Being a mom is arguably the hardest job in the world. Sometimes it’s a thankless and endless job. The responsibility of a baby leaves many moms feeling overwhelmed. It’s easy to feel weighed down by the pressure, burdened by fear of failure, and unappreciated for all of the unseen things you do for your baby to keep things running smoothly at home. Combine that with a general sense of fatigue and a lack of free time, it’s normal for a mom to occasionally say "I hate being a mom".
Different aspects of being a mom bring up unpleasant feelings such as frustration, confusion, and unwanted pressure. Whether you’re a first-time mom or a seasoned mom, every mom goes through transitional struggles and hard times. But if you can’t seem to come out of a fog or if you continue to wrestle with unhappiness, consider exploring your feelings further. Assess your situation, take notes on things you can change or improve, and get help from outside resources to manage your emotions while working through rough patches. Online therapy can also help you work through these emotions and hardships.
You’re Not the Only Mom Feeling This Way
There is no shame in expressing your emotions, even if they’re unpleasant. It is not uncommon to hate being a mom. If you’re a mom struggling with persistent low mood, tearfulness, feelings of being overwhelmed and inadequate, extreme fatigue, low motivation, or other concerning symptoms, you can and will get better. You have options for support, including parenting support groups, online counseling, in-person therapy, and connecting with family and friends who care, can support you, and can relate to what you’re going through. Even though it doesn’t feel like it, being a mom makes you an everyday superhero. Who else besides a superhero could deal with a bunch of nonstop energy, messes, and opportunities to save the day, every day? You got this!
There are many reasons why moms may feel unhappy from time to time. Here are five things that often make being a mom difficult.
Being a mom doesn’t have to be painful, but it does require you to be aware of your feelings and to pinpoint actions you can take to make the difficult things easier for yourself. Sometimes taking a step back and assessing the situation may help you to see things you didn’t notice before or at least give you another perspective to consider. Here are a few suggestions other moms have found helpful.
Be honest. Choose a small group of safe people in your life, and share your thoughts with them. Be honest about how you’re feeling. You may be surprised by how understanding they are; you will likely find that many relate to your experiences personally.
Make time to take care of yourself. Identify small things you would like to do to make yourself feel better. Would you like to start exercising? Do you want to have coffee with your friends once a month? Do you just want to sit and read a book? Craft a plan to make that happen. If you cannot get out of the house, it is important to find a short amount of time for yourself every day. Take a long shower, have a cup of tea by yourself, or take a walk around the block to clear your head.
Let go of perfection. Accept that perfection is impossible and that you will need to let some things slide in order to preserve your personal happiness and mental health. Let the house be a little messier than you might normally accept. Allow your kids to watch an extra show, so you can drink your coffee in peace if this will make you feel more capable of being a mom overall. Let go of the guilt you feel when you cannot be a perfect mom. You’re doing the best you can.
Communicate your needs clearly. Your partner is not a mind-reader. Choose your words carefully, and express how you’re feeling. Be specific about what you need from them. Say something like, “I’m struggling right now, and I want to feel better. Do you think you could cook dinner every Thursday to help me?” Then, remind them gently as the day approaches — do not just expect them to remember.
How BetterHelp Can Support You
Coping with the ups and downs of being a mom can be easier with expert guidance from BetterHelp online counselors. They know being a mom is a stressful job and want to help you gain useful tools and resources to make things better. These counselors understand that moms need an outlet to express their emotions and sort out their feelings, so they can focus on providing for their families. Experiencing frustration as a mom is common, and you don’t have to keep your thoughts to yourself.
Sharing your feelings with an expert is a productive way of dealing with them. You’ll also set an example for your family on how to manage emotions in a healthy way. With BetterHelp, you can discuss your situation in confidence when it is convenient for you. Learn how others have benefited from working with an online counselor by reading the following reviews, from people experiencing similar issues.
Conclusion
While meeting the needs of your children is a priority, taking care of your personal needs and getting adequate emotional support is also a priority. If you hate being a mom at times, you’re not alone. The advice and suggestions in this article show that you don’t have to go through the difficulties of being a mom alone. Strengthen your parenting abilities by applying these valuable tools and resources, so you can fully enjoy your role as a mom. Take the first step today.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Being A Mom
Does anyone regret becoming a mom?
If you find yourself hating motherhood, you may feel that you’re the only mom that feels that way. However, there are other moms that struggle with feeling the same way that you do. It may have started during pregnancy. Pregnancy is a challenging experience and leaves moms feeling like they aren’t themselves any more. This can make it difficult to be excited about giving birth, picking out baby names, baby food, and everything else that comes with being a mom.
You may struggle with being a mom because of the intense pressure that it adds to your life. Social media like Pinterest has created a new pressure on moms to feel that they have to create the perfect lives to be social media worthy. Children’s birthday parties aren’t cake and ice cream anymore, they now have to be heavily themed from the invitation to the goody bag. Baby names have to be purposeful, meaningful, and newsworthy. Everything has become about what’s best on social. Security of a healthy baby and family seems to fall in comparison to making sure that everything looks just right for the judging eyes of others.
If you hate being a mom, you’re not the only one to have felt that way before. And, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be a mom. It may mean that you would benefit from meeting with a mental health professional like a licensed therapist.
Is being a mom worth it?
Some women cannot wait to be a mom. They can’t wait for things like choosing baby names, baby showers and handling all of the newborn care. They enjoy the benefits of being a mom so much that it makes things like learning how to sleep train, using breast pumps, potty training, symptoms from pregnancy, baby food stains and sleepless nights worth it. You may have even heard a woman that couldn’t stand being pregnant say that she would do it again in a second once she holds her baby in her arms.
But this isn’t the experience for all moms, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed if you don’t feel this way. There are some moms who secretly think, they hate being a mom,” but don’t want to tell anyone because they feel that it makes them a bad person. There are also some moms that not-so-secretly hate being a mom.” There are many reasons why you may feel like this. You’re allowed to feel your own feelings even if they aren’t what you expected to feel.
If you’re struggling with the responsibilities of being a mom or feel disconnected from your children, talking to a therapist may help. If you’re a new mom, whether you loved pregnancy, pregnancy health was good, or if you struggled from the time you found out you were pregnant, your feelings could be caused from postpartum depression.
Is 30 too old to be a mom?
People have children at all different ages. Some women have babies young and others are older when they first become a mom. It could be that they struggled to become pregnant. Or, it could be that you had other things you wanted to accomplish before becoming a new mom. There is no right or wrong age at which to be a mom. The most important thing is that you’re ready for being a mom. Being a mom can be a challenge and there are some advantages to being in your thirties instead of still a teenager or in your early twenties when becoming a mom.
Some women find that they’re more financially stable and ready to take on having children when they’re in their 30s. Affording things like car seats, diapers, and being able to stay at home can be an easier reality. You may also find that as an older mom, you understand more about health, baby development and the practical things like how to handle getting a social security number for your baby. Some of the things that would seem like a big deal to you as a younger mom, may be easier to handle in your 30s.
What is narcissistic mother syndrome?
A narcissistic mom is a woman that has Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). This is a mental health disorder that can make healthy relationships difficult or almost impossible without addressing the behaviors that the disorder causes.
A person with NPD believes that the world should revolve around them. They expect to be in control and want others to cater to their needs. They come across strong and confident but tend to have low self-esteem underneath it all. Moms with NPD have a difficult time emotionally caring for their children because they often struggle with emotions and lack empathy for others.
Therapy Is Personal
Therapy is a personal experience, and not everyone will go into it seeking the same things. But, keeping these things in mind can ensure that you will get the most out of online therapy, regardless of what your specific goals are. If you’re still wondering if therapy is right for you, and how much therapy costs, please contact us at contact@betterhelp.com. BetterHelp specializes in online therapy to help address all types of mental health concerns. If you’re interested in individual therapy, please reach out to contact@betterhelp.com. For more information about BetterHelp as a company, please find us on
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