The Invisible Load: Why So Many Moms Feel Burnt Out
You’re the emotional anchor.
The calendar keeper.
The invisible glue holding it all together.
And if you’re honest…
You’re exhausted.
If you’ve ever found yourself crying in the car after school drop-off, snapping at your partner over something small, or lying awake at 2 a.m. running through the never-ending mental checklist, you’re not alone.
This is mom burnout. And it’s not in your head—it’s in your body, your mind, your nervous system.
It’s the invisible load of motherhood.
What Is the Invisible Load?
The “invisible load” refers to all the mental, emotional, and logistical labour that moms carry—the things that keep the family functioning but often go unnoticed or unacknowledged.
It’s not just doing the thing.
It’s being the one who always has to remember the thing.
The permission slips. The uniforms. The emotional temperature of the house.
Moms carry it all — quietly, automatically — because if they don’t, it doesn’t get done.
The Invisible Load in Real Life: A Glimpse Into the Mental Labour Moms Carry
It’s not just about cooking dinner or driving to practice. It’s about being the one who remembers, plans, prepares, tracks, and supports everyone, every day — while often being completely overlooked.
Here’s just a glimpse of what that looks like:
-Submitting uniform sizes and ordering gear before the deadline so your kid isn't the only one in a pinney on game day
-Booking the doctor/detist/vet/school meetings around swim lessons, ball, hockey and dance practice and your full-time (paid) job
-Prepping after-school snacks that can be eaten in the car between activities
-Mentally budgeting for three separate sport fees, a school trip deposit and a birthday party gift---this week
-Filling out school field trip forms and fundraising plans
-Following up on emails from coaches, teachers, and group chats while also managing your actual career emails
-Being the one to remember to refill prescriptions, reschedule appointments, and keep medical histories straight
-Reading between the lines of "I'm fine"--and carying the emotional weight of everyone else's mental health
-Planning dinner...while driving...and calculating if there's time to defrost meat before school pickup
-Knowing when their last growth spurt was and getting new shoes before their toe pops out the end
-Remembering which kid likes crust on their sandwiches this week while also remembering which kid's class has a dairy allergy
-Keeping track of school photo day and the weekly spirit day to make sure your kid doesn't miss out
-Being the first to wake up and the last to go to bed--because that's the only time you have to think without being interrupted with yet another request
The Stats That Prove You’re Not Imagining This
A study from Bright Horizons found that 86% of working moms manage the family’s schedule—compared to just 12% of dads. Even in households where both partners work full-time, moms are still 3x more likely to handle the mental and emotional labour of the home. Let that sink in. The emotional and mental labour women carry isn’t just a household issue — it’s a global economic issue.
According to the International Labour Organization, women worldwide perform three times more unpaid care and domestic work than men. This includes childcare, eldercare, household management, emotional support — all of which is untracked, unpaid, and undervalued.
The result? Over 700 million women are excluded from the paid workforce — not because they’re unqualified, but because the unpaid work they do at home keeps them from participating in paid labour. And while this labour is invisible on paper, it’s costing women their careers, their health, and their sense of self — one unnoticed task at a time.
Signs You Might Be Experiencing Mom Burnout
Burnout doesn’t always look like collapsing on the kitchen floor. Sometimes, it’s more subtle. Here are a few red flags:
- Feeling numb or emotionally flat
- Constant irritability or snapping at loved ones
- Resentment toward your partner or kids
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering things
- Feeling like you’re failing—even when you’re doing everything
- Daydreaming about just disappearing for a day (or a week)
- Crying alone, but telling everyone you’re "just tired"
These aren’t personality flaws. They’re symptoms of chronic emotional overload.
You're Not Failing — You’re Burnt Out
You’re not failing at motherhood. You’re just carrying too much—and no one’s helping you put it down. Society has trained women to believe that being a “good mom” means being selfless. But selflessness, when stretched too far, becomes self-neglect.
You can’t pour from an empty cup.
You can’t parent from a place of depletion.
You can’t thrive if you're always surviving.
You Deserve Support — Not Just Survival
At Women’s Therapy Centre, we understand that modern motherhood can be emotionally brutal—even when it’s also beautiful.
That’s why we’ve created a space just for moms — with clinicians who truly get it. Ashleyand Sheena are moms themselves. They understand the heaviness that quietly lives beneath the joy of this season — the never-ending weight, the mental juggling, the emotional labour.
Your care is never one-size-fits-all. It's tailored to your unique journey, with support that recognizes that therapy should be a place to exhale — not another space filled with unrealistic expectations.
We help women who are:
- Feeling emotionally and physically burnt out
- Resentful but scared to admit it
- Losing their identity in the role of “mom”
- Craving peace, space, and validation
- Ready to finally focus on themselves
Therapy isn’t about fixing you.
It’s about freeing you—from the expectations, the guilt, and the belief that you have to do it all alone.
What Therapy With Us Looks Like
We offer:
✔️ Trauma-informed, mom-focused therapy
✔️ Online and in-person sessions for flexibility
✔️ Practical tools for managing stress and emotional overload
✔️ A safe, confidential space where you can show up as you are—messy bun, tears, and all
Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, working mom, single mom, or something in between—you deserve support.
Let us be your soft landing.
