Understanding and managing parental burnout
Tips on how to manage the situation when everything seems to be crashing down on you
“I used to be a super-mom” my friend, Leah shared with me one day over coffee. “I remembered everyone’s birthday, packed every lunch, attended every school meeting and used to stay up late making freshly baked snacks for the kids… but I just can’t do it anymore.”
It started subtly, the cold leftover coffee sitting at the table, and a sense of deep exhaustion that never lifted. She no longer had the energy to play pretend or answer the million “but, why??” questions from her curious five-year-old.
She convinced herself it was normal. She told herself that this was just what motherhood feels like sometimes. She wondered if her friends ever experienced the same thing − but it couldn’t be? They all seemed so perfect and none of them ever complained about this.
But, as the weeks and months went on, the exhaustion started to feel like a winter that never left. The weight of everything − work deadlines, school pick-ups and the never-ending to-do lists − crushed her.
Leah was experiencing parental burnout.
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