Have you complained about parenting and immediately gotten slammed with judgment, or worse, guilt? You finally speak up about being exhausted or overwhelmed and someone fires back, “Well, you wanted kids,” like your feelings are a customer-service return policy violation. Or you say nothing out loud but replay the guilt in your own head: If I chose this life, why am I complaining about it? Does venting make me ungrateful… or is it the only thing keeping me sane? Learn whether complaining actually helps or hurts your mental health, why some people can’t handle hearing a mom be honest, and how to vent in a way that resets your brain instead of dragging you deeper into burnout.

We love to toss around “it takes a village,” but what happens when there is no village? No one to hold the baby while you shower, no friend to text when you’re unraveling in a parking lot. For millions of moms, this is the everyday reality—and it’s slowly breaking them.

This isn’t a personal failing. It’s a societal setup. If you’ve ever whispered “I can’t do this anymore” into the dark, this one’s for you.