Why Does ADHD Feel So Much Harder After Becoming a Mom?
ADHD often feels harder after becoming a mother because parenting increases executive load, emotional regulation demands, and sensory input, the very systems ADHD already affects. When these demands exceed nervous system capacity, symptoms feel amplified. This is a regulation issue, not a character flaw.
Written by Lisa Brooks, RCC, OTR/L, a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Occupational Therapist in Vancouver, BC, specializing in neurodivergent women and ADHD mothers with over 14 years of clinical experience.
Why Does Perfectionism Make Postpartum So Much Harder?
Perfectionism and postpartum create an overwhelming collision. Learn why you're measuring the wrong things and how to recognize the profound caregiving work you're doing every day.
Recovering From Post-COVID Parent Burnout: What Actually Helps When You're Still Running on Empty
You're three years past the height of the pandemic, and you thought things would feel easier by now. Instead, you're still canceling plans, snapping at your kids, and wondering why you can't catch up. If you're still running on empty, you're not alone.
As a Registered Clinical Counsellor with a background in occupational therapy and over 14 years supporting overwhelmed parents, I've watched countless families navigate this particular exhaustion. Post-COVID parent burnout is a nervous system issue first, not a time management problem.
Standard self-care doesn't work because it addresses surface tiredness, not nervous system depletion. When your body is in survival mode, bubble baths can't touch the level of restoration you need.
Recovery requires nervous system regulation first, then practical capacity building. Here's what actually helps when you're still burned out years later.
Why Do Vacations Feel So Hard? Parenting, Transitions, and the "Capacity Gap"
Feeling dread instead of excitement about family trips? Here's what's happening in your nervous system and how to partner through capacity differences. Vacations feel hard when one partner carries more mental load because their nervous system is already operating near capacity. High-stress situations like travel don't just add more tasks—they push an already depleted partner into survival mode where even basic tasks become overwhelming. This reveals existing imbalances in how mental load is distributed.