Does it ever feel like you are just surviving motherhood?
Hey mama, I know the struggle…
I know what it feels like to be struggling while feeling like you cannot show that you are struggling. To feel like you should have it together. To want help but not trust anyone else to help.
If I’m being honest, pregnancy kicked my ass. I felt awful the majority of it, gained 50 pounds, and never felt more disconnected from myself. I was high risk and my nervous system was on edge my entire pregnancy. When my son was born, he was taken to the NICU shortly after for low blood sugar and spent his first 48 hours there. He never latched. He developed acid reflux. I never started producing enough milk though I tried relentlessly for 6 weeks.
We finally got into a rhythm at 5 months, and then I went back to work. The identity shift was massive. At 8 months postpartum, it all crashed down. I could no longer pretend I was okay. I went on medical leave while trying to feel connected to myself again.
I started rebuilding my nervous system from that place. And now I guide other mothers through the same process.
Does this sound familiar?
You thought you would feel different by now. But you are exhausted in a way that sleep does not fix. You cry more than you expected. You feel overwhelmed by things that used to feel manageable.
You love your baby deeply. And you are also terrified. Terrified that this is what the rest of your life will feel like. Terrified that you are failing. Terrified that everyone else seems to be handling this better than you are.
You feel emotionally reactive. You snap at your partner. You shut down when things feel too big. You cannot have a conversation without tearing up. Your body feels all over the place. Your sleep is off. Your nerves are raw. You feel like you are running on fumes, chasing anything that will help you get through the day.
You feel misunderstood. Like no one really sees how hard this is. You wonder if something is wrong with you. You wonder if you will ever feel like yourself again.
Your nervous system is overwhelmed. And that can change.
Pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood put an enormous load on your nervous system.
Your body went through a massive physical transformation. Your hormones shifted. Your identity shifted. Your sleep was disrupted. Your sense of control was challenged. Your nervous system has been working overtime to keep you functioning.
When your nervous system is overwhelmed, it moves into survival mode. It becomes hypervigilant. It scans for danger. It stays activated even when there is no immediate threat. This is why you feel anxious when things are calm. This is why you cannot rest even when the baby is sleeping. This is why small things feel enormous.
The tears, the reactivity, the fog, the overwhelm—these are not signs that you are failing at motherhood. These are signs that your nervous system is dysregulated. Your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do when it feels unsafe or overloaded.
The hopelessness you feel is not your reality. It is your nervous system's interpretation of what is happening. And when your nervous system learns to regulate, your experience of motherhood changes.
You were not designed to carry this alone. And your body is telling you that.
How I support you through this
I work with mothers who are struggling in the perinatal and postpartum period. Women who love their babies and are also drowning. Women who are exhausted from trying to think their way out of feeling dysregulated. Women who want to feel like themselves again.
My approach is nervous system first. We do not start with managing your schedule or fixing your mindset. We start with regulation. We teach your body that it is safe to soften. We help your nervous system find its baseline again.
I use EFT tapping to help your nervous system release what it has been carrying. Tapping works directly with your body's stress response. It helps you move through emotional intensity without getting stuck in it. It creates space between the trigger and your reaction. It helps your body remember that it is safe.
We work on the beliefs that make this harder. The voice that says you should be doing better. The fear that you are failing your baby. The story that everyone else has this figured out except you. These are not truths. These are patterns your nervous system learned. And they can be unlearned.
Here is What we Focus on in Sessions:
Somatic practices to actively regulate your nervous system so your body feels safe enough to rest
Releasing the emotional charge around birth, early motherhood, and the identity shift
Building capacity to handle overwhelm without falling into reactivity or shutdown
Strengthening the space between what happens and how you respond
Helping you trust yourself again as a mother, partner, friend and person
Ready to feel emotionally steady again?
I work with clients virtually and in person in Knoxville, TN. My office is located in Old North Knoxville. Fill out the form below and I will be in contact to schedule an intro call.
