Navigating Mom Overwhelm

Motherhood brings a lot with it: love, laughter, responsibility, pressure, and a mental load that sometimes feels like it never shuts off. So many moms I talk with say they’re “fine” one minute and suddenly overwhelmed the next. That doesn’t mean you’re broken or doing something wrong. Most of the time it just means your nervous system is full. You’ve hit that point where your body is saying, “this is too much right now.”

A really helpful place to start is simply noticing what happens in your body when overwhelm shows up. Maybe your chest feels tight. Maybe your jaw clenches. Maybe your heart races, your patience disappears, or everything feels louder and heavier. Those signals matter. They’re not something to ignore or power through. They’re actually invitations to pause.

And the pause doesn’t have to be long. It might just be three slow breaths. It might be stepping into the bathroom for a moment. It might be putting your hand on your heart, grounding your feet on the floor, or quietly saying to yourself, “I need a second.” Pressing pause isn’t quitting, it’s helping your body reset. It’s you caring for your nervous system so you can come back more steady, instead of staying in that boiling-over place.

Sometimes those little resets really help. Other times, the overwhelm keeps coming back, and that’s usually a sign it might be time to get a little extra support. Talking with a therapist can give you tools, language, and space to understand what your body is trying to say and to remember that you don’t have to handle everything alone.

If overwhelm has been showing up more often lately, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Counseling can be a safe place to slow down, understand what your body is trying to tell you, and build tools that help you feel more steady. If you’re needing extra support, our team would love to walk alongside you.

Written by: Mary Abbott