it's something that I do to make time for myself and I book that time.

Emma, for instance, she loves to garden. So she's out tinkering in her garden. It could be reading, it could be listening to music, it could be whatever it is.

It could be cooking, sewing, like playing tennis, you know, what you love. And so making time for that is, is really important.

And so I think that just scheduling it is so vital and you know, giving yourself that time, like women deserve to make some time.

I'm glad you're saying that. Like put it in your calendar.

You have to book it.

Yes, yes, absolutely.

I mean, like I approve of examples. My cousin Natasha, she's got so many schedules for her whole family. I mean it gives me an anxiety attack and I, and I've got a Crazy calendar, right?

I'm just like, whoa. And, you know, and I'm like, cousin, you need to make time for yourself. You know, like. And so. And she does.

She goes and she plays tennis and she works out. And. And. And I also think connection. We're void of connection. Like, connection is not sliding into your girlfriend's DMS with a meme.

You know, it's not. And we have to pick up the phone and so make the car time. Your connection time. Pick up the phone and just call your girlfriends.

Doesn't even matter if you talk to them. Just like, hi, so. And so it's Helen calling to check in. Just want to tell you that I love you. People want to get those messages.

And if you just spend every day taking 10 minutes to do outreach, you'll be just so surprised and just at what comes back at you.

It's actually kind of. I mean, I don't want to say selfish, because it's not negative, but you get so much in return from that.

Yes, right. Fills your cup. It fills your.

Fills your cup. Like, so do it even just for that, too. Just to, you know, feel good.

So with cognitive decline, because, first of all, I can't even believe it's one in five women that get Alzheimer's. You know, it just. And it just blows me away. But what are some of the early signs of cognitive decline that we're missing?

Because, you know, we're sort of in this swirl of, like, perimenopause and menopause, and it's like, all these things, and sometimes I feel like, am I chalking this symptom up to that? Is it something different? We're just in this. Like, it's almost like a tornado of symptoms, you know?

So what are some of the early signs of the cognitive decline that we should be really paying attention to?

Yeah, I mean, let's talk about it, right? Because it's so interesting. At Make Time, we make. We make supplements that check a couple boxes because they're just not out there on the shelf.

And so we actually just launched a Make time for Menopause plus Brain Health gummy, because no one had put, like, menopause with brain health, when brain health is, like, one of the fir. Like, the most searched. Like, brain fog is one of the most searched terms for menopause and perimenopause. I mean, and what does that look like?

I mean, we all know you walk into the kitchen, you're like, why am I in the kitchen? You know? Or like, where'd I put my keys? Or what am I supposed to be doing right now? How did I make this recipe?

Again, mid sentence, forgetting what you're saying to somebody.

Yeah, like, wait, oh, short term memory. That's it. We start losing it at 30. Like, we have a joke now. Like, oh, that's in my short term memory ball.

You know, you don't remember someone's name when you've known them your whole life. Like, hello. And that happens to me constantly. So, you know, that is just. This can be just estrogen fluctuation.

And like, listen, ladies, when you're listening, if your brain's fried, it's fried. It needs help. You need to take care. Our brain controls everything. Our heart pumps our blood.

Our brain is controlling how we react to things, our emotions, emotions, how we, you know, we. Our feeling signals. All this stuff is happening in our brain and we are never talking about it.

So we want to make sure that we're ascending, like fat and all kinds of good juju and like, moisturizing. Like, everything that we're doing for our face, we want to be doing for our brain.

You want to be hydrated, you want to be well slept, you want all these things. Like, your brain needs these things. And so midlife women, your.

When your estrogen is fluctuating and we're going through whether you just had a kid, you know, mommy brain, it's a real thing. When you're going through perimenopause, that this is real.

And it doesn't mean that you're necessarily going to get Alzheimer's, but it, but you do need help.

And there are things like, you know, we use an ingredient in our, in our supplements called Cognizant, which is, like, clinically proven to help you stay on task and focus. And so, you know, like, there's things out there that can help you so you don't have to reach for these prescriptions too.

Like, people are like, you know, Adderall and all these things, it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, you know, like, there's some things that can help. And, and so, you know, these, these are, these are normal things.

And if your doctor isn't, you know, like, doctors don't ask you, like, how are you doing mentally? Like, what's your brain doing? No, we can't. Scans aren't covered by insurance, which are crazy. Which is crazy.

They scan everything in our whole body, but they're not taken care of, like our most important, most vital asset. So, you know, and there's good doctors, like Dr. Daniel Amen. And some people that are, that are advocating for this.

But like if you feel Fred, you are Fred and you need to give your brain breaks. So important.

Yes. In our nervous system. My God, it's like, right. Just our nervous nerves are so on edge. Or at least mine are. I feel like, you know, 100. Right, right.

I mean it's, it's true. I mean, especially when you're going through like perimenopause and menopause. I'm post menopausal now, so.

Lucky you.

Yeah, well, kind of, I mean, you know, kind of. It's a, you know, that's a double edged sword. Right.

Being on the other side of it. Do you find that it's, it's, it's better now than during perimenopause especially?

Perimenopause was really interesting for me because I would just like you were talking about nerves and I would be like, why am I nervous? Like, you know, it was so interesting. Like I'd be going to do a presentation or into a boardroom and I mean, I've been in boardrooms my whole life.

You know, I'm like a super presenter and, and my heart would be like beating and I'd get like sweaty and I'd be like, what is wrong with you, Helen? And I mean, and constantly I'd get so nervous and I'm not a nervous person. And it was so apparent that that was what was going on with me.

So I think there's all kinds of things we can do, ladies. You know, you don't have to be suffering. And, and there's, I think trial is so key.

And when you look at the shelf and I think that's what make time was born from, like looking from the shelf and not seeing solutions that really check boxes for women. When we put a product out there, like, we're like, okay, we need to check a couple boxes.

We don't want to waste anyone's time because we made make time for Go Go Women. And so like the menopause formula is a perfect example of that.

It has collagen in it because your skin, I mean, it's horrible what happens to our skin. It has black HoHos, it's got yam, it has all these things that are tried and true and then.

But like when you look on the shelf, where's the brain part?

Yes.

And so, you know, that's exactly. I was just, I was so excited about this. I was so stoked to put out this formula because I'm like, there's nothing like it out there.

Right?

Right. And go. And go figure, you know, like, why, like, I mean, and why Helen, you know, random Helen and Emma, like, are filling this void on the shelf?

It's bananas to me. And so. So, you know, I'm. I'm very proud of what we're doing at Make Time Wellness.

And it's not just, you know, I mean, supplementation is key, but also making sure that, like, our community is really, like, we like to call it the Make Time movement. You know, like, us women in midlife need to get together. We need to make time for ourselves. We need to give ourselves license and permission.

Absolutely. And, you know, we're balancing all these things.

I mean, you've got all these businesses going, you know, all this amazing stuff, but for you especially, like, what does resiliency look like to you now because you're still leading all these companies? You know, you're publicly out there. What does that look like to you guys?

I mean, I just show up. Yeah. I mean, you know, for better or.

For worse, that's the most important thing is just show up.

I just kind of suit up and I don't. You know, I mean, I think, like, I just look like I really have to make sure I get my sleep. And I'm very invested in. In sleep, Hygie.

Very important for your brain health. It's important for your whole body. It's when we detox. And so I try to set my life up in a way that I can just go from thing to thing and show up and.

And be my. Be my best self. And then also, I think that I dive pretty deep into my lifestyle.

And because, you know, if you're running around not sleeping, grabbing a Snickers bar, living on Starbucks and trying to, like, do great things, you're just not giving the body the feel it needs to show up for you. I always tell people on Sundays, take a half an hour and prep. Make time to prep.

Because if you think about your week and you look at your calendar and you understand what you're going on, that's going on, you can. You can pull in some instacart. You can have things set. You can think about where and when and who.

Like, even small things, like, what am I going to wear today on the Roxy Monument? You know what I mean? On iconic midlife, like, all right, I got to get it together.

You know, my last podcast I did with a doctor and you, two different things. So how are we going to go from one to the next? So. So I think just planning is so key and allowing Yourself time to rest. That's how I show up.

Rest and recovery is so important and we just like blow past that. I mean, I feel like so many of us just blow past that, you.

Know, and look, and I gotta tell you, like, you know, so I have my little brain, body and beauty drink right here. It's filled with curcumin. There's like a curcumin shot in here and, and that's what the color is. And that is an anti inflammatory.

Like when we're stressed, we're inflame. We need to be reducing our cortisol.

There's tricks, there's, there's tricks that we can do to really show up and, and make sure we're showing up in our most resilient self. And there's seasons. You know, I don't want to say that there's seasons. I'm actually in one now.

I mean every week I'm on 1, 2, 3, 4 planes and we've got a lot of going on and it's filled with, with important conversations and a lot of great stuff.

But when I'm done with this busy season, because there's a, you know, an ebb and a flow, I have to really regroup during those periods and I have to be hyper focused on when I land to really land and also, you know, spoil myself a little bit. You know, like, go get the massage, go do the spa stuff.

I mean, we're not big on self care, but it's important that when you have the time, you make it for yourself, yourself and you, you know, put your house in order.

That is actually one of the things. When I turned 50, I was like, this is my time now.

This is my time and I'm going to prioritize myself because you know, for the first 50, it's all about somebody else, you know, and, and now it's like, this is the time. Do it today. Right?

There's a lot of, like we, you know, like 50 is the new, you know, 40. I mean like we have a lot of longevity. We've got a lot of stuff around keeping us here. So, so I mean we can really have fun, do all the things.

So I think also making time for fun is really important. And like we have different seasons. I was coming out of my, you know, my grief season and thinking about what I can do for fun.

In the beginning of that, I mean, it just wasn't happening. But now I'm like, okay, let's get back out there, let's be social, let's go to the restaurants, let's try new things.

And fun comes back, even after a hard season. And so I think that making time for fun is super important.

What is this next season called for you? What is this next chapter?

I mean, I'm really in, like, the season of Helen because it has never been.

And so really, like, it's all about, like, these next 10 years for me is my moment to really, like, fulfill my ambition and really help myself and help other companies and other female founders and other women and business. I think it's so crucial that we. That we help each other. And I think if I can share my story and. And thank you so much for having me on today.

I really appreciate it. Motivate, inspire. You can do anything, you know, and. And it's never too late to start. I feel like I have.

I mean, I'm 56, and I feel like I have so much left. I'm so stoked about my next 10 years of business, you know, and then. And then what's after that, that, you know, like, I'm stoked for that too. So.

So I think that, you know, Helen really, right now is all about her ambition. And I have capacity, I have bandwidth, I have all the things to go out there and get after it.

So super driven right now and really inspired about how I can really. How Em and I can both really, like, pull as many women along as possible.

Possible. Yes. Oh, that's. I mean, it is about community. Like, you're saying it's like taking all of everybody with us, you know, because it is.

It can be a movement.

It can be huge, you know, so what would you say to the woman who's listening right now, who's maybe trying to get to a place where she is in, you know, good mental health, like good emotional health, kind of really getting to where she wants to be, or baby steps.

I think you just have to set little intentions, and it can be as like if someone's really underwater. I think going out for a walk is super underrated.

Like, more green time, less screen time, and just being outside in nature and grounding is really important, especially if you're feeling lost and overwhelmed. And so I think that's just. Number one is, like, make sure you're taking yourself outside.

Number two, I mean, these are really basic things, you know, because this is where I've just recently come from. Right? Breathing. Breathe, girls. We run around with, like. Like a half of our lungs filled because we're, like, stressed out.

If you're overwhelmed, like, no one is breathing and just by taking a few deep breaths, it will recenter your body and your nervous system. So I think think breathing, breath work, this is something that you can do at home. You know, on YouTube there's all kinds of things.

So I think breathing is really important.

And then I think also we like to say at make time like we've been talking about is like grab a friend, go for a walk and talk about your problems because it's better out than in and you'll receive. And so I think the little things are the most important things. Things when we are trying to get sorted.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think also too like it's different to speak to your partner than it is your girlfriends or your best friends, you know, and it, it, I think that time in particular is so important. I mean my husband's great but like at some point it's just not the same.

You know, it's not the same because I think, you know, I mean like I have the most amazing husband who was so beautiful during my grief journey and I cannot, I, I, I mean he really was, was instrumental in me being able to sit and have this conversation with you here today. Trust me. But you know, they just don't have the patience necessarily to receive all the information that we need to dump.

And so I think like, you know, we all have our friends where we can have a mutual dump. And there's also all kinds of groups. I mean there's a lot of groups out there.

If you're remote, if you're in an area where there are, there aren't people to go grab and take a walk with.

There's so many Facebook support groups, I mean there and meetup groups where people can just get together and you know, church groups, I can go on and on, you know, find, find your, find your find your group.

Yeah, find your, find your people. Find it. You know, they're there, they're there. Right. What advice would you give your 25 year old self?

Oh gosh. To make more time.

Yeah, I mean I think that look like we've spoken a lot on this podcast about businesses and career and ambition and all these things but honestly I'm a brief parent. I would, I would go back and spend more time with my daughter. I had a lot of time with my daughter, but now like in my seat.

Spend that time with your family, you know, like spend that time with your loves. It's so important. You know, the call can wait, you know, you can reschedule the meeting. Things like this can all and everyone understands.

Like we put so much pressure on ourselves to like, you know, overdo it and you know, like be the person and you know, that's always on. Forget all that. I would, I would allow myself to make more time and really spend it with the people who truly matter.

That's such a good point. How are you living iconically right now?

Oh, iconically. Oh girl, I'm an iconic self. Yes, you are. I mean I am. You know, I'm saying yes.

Like I've had a few years where I just didn't have the bandwidth just to, to say yes. You know, I just wasn't emotionally available. But like this is my year of yes. I'm doing all the things I'm speaking here, I'm going there.

You know, like it's, I'm saying yes to whatever comes my way and I'm also going after it. Like I am searching for places where I can touch more people, get more experience and, and just experience new things. So yeah, I see.

You're a BS for me. Yes.

It's the season of yes for you.

Yes. I love it. Yes. Let's go. Yes.

And what is next for you with the brand and all the amazing things you're doing? I saw you guys at I think a recent expo. Like you guys are really getting out there. You're in Target, like all these great things.

Yeah. So we recently launched at Target which on shelf and on.com which is a very big deal for a little brand. We are a little brand.

So if you're listening, please go support us at Target and because we need all the support we can get that is a big retailer and we are this little startup, it is Emma and me. So we're a woman owned business so we can use all the help we can get.

And also, you know, we launched QVC this year and Emma is going on to, to talk to women about their brain health. We really love that because we're, we're meeting women where they are and the Target shelf on qvc.

And I think that we are growing this brand organically and it's great to see such an amazing, you know, just response to this conversation we're having.

Like, I mean this really started during COVID and you know, we had no clue that all this is, all this stuff's going to happen to her, to me personally and business. And so I think that we're looking forward to continuing our mission on getting the world to work. Talking seriously about women's brain health.

We invite everyone to help us try and change that 1 in 5 women statistic.

Yes, we need to. We need to really focus in on.

That, because women can. It is not a sentence.

This is something that if we get together, we start talking about it just by walking every day, just by, you know, watching your nutrition a little bit, getting a full night's sleep. We do not have to be that one in five women with Alzheimer's. So it is. We can change the algorithm outlook and. But we.

If women get together, we can do it.

Yes. We're so much stronger together. And there is a need for it, too, on top of it. It's like. There is a need. It's out there.

So if we can band together, you know, that's what I'm trying to do and do every day on the iconic midlife. So, I mean, I'm thrilled that you guys are doing it as well. Helen, thank you so much. You've been amazing.

Please tell everybody where they can find you. You.

Oh, sure. So for Make Time Wellness, you can just check it out. Check us out@maketime wellness.com and then I'm at Helen Christoni.

And if you guys need anything, you can always slide into my dms.

Yes. Yes. You've got a beautiful page. I love looking at the pictures of your daughter.

Thank you so much. And Roxy, really, like, I just want to thank you for having this platform for women and for all the great work you do.

And I'm just so honored to be here with you today and talk to you about this stuff.

Oh, thank you so much. That means so much to me. And. And we can do that. We're going to do this all together, and that's what I love.

We're all together in this, so this is amazing. Thank you so much, Helen. So wonderful. Thank you so much for an honest and thoughtful conversation.

I think what stayed with me most is this idea that midlife forces us to reevaluate what actually matters. Our health, our time, our relationships, our energy, and the stories we keep telling ourselves about who we're supposed to be.

And I know so many women listening are navigating caregiving, grief, burnout, reinvention, or simply trying to reconnect with themselves after years of putting everyone else first.

So if this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend, post it to your stories, text it to another woman who needs to hear it, and don't forget to follow download rate and review the iconic midlife on Apple podcasts and Spotify. Those reviews help more women than people realize and really do help the show grow.

You can also follow along at the iconic midlife and edcarpetroxy for clips, behind the scenes moments and upcoming guests. And come back Thursday for the bonus game episode with Helen, because some of her answers honestly surprised me. Until next time.

Whether you're rebuilding, grieving, evolving, or just figuring it all out as you go, you are not behind, you are becoming. And that's iconic.