How to be a good mother when mentally ill

[Anonymous]

Hugs. I hope you're talking about this with your therapist. They should be able to help you come up with some strategies and also not be too hard on yourself.

It's also an incredibly hard time right now for everyone -- even people who usually don't struggle with mental health issues.

Don't worry at all about housekeeping. The energy you do have should go toward love for your kids, not housekeeping. No one ever looked back at their childhood and thought, "My mom was the best mom ever because she cleaned our house!" Seriously. And remember that you can't be a good parent if you aren't taking care of yourself. Self-care is a way to care for others as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hugs. I hope you're talking about this with your therapist. They should be able to help you come up with some strategies and also not be too hard on yourself.

It's also an incredibly hard time right now for everyone -- even people who usually don't struggle with mental health issues.

Don't worry at all about housekeeping. The energy you do have should go toward love for your kids, not housekeeping. No one ever looked back at their childhood and thought, "My mom was the best mom ever because she cleaned our house!" Seriously. And remember that you can't be a good parent if you aren't taking care of yourself. Self-care is a way to care for others as well.

As the child of a severe hoarder, this just isn't true across the board. You don't know what it's like growing up with a hoarder.