Mental Health Hacks Every Mom Should Know.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month—and while you’ve probably seen the social media posts and statistics flying around, I want to have a deeper conversation. One that honors your heart, your body, your divine design as a woman and mother.
Because the truth is, mental health isn’t just mental.
And if you’re feeling off—even just a little more anxious, weepy, tired, reactive, or stuck in a fog lately—you’re not broken. You’re likely just out of balance.
Here’s what most women don’t realize: 1 in 5 women will experience a mental health concern in her lifetime, and in the postpartum period, that number rises to 1 in 3. But you don’t have to be a statistic. There are ways to nourish your nervous system, reclaim clarity, and feel like yourself again.
This isn’t about diagnoses or labels—it’s about root causes. And as an integrative health coach, doula, and mama myself, I’ve seen time and again how tiny shifts in these seven areas can dramatically transform a woman’s emotional well-being.
Let’s dive into the surprising contributors to mental health—and the empowering actions you can take today.
1. Your Blood Sugar May Be Holding Your Mood Hostage
Did you know that erratic blood sugar—those highs and crashes—can mimic symptoms of anxiety, irritability, and even depression? Yep. That “random” afternoon meltdown might actually be your glucose talking.
Quick Fix: Start your day with a blood sugar-balanced breakfast (think: protein, healthy fat, and fiber) and eat regularly throughout the day to stay grounded. Eggs with avocado and sautéed greens, or a smoothie with collagen, chia seeds, and nut butter—game changers.
2. Lack of Deep Sleep = Nervous System Distress
You know sleep is important, but did you know that even a single night of poor sleep can reduce emotional resilience and increase cortisol levels? Chronic sleep disruption is a major (yet often overlooked) contributor to anxiety, burnout, and depression.
Sleep Hack: Ditch blue light at least an hour before bed, and create a calming evening ritual. Magnesium, herbal tea, a warm bath, or journaling under soft lighting can shift your body into parasympathetic mode. (Bonus: If you’re postpartum, naps count. Permission granted.)
3. Your Environment Shapes Your Energy
Messy countertops, cluttered closets, constant noise, and artificial lighting—these “normal” parts of modern life can overstimulate your senses and quietly drain your nervous system.
Mini Reset: Pick one space—maybe your nightstand, your kitchen sink, or your phone screen—and simplify it today. Light a beeswax candle, open a window, or play calming music. The energy around you speaks to your cells.
4. You’re Not “Crazy”—You’re Inflamed
Chronic inflammation in the body (often caused by processed foods, chemicals, or gut imbalances) is now linked to every major mental health disorder, including depression and anxiety. Your brain and gut are intimately connected.
Gut-Healing Step: Begin crowding out inflammatory foods by adding in nourishing ones: leafy greens, bone broth, fermented veggies, and clean proteins. If you wouldn’t feed it to your baby, your brain likely doesn’t want it either.
5. Unspoken Emotions Can Become Symptoms
We’re taught to power through, especially in motherhood. But repressed emotions—grief, resentment, fear, guilt—don’t go away. They find places to live in our bodies, often showing up as fatigue, sadness, or overwhelm.
Practice This: Begin a 5-minute daily check-in. What am I feeling? Where is it in my body? What does it need? Let the emotion move. Cry. Write. Shake. Dance. Breathe. You are safe to feel.
6. You Might Be “Overfed” and Undernourished
In integrative health, we teach about Primary Food: the nourishment that doesn’t come on a plate—like relationships, purpose, spirituality, movement, and joy. A lack of fulfillment in these areas creates deep mental unrest, no matter how “healthy” your diet is.
Soul Nourishment Prompt: What’s something you used to love that you’ve stopped doing? Schedule 15 minutes for it this week. Paint, pray, write, walk barefoot. Choose the thing that lights you up—not the thing you “should” do.
7. You’re Wired for Connection, Not Isolation
Loneliness is now considered as dangerous to your health as smoking. And yet, so many women—especially moms—feel unseen, disconnected, and unsupported. Mental health requires community. You were never meant to mother alone.
Reach Out: Call a friend. Join a mom’s circle. Book a free connection call with me. I’ll hold space. You’ll breathe deeper. Your nervous system will say thank you.
Here’s What I Want You to Know, Beautiful Mama:
Your mental health is not separate from your physical health, your environment, your choices, or your story. It is all connected.
And the good news is—you have more power than you’ve been told.
When we zoom out and look at the whole woman (not just the symptoms), everything starts to shift. You don’t need to wait until you “break down” to start healing. You can begin now, with one brave, gentle step.
Let’s personalize your plan.
If this sparked something in you—if you’re curious, relieved, or ready—I invite you to book a free 30-minute Nourish & Reset call with me. We’ll chat like girlfriends, map out your next steps, and co-create a way forward that actually feels good.
Because you’re not here to survive.
You’re here to shine.
