Encouragement for Overwhelmed Moms

As a mom of six, I am more familiar with the feeling of overwhelm than I’d like to admit. Today I’d like to provide some encouragement for overwhelmed moms. Being a mom is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling roles, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its fair share of challenges that can leave even the strongest mothers feeling overwhelmed and drained. I hope you know you are not alone if you’re experiencing these feelings. In this blog post, I’ll provide you with words of encouragement that will uplift you and help you navigate those overwhelming moments and find the strength to embrace your journey of motherhood.

On my blog, I write a lot about motherhood and the difficulties we face as moms. I want other moms to know they aren’t alone in this and their emotions are normal. If you are struggling, please read my other posts. I encourage overwhelmed moms and give advice and validation for what they’re going through.

If you’re looking for more encouragement and advice, check out some of my other posts:

Empowering Mindset Shifts for Moms

I Don’t Mind Being the Default Parent

How to Be a Happier Mom

I hope this blog post leaves you feeling more confident in your role as a mother and helps you realize what an honor it is to be a mother, even on the hard days. I hope these encouraging words truly help the overwhelmed moms out there who need someone in their corner.

Let’s get into it. These tips and encouragement for overwhelmed moms are perfect for any mom at any stage of motherhood!

You’re doing a really great job. Find someone who is telling you that often.

If you’re not hearing from your spouse, significant other, or someone important in your life how grateful they are for everything you do, it’s easy to feel taken for granted. You deserve to hear what a great mother you are, how hard you work to care for your children and home, and what you mean to your spouse. Talk about how you feel and how much you need to hear that you matter. I know it’s tough to have conversations like that, but wouldn’t it be worth it if you could express what you need and make improvements?

I know from experience that it’s not always that your spouse doesn’t see what you do; it’s more so they don’t realize they need to say it out loud. My husband and I had a frank conversation about this about 6 months ago. After that conversation, the instant improvements in our relationship made it worth its weight in gold. We both realized we could do more to show the other person our gratitude.

Take a chance and have a conversation to meet your needs! You deserve to hear what an amazing job you’re doing from the people around you.

Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you aren’t an incredible mother. You need support.

Read that again. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you aren’t an incredible mother; you need support. You need people around you who will help you, lighten your load, and encourage you through the difficulties. 

There’s a new trend on social media right now, and I love it. Have you ever heard of a nesting party? It’s an incredible way to support a new mother and check items off her to-do list before her baby arrives! This is the type of support all mothers should receive. 

Having a hard day doesn’t make you a bad mom; it makes you a mom who had a hard day! I feel like so often; we think every day needs to be perfect, or we aren’t good enough. And that’s just unrealistic. Keep your expectations attainable and see how much easier this parenting gets. The feeling of not being enough is a common struggle among many moms, but remember that you’re doing amazing things. Even on the toughest days, your love, dedication, and efforts significantly impact your family. Every hug, meal, and bedtime story- they all matter. You work so hard, and it shows in your family.

How to find support

You do not have to do it all alone. It’s okay to ask for help when you need it. As I mentioned earlier, ask for help. From your spouse, the people closest to you, and other moms, people care about you and want to support you. And if you’re struggling to find help, find a moms’ group through local churches, preschools, or childcare centers. I have also seen groups advertise through Facebook in my city. If you attend church, many have MOPS groups that offer childcare while you attend bible study. Opening up and seeking assistance can alleviate the weight of overwhelm and provide you with much-needed relief.

Prioritize what is most important first

This doesn’t mean letting everything else go, but if you’re busy, stressed, or frustrated, prioritize what matters most. Whether it’s laundry, dishes, clearing counters, exercising, reading, etc., whatever it is, prioritize it first. I make exercising one of my main priorities. When I am exercising regularly and taking time for myself, it makes me a better mother. From there, I choose what matters most to me. I’ve been working on my blog a lot, so I’ve had to balance out other things. That can be really hard for me as I function best in a clean home, but if I want to work on my blog, sometimes having a beautifully cleaned home has to drop on my list of priorities.

Here’s another tip and encouragement for overwhelmed moms: Do a load of laundry every day. It helps keep the overwhelming pile smaller and instantly gets something checked off your list!

Have 10 minutes? Set a timer and do as much as possible to organize a space in your home that’s been bothering you. Once that ten minutes is up, move on to something else you need to prioritize or finish the room. Making a list of things to get done that are a priority to you but that can also be completed quickly will help you feel like you’ve accomplished many things quickly. Try writing down areas of your home that bother you and start tackling them individually.

Choose the most important tasks and get those done before veering off and doing something else. I understand the desire to have a well-organized, perfectly clean home. If that is of the utmost importance to you, then make sure it’s what gets done before anything else. If working out, gardening, or writing a post for your blog takes a higher priority, ensure those get done before anything else. That way, you can look back at the end of the day and know you made time for yourself while prioritizing things you need to do.

Don’t lay down your peace

I follow a lot of moms on Instagram, and something that always sticks out to me is the difference between the moms who are overwhelmed and burnt out and the moms who make sure they are balancing their life between their responsibilities with their families and doing things that bring them joy. You don’t need to lay down your peace. And if you don’t know what I mean by that, I’m telling you to let go of the small stuff. Peaceful parenting ensures you aren’t losing your peace over something trivial. Don’t lay down your peace over things that can be fixed in a matter of moments.

And please don’t feel bad if everything sets you off. Chances are you’re incredibly overwhelmed and need to take a break. This was me. Just 6 or 7 months ago. This change I’ve made in my life hasn’t been years long. I woke up one morning after having a hard day of lashing out at my kids, getting upset over them just being children, and realized; I didn’t want to be that mom anymore. My kids didn’t need to see me as the angry or stressed-out mom. I wanted my kids to see me as a mom who works hard but also knows when to take a step back.

Take a deep breath, count to 10, and try again. Motherhood is hard, but you know what else it is? Rewarding. If you lean into the beautiful, rewarding, joyful parts of motherhood, you’re going to see more of those parts of motherhood! It’s like driving a certain car. Once you have that care, you see it everywhere! The same goes for pregnancy. Have you ever noticed that? Every time I’m pregnant, I see pregnant women everywhere. So funny.

Let go of mom guilt

When Lucas was diagnosed with cancer, the immense guilt I felt made me sick. How could my son be so sick without me instinctively knowing what was going on? I knew something was happening, but I had been brushed off for so long that I started questioning myself. I wondered if I was truly overreacting like our pediatrician had suggested.

This one is hard; believe me when I say I know how hard this is. As moms, we are responsible for so much. The list is endless: feeding, changing, teaching, cleaning, chauffeuring. And when something is forgotten or goes wrong, the first instinct is guilt for many of us. It doesn’t have to be, though. This goes hand in hand with laying down your peace. I know it’s easier said than done, but you deserve the grace you so freely hand out to others.

One thing I’ve found that has helped me with letting go of the guilt is words of affirmation. I have a post about words of affirmation specifically for motherhood, and it includes a free download so you can print off the words of affirmation and keep them with you all the time. You are an incredible mother, even when things don’t go as they should. Remember that, and give yourself grace on the hard days.

Perfection is overrated

Here’s more encouragement for overwhelmed moms: Your kids don’t want a perfect mom; they want a happy mom. They want a mom who will be present and active in their lives. A mom who is interested in what is going on with them, what they are learning, and who their friends are. They don’t need a mom who is more worried about the state of their home than how they’re doing in school or how their friends treat them.

This was another hard realization for me to grasp. Still, I’ve worked hard to ensure I’m putting my phone away, sitting with my children, talking to them about their lives, and being physically and emotionally present. My relationships with each of my children have gotten exponentially better since doing this, and I am so grateful for that. My kids are growing up so fast, and while it’s hard on my heart, I get a front-row seat to all the incredible things they accomplish.

Bad parents don’t worry about being better parents

This might sound harsh, and I truly don’t mean to be. I just want to provide encouragement for overwhelmed moms, but it’s true. Parents who don’t care aren’t worried about being better parents. They’re too self-absorbed for that. They aren’t losing sleep over feeling overwhelmed that day or for lashing out. If you’re trying to be a better parent and actively changing how you parent your children, you’re already doing more than the parents who don’t care. Feel proud of that! Change is difficult, and working to better yourself is difficult. Hard days will happen, and it’s part of the process. Remind yourself of that on the hard days.

Celebrate how far you’ve come as a mother

Have you been working hard to be a gentler parent, or are you trying to improve your patience on hard days? Whatever it is, remember to celebrate the changes you’ve made! Celebrate what a great mother you are and how far you’ve come. I hope you have someone who is cheering you on and encouraging you through motherhood; everyone deserves that. But if you don’t, be your own cheer team. Tell yourself how incredible you are, do things for yourself because you deserve it, and keep trying to better yourself. You’re an amazing mom.

Conclusion

I hope this post has offered encouragement for overwhelmed moms. I know how tough motherhood can sometimes be, and we all need someone in our corner cheering us on. Remember to reach out to those around you for support and tell them how much you need to hear that you’re doing hard things on this journey. It’s tough, but it can be so rewarding.

If this post has encouraged you, please share it with a friend and pin it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

I am so grateful you are here!

-M