The past year and the world health crisis have been a mental strain on everybody. I don’t think one person alive has escaped this time unscathed. Kids are home. Life is completely different. Everything we’ve known and the way we’ve lived has drastically changed.
That change is weighing heavily on a lot of people’s minds for a multitude of reasons. It’s not clear if we’re noticing the things that are stressing us out more or if things are just stressing us out more in general because we’re all staying home more, seeing the same faces, and doing the same things every single day. Either way, it’s a bit overwhelming. See what 17 moms confess the biggest drain on their mental health is.
No Breaks Ever
“Having to do it 'all.' There’s truly never a break (I’m a single mom so take that with a grain of salt) and no one else to help pick up the pieces, delegate to, or rely on for help. My mind’s always going a million miles a minute and there’s never enough hours in the day or money in my account to make it all happen. Trying to keep up with work, three school schedules, sports, and life is a lot.” — Lynne W.
Virtual Learning
“I can’t handle it anymore. I am not even the one doing the actual work but between constantly having to redirect and refocus children who are already burnt out by the pandemic and all the back and forth in emails between myself and the teachers is sucking my will to live.” — Sarah A.
Parenting Nonstop
“Not being able to shut down parenting. When they say is 24/7 it truly means 24/7. Sometimes not even sleeping at all thinking about how they’re sleeping, or their future or any other thing. It’s mentally draining for me.” — Gemarla B.
What's for Dinner
“This pandemic has taught me that I actually hate cooking and possibly eating. It’s been over a year of trying to figure out what to cook for everyone in the house, 3 meals a day, every day of the year. Nobody else wants to choose the meal, cook the meal, decide where to order from, or even pick it up. It’s making me mentally exhausted.” — Bertie T.
Not Living Up to Expectations
“My own expectations of myself as a mom, employee, significant other and being a woman.” —Desiree.
Setting the bar too high and applying too much pressure to yourself, especially during a crisis, is setting yourself up for a disaster. No one can live up to unachievable standards. Be gentle with yourself.
Emotional Workload
“The emotional workload. Remembering everything that needs to be remembered. Always.” —Jessica A.
This pandemic has created a lot of moving pieces, and that includes wearing a lot of different hats with an unexhautible list of things that need to be done — and that inevitably falls on mom shoulders.
No Clear Delineations
"Worry, being overwhelmed, a to-do list that never ends, and all the lack of time with now home being work and work being home. There are no clear delineations." — Alexandra R.
Home base has become simply the base because we go nowhere. It's hard to recognize the difference when everything and every day looks and feels the same.
No Escape
“There are no breaks anymore. I can't go to the office or to the store without a child. My kids are little, and particularly now that I have an infant as well as a toddler, the last time I felt like I got a break, I was in the dentist's chair. I love my children very much and my husband and I planned to build our family in a world that included two working parents, daycare or preschool, friends and socializing, you know, the social structures that most of us had before the pandemic. If we'd known how this would upend our lives, I don't know if we'd have a second kid.” — Meredith S.
Fighting Through the Burnout
"Fighting through the burnout is actually draining me now. I’m 100% burned out and questioning it all, but trying to work through it and not let it become too much may be pushing me over the edge." — Beth A.
You are not alone. So many of us are not only physically spent but also mentally and emotionally exhausted.
Parenting Through a Pandemic
“My biggest drain is when my teen’s mental health dips. I work so hard to not let their downs affect me but I worry so much it sucks the life out of me.” – Jen R.
As moms, we can push through almost anything, but when our kids are not feeling well, it hurts more than being hurt ourselves.
Stupid People
"I've got no problem pivoting when a situation changes. I'm a mom. I don't expect things to go the way I want, ever. The thing that's unbelievably draining in the middle of this pandemic is people not doing their part. We've been doing our part to be a part of the solution while others are running around like there's not a global pandemic. They're part of the problem and I'm not here for it." — Shelly S.
Feeling Like a Failure
“Worry if I’m doing good enough. At work, with my kids, my relationship with my husband. I feel like I need to do better all the time and it’s so mentally draining.” — Lea C.
So many of us are feeling this way because when life slowed down, we had more time to reflect on ourselves and our relationships — what's worth it and what's not.
Not Enough Hours in the Day
“Lack of time. Never enough time for all the things I want to do and too much to get done. I have a million ideas and can't execute any of them.” — Katie. S
So many ideas and no time or energy to complete any of them is a common drain on many people’s mental health. The key to chiseling away at those ideas is to prioritize and begin. It’s better to take baby steps than none at all.
Surviving the Pandemic
"Just trying to survive every day of the pandemic. I feel like I can never let my guard down. I have nightmares about leaving the house without a mask and I'm vaccinated, but what about my kids, my parents or any random stranger that I could possibly pass it to? That thought literally keeps me up at night." — Nicole B.
Sex
"Throughout this entire past year, sex has been the thing that has mentally drained me the most. Don't get me wrong, I love sex, but it's hard to feel sexy or sexual when you never leave the house (neither do your kids), live in pajamas, and actively try to avoid human contact all day long to avoid catching a deadly virus. Then I feel guilty for not being intimate with my husband." — Marcella F.
Return to "Normal"
"With vaccinations being available to everyone, I'm starting to feel the pressure to return to normal, and is that even a thing anymore? What is normal now? How can I go from masking and avoiding people to returning to the way things were before 2020? I'm not sure I can and that stresses me out." — Bella B.
Losing Weight
"I'm stressed about summer coming in real fast and me still sporting my pandemic 20. Food was my comfort over the past year, and last year I didn't worry about a hot girl summer, but this year is different. I guess I need to start comforting myself with a Peloton ride." — Emma R.
