Moms, Mental Health, And Support To Help You Have Your Best Summer Yet

When Summer Becomes the Season of Stress

While magazine covers promise endless fun and social media feeds overflow with picture-perfect family adventures, summer can intensify the pressures mothers face. Instead of relief, this season often delivers heightened responsibilities, frayed nerves, and persistent exhaustion.² The high costs of housing, increasing child care costs, and soaring food prices, all add to financial and emotional pressure on families, all throughout the year and especially during the summer season.

For many households, mothers are the primary budget managers—and that means the weight of stretching dollars while trying to deliver a memorable summer lands squarely on their shoulders. Even small daily decisions can feel loaded with pressure. Should we splurge on the water park or save the money for back-to-school clothes? Will skipping this camp mean my child misses out? The constant financial balancing act becomes another layer of emotional labor that rarely gets recognized or relieved.⁴

When School Lets Out, So Does Structure

The end of the school year eliminates the reliable structure that many mothers depend on. The eight-hour rhythm that once brought order to the day evaporates overnight. In its place? A logistical scramble—coordinating summer camps, babysitters, grandparent support, and spontaneous workarounds.³

The entire family system is affected with this loss of the daily and weekly routine that serves as a helpful anchor during the school year. The need to fill hours, manage screen time, and keep kids entertained during summer becomes relentless. When every day feels unstructured, chaos becomes the new normal and decision fatigue for mothers hits hard.³ This transition isn't just inconvenient. It's a high-stakes juggling act of time, money, and emotional bandwidth.

The Reality Of A Worsening

Mental Health Crisis Among Mothers

A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine highlights a significant decline in the mental health of mothers in the U.S.

New research involving nearly 200,000 mothers with children up to age 17 found that 1 in 12 mothers rated her mental health as fair or poor. This is over a 60% increase from 2016 when the research showed 1 in 20 mothers reported a decline in their own emotional well-being.¹

The Perfectionism Trap

Perhaps no stressor affects mothers more uniquely than the crushing weight of perfectionism. Social media amplifies this pressure, presenting curated images of elaborate activities, stress-free vacations, and smiling families dressed in coordinated swimwear.

This perfectionism manifests in countless ways: guilt over screen time, anxiety about whether the kids are having "enough" fun, self-judgment for not feeling grateful for every moment. Mothers internalize the message that their family's happiness is their personal responsibility—a burden that becomes even heavier during the unstructured months of summer.⁵

The Physical Toll of Invisible Labor

Summer's longer days and hotter temperatures introduce a new physical demand. Disrupted sleep schedules, increased irritability from heat, and more active daily routines can stretch mothers to their limits. When you're already managing emotional overload, physical discomfort doesn't just wear you down—it breaks you open.

The irony? Many mothers don't even realize how worn out they are until their body tells them. Chronic stress can lead to disrupted sleep, chronic fatigue, headaches, mood swings, or that ever-present tightness in the chest—these are warning signs, not weaknesses.¹

Strategies for Lightening the Load

Recognizing these stressors isn't about dwelling in defeat. It's about calling them out, naming them, and reclaiming agency in the face of them.

Embrace Imperfection

The antidote to perfectionism isn't failure—it's permission. Permission to let the day be simple. Permission to order takeout. Permission to say no to another playdate. Kids don't need a highlight reel—they need a present parent who models authenticity over performance.

Prioritize Micro Self-Care

Forget the spa day fantasy. Sometimes self-care looks like locking the bathroom door for five minutes of quiet. Sometimes it's picking the pre-cut fruit. Sometimes it's canceling plans because your soul needs silence. These small, intentional acts of self-preservation aren't luxuries—they're survival tools.

Create Flexible Structure

Instead of rigid schedules, consider loose routines that offer rhythm without rigidity. Morning walks, regular snack times, evening wind-down rituals—these pockets of predictability can soothe both kids and parents without adding pressure.

Set Emotional Boundaries

You are not responsible for regulating everyone else's emotions. Learning to hold space without absorbing everyone's stress is a powerful form of emotional intelligence. Saying, "That sounds hard—I'm here for you," without launching into fixer mode is both freeing and effective.

Build Your Village

Stress thrives in silence. Community disrupts that silence. Texting another mom about your bad day, swapping childcare with a neighbor, joining a support group, having a conversation with a therapist, or allowing yourself to ask for help - these are strength-based approaches you can take to break the expectation that you're supposed to carry it all. Vulnerability doesn't make you weak—it makes you human.

Tap Into Resources and Experts That Can Help You

Motherhood is an extraordinary journey, but that doesn't mean it should be an exhausting one. The emotional weight you carry—especially during the summer—is real. And you don't need to carry it alone. We are here to help you lighten the load. Whether you're struggling with the invisible labor of parenting, feeling disconnected from yourself, or are looking to learn tools that you can apply to help life feel easier, we provide a safe space for you here at Capstone!

Turn summer stress into summer success with Capstone's Expert Guidance!

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You deserve relief. You deserve support. You deserve to feel like yourself again. Let us help.

References

Cole MB, Bell ML, Ettman CK, Galea S. Trends in Self-reported Mental Health Among US Mothers With Children Aged 0 to 17 Years, 2016 to 2023. JAMA Intern Med. 2024;184(5):482-491. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.0420
Cohen A. Moms Are in Crisis. People. May 2024. Available from: https://people.com/moms-mental-health-crisis-parenting-news-8621876
Gajanan M. The Weight of Invisible Labor in Parenting. Parents. 2024. Available from: https://www.parents.com/invisible-labor-mothers-mental-load
SELF Editors. Why Summer Is the Most Stressful Time for Parents. SELF. 2023. Available from: https://www.self.com/story/summer-parenting-stress
Nguyen J. The Summer Strain: Mental Load, Money, and Motherhood. JAMA Network Blogs. 2024. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2818957

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