There should be support for this part, too
The mothers carrying food and body struggles in silence deserve to be seen, too.
This week is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.
And while there is thankfully more conversation happening around maternal mental health than there once was…
there are still so many mothers quietly carrying struggles that remain deeply unseen.
Especially mothers navigating eating disorder recovery while raising children.
Mothers who are feeding everyone else while struggling to feed themselves consistently.
Mothers who look “functional” from the outside, while fighting exhausting mental battles around food, body image, control, shame, and self-worth internally.
Mothers who are trying so hard not to pass this on.
And this is not a small thing.
Eating disorders are among the most serious mental health conditions, with significantly elevated mortality risk compared with the general population.
And yet many mothers navigating them during pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood are doing so in profound silence.
Not because they don’t care.
Not because they don’t love their children enough.
But because shame convinces so many of us that we should be past this already.
That if we were really trying hard enough, this wouldn’t still feel difficult.
That maybe we are the only ones struggling this way.
But we are not the only ones here.
And this part of maternal mental health deserves support, too.
Not only when things become visibly severe.
Not only when someone else notices.
Not only when we’ve reached a breaking point.
But here.
In the messy middle.
In the invisible effort.
In the quiet moments where we are carrying so much internally while still trying to stay present for the people we love most.
This week, I’m holding so much tenderness for the mothers carrying this silently.
And I hope, little by little, we continue creating more spaces where this part of motherhood and recovery can be spoken out loud without shame.
Because there should be support for this part, too.
With you,
Crystal
P.S. If you’ve been carrying this quietly and are looking for a gentle place to feel less alone, my free Lift the Shame support group is always here for you. 🤍