When You Need Steadiness More Than Advice

These are short, private letters for the anxious, exhausted, overwhelmed, or self-critical days when everything feels heavier than it should.

Not insight. Not fixing. Just something steady to sit beside you in the hard moments — so you don’t have to carry them entirely alone.

Begin with the one that feels closest.

Gioula Chelten Gioula Chelten

Angry Mom: The Kind of Anger That Builds in Silence

It doesn’t shout. It settles in your jaw and shoulders. If you’re angry and you don’t want to be, it may be your body noticing what isn’t sustainable.

Tonight, let’s talk about the kind of anger that doesn’t shout.

The kind that settles in the jaw.
In the shoulders.
In the chest.

The kind that shows up when you’re washing one more dish
and notice someone else is already sitting down.

A lot of moms know this place.

Being an angry mom isn’t always about yelling.
Most of the time, it isn’t.

Most of the time, it’s about holding everything together so tightly
that there’s nowhere for the anger to go.

So it stays inside.

It waits.

It starts noticing things.

Who gets the long shower.
Who drinks their coffee while it’s still hot.
Who finishes their meal without standing up three times.
Who gets to scroll for ten minutes without being interrupted.
Who gets to be “off” sometimes.

And who doesn’t.

Usually, it’s the mom.

And yes—most of the time, that “someone else” is the dad.

The person you love.
The person you chose.
The person who isn’t trying to hurt you.

And still…

He sits down.
You’re still moving.

He relaxes.
You’re still listening for the next need.

He finishes.
You’re reheating you were planning to drink two hours ago.

And a quiet thought slips in:

Must be nice.

Not in a cruel way.

In a tired way.

In a “wow, that looks peaceful” way.

So your mind starts keeping a soft, relentless score.

Not because you want to.
Not because you’re petty.

Because you’re trying to understand
why it feels so uneven.

Why does it always land back on me?
Why am I the default parent?
Why am I never fully off duty?

And why does it feel like no one really sees how much this costs?

This is often what people mean when they talk about mom anger.

Not explosions.

Pressure.

The slow buildup of being needed more than you’re supported.

Most angry moms aren’t angry because we want more than anyone else.

We’re angry because we’ve been quietly carrying more than our share
for so long that it started to fade.

You do things automatically.
Lovingly.
Without being asked.

And one day you realize:

No one knows how much effort this takes.

There’s usually a fear underneath it.

If I say something, I’ll sound selfish.
If I complain, I’ll seem ungrateful.
If I ask for more, I’ll be “too much.”

So you stay quiet.

You tell yourself it’s fine.

You tell yourself you can handle it.

And the anger keeps growing anyway.

Then you wonder:

Why am I so irritated lately?
Why am I snapping?
Why do I feel resentful toward someone I love?

It makes sense.

Anger shows up when something important keeps getting skipped over.

When rest never quite arrives.
When fairness keeps getting postponed.
When being needed replaces being cared for.

Nothing is wrong with you for noticing that.

Nothing is broken because your body reacts
when it’s taken for granted.

You’re allowed to want things to feel more balanced.
You’re allowed to want rest without earning it.
You’re allowed to want support without begging for it.
You’re allowed to want to matter without disappearing first.

Even this anger is trying to protect you.

From being erased.
From being endlessly available.
From becoming invisible inside responsibility.

It’s not trying to ruin your marriage.
It’s trying to tell the truth.

This isn’t sustainable.

Carrying everything quietly doesn’t make you noble.
It makes you tired.

Being easygoing doesn’t make you strong.
It makes you invisible.

Loving someone doesn’t mean disappearing inside the work of loving them.

Somewhere along the way, you learned to shrink.
To manage.
To absorb.
To handle it.

And you got very good at it.

So good that no one noticed what it cost.

Including you.

An angry mom is often a mother who has been strong in silence for too long.

Not dramatic.
Not difficult.
Not ungrateful.

Just done pretending this is fine.

And you don’t have to pretend anymore.

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Gioula Chelten Gioula Chelten

Overwhelmed Mom: When You’re Carrying More Than You Should

You’re not weak. You’re overloaded. This is what it feels like when one person becomes the default for everything — and your body starts quietly saying, “This is a lot.”

You’ve been carrying more than anyone can see.

Not just tasks.
Not just schedules.

Worry.
Responsibility.
Other people’s emotions.
Your own second-guessing.
The invisible mental load of keeping everything running.

Mostly in your head.
Mostly without a clipboard.

Your nervous system has been on alert all day.

Of course you’re tired.
Of course you’re short-tempered.
Of course small things feel big.

This is what it feels like to be an overwhelmed mom.

Not weak.
Not dramatic.
Not failing.

Just carrying too much for too long.

This is emotional overwhelm in motherhood.
This is what happens when one person becomes the default for everything.

Nothing is wrong with you.

You are responding to more than one person was ever meant to hold alone.

School forms.
Appointments.
Permission slips.
Meals.
Emotional check-ins.
Remembering who needs what and when.

It adds up.

This is how an overwhelmed mom slowly becomes a tired mom.
Somewhere between the third reminder and the forgotten water bottle.

Not all at once.
Little by little.

Until your body starts saying,
“Hey. This is a lot.”

You are allowed to pause.

You are allowed to set something down.
You are allowed to leave something unfinished.
You are allowed to not fix everything tonight.

Right now, you don’t have to solve your life.

You don’t have to organize the chaos.
You don’t have to optimize your schedule.
You don’t have to manage everyone’s feelings.

(As if another system was going to save the day.)

You only have to be here for this moment.

You don’t need to be “more disciplined.”
You don’t need to “try harder.”
You don’t need to become a better version of yourself.

You don’t need another productivity hack.

You need relief.

You need space where you’re not responsible
for everyone’s emotions and expectations.

You need a place where your nervous system
isn’t on call.

You are not failing.

You are an overwhelmed mom living inside a very full life.
You are emotionally overloaded.
You are overstimulated.
You are carrying mental load most people never see.

That’s not a character flaw.

That’s what happens when someone keeps showing up
without being given anywhere to rest.

Of course you feel stretched.

Anyone living your life would.

You don’t have to fix this tonight.

You don’t have to figure out the next step.
You don’t have to clean up the mess.
You don’t have to plan tomorrow.

You can let one thing wait.

Just one.

The world will not collapse.

Your family will be okay.

You are allowed to stop holding everything
for a minute.

Even if it feels unfamiliar.

Even if it feels uncomfortable.

Even if it feels “unproductive.”

You are not lazy for needing a pause.

You are an overwhelmed mom who has been strong for a long time.

And strength needs somewhere to land.

You’re tired in a real way.

And that deserves kindness.

Not later.

Now.

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