“It’s Just in Your Head,” they say — BUT Parenting Today is a Mental Marathon.
Have you ever tried replying to emails while your toddler tugs at your sleeve with sticky fingers and a half-eaten cracker? Or tried to stay focused on a Zoom call while silently praying your child doesn’t burst in mid-sentence asking for a snack — something that could wait, but somehow feels urgent?
I see this every day. I live around it. I coach through it.
Just a few days ago, Ameera, a young mother I coach, opened up during one of our sessions. She had recently relocated to a new country, hoping to build a better future for herself and her child. She was juggling university lectures by day, navigating time zones, and coming home each night to be a present, emotionally available parent. No family nearby. No support system in place. Just resilience — and an overwhelming emotional burden I could hear in her voice.
She paused, holding back tears.“I feel like I’m always in performance mode. I’m the student, the employee, the mother… but who’s holding space for me?”
She told me about evenings when she would pretend to be cheerful while cooking and listening to her endlessly curious child, even though she felt like collapsing. She talked about the pressure of raising emotionally secure children while her own tank was running on empty. She tells herself, “Just hold on a little longer,” because everyone keeps saying, “You are so strong,” and she feels she has to live up to it.
And then there was Faisal — working in another part of the world, living out a version of fatherhood that doesn’t allow for bedtime stories. His fingers absentmindedly reach for a cigarette, the smoke rising as he thinks,“I think about leaving it all behind… going back. But what happens to everything we’ve built?”He doesn’t say much about his own fatigue — not because he isn’t feeling it, but because somewhere along the way, he was taught not to.
And this isn’t uncommon. In fact, it’s becoming terrifyingly typical.
According to the recent studies(Gawlik et al., 2025),65% of working parents report burnout significantly associated with anxiety, depression, or a history of mental disorders. But most don’t say anything. We bottle it up, normalize exhaustion, and wear strength like armor — even when it’s slowly breaking us down.
We buy our kids toys, books, and happiness — but we DO NOT buy time for ourselves. We budget for swimming classes and birthday parties, but not for therapy, rest, or help.
We’re building emotionally intelligent children while ignoring our own EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
And the cost? It’s showing. In sleepless nights. In passive stress. In unexplained sore throats. In the quiet loneliness of carrying it all… beautifully, silently, invisibly.
So no — it’s not just in your head. Parenting today really is a mental marathon.
But how do we survive it — without silently falling apart?
Here are 5 unconventional ways to safeguard parental mental health:
- Create a “Micro-Escape” Ritual — Daily
Instead of waiting for a full day off, build 5-minute windows of sensory reset. Hide in the laundry room. Lock yourself in the car. Put in noise-canceling earbuds — even if they aren’t connected to anything.This is not avoidance — it’s survival. Tiny moments of disconnect are legitimate acts of preservation.
- Let Go of ‘Good Parenting’ Performances
Please! Stop curating joy for Instagram. Don’t bake the cupcakes if you’re yelling while icing them. Drop the “present parent” guilt if it’s coming at the cost of your peace.Your child needs your authentic emotional presence — not the Instagram version of parenting.Mental health begins where performance ends.
- Make a “Reverse Wishlist”
Anonymously write or voice-note the things you wish people did for you: “Ask how I’m really doing.”“Offer to babysit without making it sound like a favour.” Then,here is the bold part: share it with your closest friends/family/husband. Why? Because people often want to help but don’t know how. And we tend to suffer in silence.
This is a way to let them know — kindly and honestly — what kind of help would actually make a difference.
- Normalize Venting Without Solutions
Create a “no-fix zone” with your partner or friend. Once a week, just talk — with full permission not to end with a solution or forced gratitude.Emotional labor piles up in silence. This is how you let the pressure valve hiss before it explodes.
- Create a “Break Glass in Case of Mental Emergency” Kit
This isn’t just another self-care trend. It’s a real go-to kit — physical or digital — filled with simple things that bring you back when the world feels heavy.Just last night, I told Ameera to pause everything and call someone she missed. Or rewatch that light-hearted comedy she secretly loves.Trust me…THAT SHIFT WAS REAL. Sometimes, the smallest comforts are the ones that hold us together.
These suggestions didn’t come from a manual. They came from moments like these — from late-night coaching calls with overwhelmed parents, from stories like Ameera’s juggling studies, work, and solo parenting in a new land. From quiet confessions like Faisal’s — holding his emotions behind smokescreens and spreadsheets.
They came from listening.
To the gaps in our support systems.
To the hidden weight behind “I’m fine.”
So no, this isn’t expert advice wrapped in pretty packaging.These are real, raw strategies — gathered through lived experience and honest conversations with parents trying to make it through the day with their sanity intact.
If you’re ready to talk openly about your Parental Mental Health journey, we’re here for you. Reach out to us for a one-on-one conversation in a safe, non-judgmental space where you can share your struggles and find support. Visit our website www.auraciousglobal.com, and contact us at info@auraciousglobal.com.
For privacy and confidentiality, the names of clients in this blog have been changed. Any references to individuals are fictional and intended to maintain anonymity.
