01/08/2026
Burnout in mothers doesn’t usually look like lying on the floor unable to function.
It looks like:
• Getting through the day, but feeling nothing by night
• Waking up already tired
• Snapping at the people you love most
• Forgetting words, appointments, or why you walked into a room
• Anxiety that doesn’t match your life
• Hormones that feel “off” but never fully explain it
• Being told your labs are “normal” while your body clearly isn’t
I see this every week in my practice.
And if I’m honest, I’ve lived it too.
As a mother and a naturopathic doctor, I know what it’s like to keep showing up while quietly running on empty—telling yourself you’ll rest after the next phase, the next milestone, the next season.
Here’s something that needs to be said clearly:
Burnout absolutely exists in mothers.
Even though some practitioners insist it doesn’t.
They’ll tell you it’s “just stress,”
or “just anxiety,”
or that your body should be able to handle this season.
But when we actually look deeper—at cortisol patterns, iron, thyroid function, inflammation, blood sugar regulation—we often see a body that has been compensating for far too long.
Burnout isn’t a failure of resilience.
It’s a physiological response to prolonged demand without adequate repair.
And rest alone doesn’t fix it—
support does.
📸
