The Mental Load: The Hidden Cause of Your Stress

When experts like myself talk about trauma, we sometimes use the term, invisible backpack to describe how students show up with all the things they brought from home.

But for us as professionals, there is often another invisible burden that we carry that not only negatively impacts our physical and emotional health, but also undermines our professional success too. The burden that I’m talking about is being called the MENTAL LOAD.

The mental load is an often overlooked, but ever-present burden that many individuals, particularly women, bear. It encompasses the invisible tasks and responsibilities that come with managing a household and family dynamics. From remembering doctor's appointments, organizing playdates, and planning meals to tracking household supplies and managing finances, the mental load encompasses both the logistical and emotional aspects of daily life. It requires constant mental juggling and multitasking, often leaving individuals feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and underappreciated. The mental load is a weight that is carried alone, and its intangible nature makes it difficult to measure or comprehend.

Add to that fact that YOU work in a helping profession. You serve hundreds of students and their families, not to mention your colleagues, and are the heart of the building. This sounds like a recipe for burnout that is hard to quantify and also why most common calls for self-care just don’t work. Your role in the lives of students, not just by providing guidance and support, but also by helping to shoulder the emotional burden that they carry, is invaluable. You are a skilled professional, empathizing with everyone you meet, allowing them to share their deepest fears, insecurities, and anxieties without judgment, and then you have to do bus duty and remember to pick up the groceries with your teenager’s favorite chips and your husband’s protein powder. The to-do is only a part of the problem. Navigating bad moods, weaponized incompetence and not having the support that you so willingly give to others all creates a heaviness that contributes to mental and physical health challenges.

So what do you do about this? Well, I have a great place to start. I want you to join me in a workshop called Unloading the Mental Load, where I will share some of the strategies that I use and coach my clients to use which can lessen your burden and let you enjoy your life too. Join me LIVE on 10/5/23 at 12pm EST to discuss and get the support you deserve.