Being a mom is a really hard job.
Not only are you responsible for yourself and caring for yourself as a person, you are also responsible for raising, nurturing, and caring for tiny humans, too. Many times, being a mom can be truly overwhelming and hard. Some days are better than others, but there are times when we truly feel like just straight-up screaming.
Every mom has experienced the feeling of being completely and utterly overwhelmed to the point where we imagine running away and not having to deal with our kids for a little while. While not every mom admits it, we have all been there.
Living through the Covid-19 pandemic, many parents have truly seen the "ugly" side of parenting. Being stuck inside with our kids all day long, for months and years on end, has taken a toll on us. We don't get a break, and many of us are balancing being a parent and also an employee at the same time.
The pandemic has been hard on a lot of people—like health care workers and educators—but for parents, it has been pretty damn hard to balance everything and also keep our kids safe, entertained, educated, and just okay during these hard times.
Many parents have looked for outlets or ways to combat the way that they are feeling. Some go to the gym to relieve stress. Some people run. Other people go to therapy. Some parents turn to their friends for support, help, and guidance.
Sarah Harmon, mom, and founder of "The School of Mom," a mindfulness program for those moms who feel the demands of parenthood, organized a small event through the Facebook group she runs. The Massachusetts moms gathered together in a local football field of a school to scream.
Harmon is also a mental health therapist and in her career and studies, has seen that "screaming" can be extremely therapeutic and helpful to relieve stress, anger, and even make you feel overall better.
"We screamed. We yelled (A LOT) of profanities. And then we laughed. And that’s the beauty of allowing yourself to feel and express an emotion," the mental health therapist wrote on a Facebook post for the group page for "The School of MOM."
Harmon said that after living through the pandemic for a year, many of the moms in the community were feeling totally drained and completely burnt out. Many were feeling angry and resentful, and needed a way to let that frustration out.
"Many of us grieve and crave the spontaneity and freedom we had before kids.
Kids bring structure and schedule and COVID has brought rigidity and intense restriction that only exacerbates that nonexistent spontaneity and letting go of control," she continued.
Of course we love our kids. But, at the end of the day, being a parent is giving up your freedom and your independence to entirely be relied on 24/7. During a pandemic, it can feel like it's a neverending cycle of "Mommy, Mommy!"
They laugh, they cry, they scream—and some of the moms even have some friendly competition in the screaming sessions.
But, overall, Harmon says it helps them all feel better to release that anger and also gives them a shoulder to lean on, too.
