Five Benefits of Therapy for Moms
Seeking therapy can be very beneficial for those needing emotional support and even more so for mothers.
In today’s age more and more mothers are experiencing high levels of distress due to work-life in-balance and the mental load of child rearing. According to postpartum.net (Postpartum Support International) 1/5 mothers suffer from postpartum depression and 1/10 suffer from postpartum anxiety. Raising families is hard and it doesn’t mean mothers need to suffer in silence. I don’t want to invalidate the experiences of fathers and non-birthing individuals; however, its a pretty known fact that mothers/birthing persons do express more ‘parental burnout’ compared to their counterparts.
Individual therapy for mothers can help them feel heard and accepted. ‘Mom shame’ is real and its harmful. Mothers are constantly bombarded with contradicting messages regarding whether or not to sleep train their baby, that “breast is best”, don’t start solids until 12 months of age, potty train before age 2, etc, etc. The list goes on and its exhausting!
Having 1-1 support from a therapist can help moms truly express how they feel without the fear of being judged nor ridiculed for their beliefs and values. A mother is free to say how much she dislikes the evening rush with her toddlers, how exhausted she feels staying up all night with her teething baby, or that she is not enjoying all of motherhood. It is so taboo, still, for a mother to give the slightest inkling that she does not enjoy every waking moment of motherhood…..because its quickly interpreted as, “She must not want to be a mother” or “She does not love her children.” I find humor in how much our country values emotional intelligence and expression yet the one population that needs it the most is ostracized for it.
I see time and time again the catharsis that happens in my therapy office with mothers when I have normalized their emotional experiences. Their response and the most powerful yet, “Ive never had someone tell me what I felt was normal.”
For this exact reason many mothers shun away from seeking help for fear of how they will be perceived for sharing these feelings out loud.
Here are the five benefits of Seeking Therapy if you’re a Mama
1. Your experiences are normalized; liberating you from shame and guilt
‘Mom Guilt’ can feel extremely debilitating and paralyzing for some mothers. Guilty feelings can make mothers feel incompetent with their decision making, make them feel they are not worthy of being a mother and other distorted thoughts that can lead to clinical depression and or anxiety if not addressed or worked through.
2. Therapy provides you with a safe space to feel heard and accepted; make sense of conflicting feelings
Motherhood brings about many conflicted feelings that can make parenting that much harder. Some mentioned earlier on in this post. Some mothers feel conflicted about whether or not to send their baby to daycare or stay at home with their baby. Some mothers feel conflicted with how to discipline their child especially if their partners have opposing views.
3. Provide you with insight and or a new perspective about your emotional experiences and or challenges
Some mothers need support in learning specific strategies and skills to address certain situations. For example, due to the demands of raising young children, some mothers might find needing support in learning how to be less reactive to their child when their child engages in a disapproving behavior.
4. Helping you understand the difference between postpartum diagnosis and baby blues if you are a new mama
Because postpartum depression is constantly confused with baby blues, and vice versa, its imperative that mothers know the actual difference. Therapy can help mothers identity if their symptoms meet a clinical diagnosis or if they are a response to stress.
5. Helping you feel empowered with your identity and transition into motherhood
Motherhood is complex and as mothers we can feel lost within it, especially first time mamas. Therapy can helps us navigate such significant transition in our lives and feel supported and empowered throughout the way.
Asking for help is hard and seeking out a professional can feel even more so. As mothers we all want one universal thing…to be better than the ones that came before us. To be better than our own mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers etc. Sometimes getting there is to find support through our struggles. The ones before us probably didn’t have that opportunity but we do.
If you are struggling with the transition into motherhood give yourself the privilege of seeking help today. You will come out stronger and healthier.
