Home » Self Care & Wellness » Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health » Mental Load & Emotional Labor » How Is the Mental Load Affecting Your Life? Share Your Thoughts!

#MomsHierarchySurvey #MomsWeighIn #DealingWithStress

I looked over at the baby monitor, noticing the increased brightness from the row of blue lights. Crossing the kitchen, to listen closely, I could hear my daughter stirring ever so slightly.   The sharp ‘hiss’ of the oatmeal volcano streaming over the saucepan’s edge interrupted my thoughts….

“Sh*t!” I dashed to lower the heat on the stove while rapidly stirring the offending bubble dome back into submission.

The monitor again… blue lights getting higher…I heard a small sigh from the almost awake toddler. My pace quickened.

After hastily cleaning the oatmeal-stove-mishap, I started contemplating what to wear to work while filling sippy cups and glancing at the weather app. Next to the fridge, there was a sheet of parchment paper…I grabbed it to scribble: cancel am train, call Cigna, buy baby gifts (all tasks I neglected the night before).

“Mommy. Mommy? Mooooooomy…” my daughter’s insistent voice from the monitor snapped me back to the present. I reduced the oatmeal to low again and dashed out of the kitchen with the unsettled feeling that I was forgetting something else.

Do you experience this constant stream of scattered thoughts from your mental to-do list? Are you sometimes unable to return to sleep because you’re worried you’ll forget something important that comes to mind at 2 am?

I often refer to the enormous amount of mental energy associated with the mom/life juggle and have read some spot-on articles recently describing the ‘mental load’ Moms carry. Although I’ve researched stress, the term ‘stress’ doesn’t adequately cover the impact of the mental load, the topic of my latest study.

What’s draining or boosting your mental energy? Have you found smart ways to manage the mental load effectively, if so, how do you do it?

Please take this survey, it will take less than 10 minutes of your time.

Many thanks in advance, I’m excited to share the results soon!

Thoughts? Questions?  Please leave a comment and I’ll respond.