There’s a lot to keep track of when you’re a busy mom living in Chicago. You’ve got family obligations, kid schedules, your work duties, and any number of other things that fill up your time. A schedule like this makes it hard to keep a finger on the pulse of your own mental health though. It’s so easy to get caught up in caring for everyone else that you forget to check in on your own thoughts and feelings.
If you’re experiencing something on the list below, you don’t have to be alarmed. But it would be a good idea to connect with a mental health professional. These kinds of issues don’t go away if you ignore them; they get bigger. So if you’re a busy working Chicago mom, care for your family and yourself by paying attention to your mental health and getting help when you need it.
Here’s a list of common mental health symptoms that you should be aware of, from a Chicago therapist:
1. You Find It Hard To Concentrate And Complete Tasks
Difficulty with concentration can be an indicator of poor mental health, especially if you’ve been tired and stressed for a long time. Your brain is running on empty, and because its primary goal is to keep you alive, it starts to shut down when it’s under too much strain.
This won’t damage you physically, but it can do a number on your mood. Productivity is great but pushing too hard is almost always a recipe for trouble. Sometimes when you start feeling unproductive at work, it’s not because you need to push yourself harder, it’s because you desperately need to rest.
2. You Feel Tired And Overwhelmed
If you’re a busy mom, it’s not abnormal to be tired sometimes. But if this is your default state, it’s something to keep an eye on. Try to pay attention to how much you’re sleeping and how much you’re packing into your day. Sometimes things get hectic, and we just have to deal with it. But if chaos has become your life and you’re constantly fatigued, it may be a sign that your mental health needs some attention.
3. You Don’t Enjoy The Things That Used To Make You Happy
It’s hard to find time to pursue your personal hobbies as a busy mom. Chicago is full of fun things to do, but you don’t always have time. It’s when you stop wanting to do these things, even when you have the opportunity, that you should be mindful. A loss of interest in the things you like doing can signal that you’re dealing with some depression, and you should look into making some changes and finding someone to talk to.
4. You Lose Patience With Your Family More Easily Than Normal
It’s totally normal to get irritated with your family. They sometimes ask a lot and kids pretty consistently bring chaos into the house. But if you can usually roll with the punches and keep your cool, and that’s not happening anymore, that may signify that you need extra support. You can get more irritable if you haven’t been sleeping enough or you’ve been too stressed. But it’s tough to feel like this with the people you love, so it’s worth finding help so you can enjoy your time with family and friends.
5. You Have Trouble Sleeping, Or You Sleep Too Much
Poor sleep can be both a symptom and a cause of mental health struggles. Conditions like depression, burnout, and anxiety can all influence how much sleep you get. And not getting enough sleep can make all these conditions worse. It’s a rough catch-22.
If you find yourself not sleeping a lot, or if you have a hard time doing anything but sleeping, you should check in with yourself and see how you’re feeling. Try introducing bedtime meditations to calm your mind while you work on connecting with a mental health professional to get to the root of the issue.
6. You Feel Hopeless Or Numb
If you start feeling totally disconnected and numb to the world around you, it’s very important that you reach out to a mental health professional. Persistent numbness and hopelessness are often signs of major depression. This isn’t something you can or should power through; you deserve to get help. There are things you can do to try and help yourself feel better, but those may be hard while you’re feeling this way.
Reaching out to someone like a therapist will make sure you have the support you need to get healthy so you can connect to the world again. Depression is very manageable, but you will have the most success if you have someone there to support you.
As a working mom in Chicago you have a lot on your plate. It’s easy to lose track of how you’re doing. But it’s important to stay checked in with yourself and your emotions. They will tell you things if you let them.
If you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, or other related ones, please reach out to our team at Marble Wellness. We are a therapy practice in Chicago, and we specialize in helping working moms like you. You care for everyone in your life to keep them happy and healthy; let us do the same for you.
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St. Louis
Our St. Louis team of therapists have a variety of training backgrounds and areas of expertise. We specialize in anxiety, depression, grief, chronic illness, therapy for men, couples, and maternal overwhelm. We can also help new moms with various postpartum concerns, moms in the thick of parenting, and moms with teens. We can also chat from wherever you are in the state with online therapy in Missouri and online therapy in Illinois. No matter where you are in your journey, we would love to support you.
Chicago
Our Chicago team of therapists offer a wide range of mental health services to help our clients through the different challenges and hurdles in their life. In addition to anxiety, depression, grief, therapy for men, and maternal overwhelm, we are specialized in professional burnout, therapy for breakups, and love partnering with working moms.
