SELF – Tess Holliday’s Emotional Instagram Shows the Realities of Motherhood

Being a mom is hard, and the realities of motherhood aren’t always what we expect them to be. Even worse when no one is willing to talk about just how hard it really is. This is why Tess Holliday’s emotional Instagram post resonated with so many of her followers.

I was pleased to weigh in on the challenges and realities of motherhood, and how to tell what’s normal, and when to get help. To read the full post on SELF, click HERE.

Motherhood is a lot for anyone to take on, and it can be overwhelming at times, licensed clinical psychologist Alicia H. Clark, Psy.D., tells SELF. “The responsibility is so huge,” she says. “Almost everything that we know is a stressor in life is thrown into early parenthood—routines change, everything is new, you have new responsibilities, and there’s no going back.” Feeling wiped out by motherhood on occasion is “completely normal,” she says.

However, there’s a difference between having moments or days in which you feel defeated by motherhood and actually having mental health struggles that require treatment. Moms might be suffering from postpartum depression if symptoms like being unable to stop crying or to get things done, losing hope or focus, undergoing a change in appetite, and trouble sleeping (even when they actually have an opportunity to sleep) last for more than two weeks. Clark says, “Those are common signs of depression.”

But, if you have the occasional bad day like Holliday experienced, just know that you’re not alone. “It’s really common,” Clark says.