The Mental Load Nobody Sees..
One for the road..
Hey there,
Have you ever crawled into bed at the end of the day completely exhausted, only to wonder what you actually accomplished?
The laundry still isn't folded. The emails are still waiting. The toys somehow multiplied.
Dinner needs to be figured out again tomorrow (seriously, why does everyone need to eat every single day?).
And yet somehow you're wiped.
Here's what I want you to know:
Just because your work isn't visible doesn't mean it isn't work.
This week I've been thinking about the mental load and how many women are carrying an invisible to-do list that never ends.
Remembering appointments.
Booking dentist visits.
Noticing the milk is running low.
Keeping track of birthdays.
Remembering who needs forms signed.
Planning meals.
Thinking about next week.
Thinking about next month.
Thinking about Christmas in July because apparently that's a thing now.
It's exhausting.
Not because any one task is hard, but because your brain never gets to clock out. The problem is that most women don't count this as work. So they end the day feeling tired, then immediately judge themselves for being tired.
"Why am I exhausted? I barely got anything done."
But you did. You spent the entire day carrying responsibilities that nobody else could see. Your nervous system doesn't just respond to physical effort. It responds to responsibility.
The more tabs you have open in your brain, the harder your nervous system has to work to keep track of them all.
And eventually?
It starts feeling like everything is urgent.
Everything is important.
Everything needs your attention.
That constant state of alertness is one of the reasons burnout can sneak up on us.
Not because we're weak.
Not because we're failing.
But because our nervous system was never designed to carry the weight of an entire family's logistics forever.
This Week's Burnout Bar Reminder
Invisible work is still work.
Just because nobody else sees what you're carrying doesn't mean it isn't heavy.
Try This This Weekend
Grab a piece of paper and do a "brain dump."
Write down every single thing you've been holding in your head.
Appointments.
Errands.
Reminders.
Worries.
To-do lists.
All of it.
Sometimes your nervous system doesn't need you to solve everything.
Sometimes it just needs proof that you won't forget it.
One for the Road ☕
You are not exhausted because you're incapable.
You are exhausted because you've been carrying things that were never meant to be carried alone.
Be gentle with yourself this weekend.
From The Burnout Bar
If you've been wondering whether you're stuck in survival mode, download my free guide:
You might discover you're not lazy, broken, or failing.
You've just been carrying a lot.
See you next Friday,
Jenna
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
| The Burnout Bar |
Less Survival. More Living.