My eyes were opened up recently when I decided to talk about something that I felt was rarely spoken about - feeling lonely sometimes as a Mum. I think the fact that I felt like I hadn't seen the topic discussed much online, combined with the fact that as outgoing and confident to speak to people as I can be sometimes, I very much possess the traits and tendencies of an introvert, I started to believe that it was maybe just me.
I worried that, having grown up with Adam, he was really and truly my only friend. And whilst I love that - spending time with him is my favorite thing to do. I've become more aware of how important it is to have other people to speak to, especially as a parent. Sometimes for the reassurance. Sometimes for the company when I can't be with my Husband because he's working. Sometimes because it's nice to have that added social element in life. And sometimes because working at home and looking after my children at home means that I rarely get to see as many people as I used to when I worked outside of our home and before I was a Mum. I love what I am currently doing for my job so much and I am thankful to be able to see my children and my Husband as much as I do, but there is a part of me who does miss seeing different faces and hearing peoples different stories.
I am firm believer in staying true to myself here on the Internet and I feel like as someone who writes a blog and runs a YouTube channel about Motherhood, I should and will always show both sides of what it is to be a parent. We all know that some days are beyond anything you could ever have imagined - they make you feel like you're the luckiest, most content person in the world and then there are those other days that you just wish there was a reset button for.
So, as silly as I might have felt at the time, I knew I was always going to be honest about my feelings around often feeling lonely as a stay at home/work at home Mum.I made this video after briefly reaching out about it via Instagram Stories and I was pretty shocked at the overwhelming response. Message after message that I received was from Mum's feeling the exact same. One major thing that I realised from putting that video out that day was that you never ever really know how someone feels until you reach out first or they open up and tell you.
I've realised that it's too easy to sit/stand back and look at others around you or online and think you know how they feel or what sort of life they lead. It's too easy to walk in to a playgroup, look around you at the other Mum's and Dad's there and think that they are all OK, that they have got their friends already and that they probably aren't looking for anymore. When I think in fact, us parents are really all in it together - we're all going through pretty much the same thing, sometimes slightly differently, but always with the same end-goal - raising our little people in to the best grown up people that we can, who we hope will always show kindness and friendliness to those around them - both towards people that they know and those that they don't.
It's too easy to think that we're alone with feeling lonely sometimes - but we're not. Channel Mum, who are an amazing supportive bunch of ladies and Mum's that I am proud to be a part of, recently ran a survey and a huge 92% of Mums admitted to feeling lonely at some point. If you feel similarly please go and have a watch of this - it's their #CMYANA (You are Not Alone) challenge aimed at making mums feel less lonely; it includes small tasks, like making plans with another mom or simply smiling at every mom you see on the school run. It really is the little things that can make a huge difference to how not only we feel inside, but how other people around us feel too.
