The Breaking Points of Motherhood: Coping With Postpartum Stress
We recently had our Carea Circle event hosted by Carea’s founder Anastasia Shubareva-Epshtein and influencer Anna Whitehouse. Mats were laid out from a slow yoga session, candles flickered at the edges of the space, and a group of mums sat in a circle = some cradling babies, some with hands folded tightly in their laps. Everyone was holding something heavy.
The theme that day was breaking points. We spoke about the exact moments we realised we couldn’t do it all anymore. One mum said hers came on the stairs, crying quietly while the baby screamed upstairs. Another said it happened in the car, when she couldn’t remember the last time she felt like herself. Someone else said she didn’t even cry - she just felt completely numb, like she’d stepped outside her body.
Every story was different, but the silence that followed each one was the same. Everyone in that circle had reached a moment where the weight of motherhood felt too much to carry alone.
When You Reach Your Limit
Postpartum stress isn’t always obvious. It can look like irritability or exhaustion, or feeling like you can’t think clearly anymore. Sometimes it’s rage, sometimes it’s sadness, sometimes it’s nothing at all - just emptiness.
We’re told that motherhood is supposed to come naturally, but no one tells you what happens when it doesn’t. When you’ve hit your limit but still have to keep going. When you’re too tired to shower, too wired to sleep, and feel too guilty to ask for help.
At the Carea Circle, we realised how common this is. Every woman in that room had been there. The details were different, but the feeling was the same: the pressure to hold it all together until something cracks.
The Myth of “Super Mum”
Somewhere along the way, we were sold the idea that the best mums are the ones who do everything. Feed the baby, keep the house clean, stay grateful, bounce back.
But there’s no medal for being “Super Mum.” There’s only burnout, loneliness, and the quiet ache of thinking you’re the only one who can’t manage it all.
You don’t have to be everything for everyone. You just have to survive the day sometimes and that’s enough.
Tips for Coping When You’re at Breaking Point
1. Say it out loud
The moment you admit, “I’m not okay,” something shifts. You don’t have to pretend anymore. Whether you say it to a friend, your partner, or your midwife, naming how you feel is the first step toward relief.
2. Rest without guilt
You can’t pour from an empty cup, and yet rest is often the first thing we sacrifice. Try setting small, real boundaries - ten minutes alone in the shower, a nap instead of cleaning. It’s not indulgence. It’s recovery.
3. Write down what’s in your head
Write the truth, even if it’s ugly. Especially if it’s ugly. During our Carea Circle, a mum said journaling became her lifeline because it helped her see patterns in her feelings instead of drowning in them.
If you’re using our Carea app, you can use the journal feature to jot down your thoughts - a quick line during a feed, or a quiet reflection before bed. Getting it out of your head and onto a page (or screen) can help you make sense of what’s really going on beneath the surface.
4. Ask for help before you break
Waiting until you collapse isn’t strength - it’s survival mode. Reach out early. Let someone else take over for a while. Accepting help doesn’t make you weak; it makes you human.
5. Breathe
In our closing meditation, the room fell silent except for the sound of everyone breathing together. It felt like a release - the kind that only happens when you stop pretending to be fine. When everything feels too much, start there. Just breathe.
Even a few mindful breaths can calm your body’s stress response and remind you that you’re still here, still trying, still enough. The Carea app includes gentle meditations designed for moments like these - for when you’re hiding in the bathroom for a minute of peace or lying awake at 2am, trying to slow your thoughts.
What the Carea Circle Taught Us…
That you can love your baby deeply and still feel completely overwhelmed. And that strength doesn’t come from doing it all; it comes from admitting when you can’t.
No one left that room with everything solved, but we did leave lighter. We’d seen each other’s truth - the messy, beautiful, complicated truth of motherhood.
Motherhood breaks you open. But it also connects you to every other woman who’s ever sat in the dark and whispered, “I can’t do this anymore.”
You can. You just don’t have to do it alone.
Finding Support With Carea
If you’re at your breaking point, the Carea app can help you start piecing yourself back together. It includes:
💚 Guided meditations and grounding exercises for stress
💚 A private journaling space to process feelings
💚 Affirmations for postpartum recovery
💚 Articles and community stories from mums who’ve been there too
💚 And a space to connect with other mums who understand
FAQ:
Q: How do I know if I’m experiencing postpartum stress or burnout?
If you feel constantly overwhelmed, easily triggered, or emotionally detached, it may be postpartum stress. You deserve support - you don’t have to wait until you “fall apart.”
Q: How can I talk to someone about how I’m feeling?
Start small. You could text a friend, talk to your health visitor, or join an online space like Carea’s community. Saying it out loud is the hardest part.
Q: Can postpartum stress go away on its own?
Sometimes it eases with rest and support, but often it lingers if ignored. Small, consistent acts of care - rest, therapy, community - make all the difference.
