Are You Overwhelmed By Mental Load?

Do you feel like you’re busy all the time? Is it hard to shut off your brain? Do you find yourself constantly planning and sick of making decisions? Being an adult means we are often VERY busy, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel like you are one step away from burnout at all times. 

If you feel like you are on a tightrope while trying to juggle 45 things, you aren’t alone. Many of these responsibilities are evident and even visible to others. What is not is your mental load. 

What is Mental Load?

Mental load  refers to the invisible, often overwhelming mental effort needed to organize and manage day to day life and your many obligations. This effort applies to everything that must “happen” big and small. Mental load isn’t just organizing things, it’s keeping track of everything that must be done, then planning and executing.  

An example of this would be planning dinner for the week. You don’t simply say “great let’s do pizza Monday, tacos Tuesday, pasta Wednesday……”. Even if you are ordering all your meals, you still have to decide who is ordering them and when. For most of us we will make some meals throughout the week which means the meals have to be planned, shopped for and then made. Even these tasks require many other tasks to execute. 

When you are trying to keep track of your family member’s birthdays, scheduling doctors appointments, taking care of your dog, paying bills, meeting deadlines at work etc. you may not always be doing things physically but you sure are mentally. You are keeping track of everything seemingly at all times. We begin to turn our brains into computers with entirely too many tabs open. This isn’t sustainable, at some point we will crash. 

Mental load can also extend beyond household tasks to include emotional labor—such as sustaining relationships, providing emotional support, and trying to anticipate the needs of those close to you. 

How Can Mental Load Affect You? 

It can be difficult to recognize when you’re being negatively impacted by your mental load . Many of us put our mental health and wellness on the backburner. Some signs that you may be affected by mental load can include; 

  • Feeling overwhelmed 
  • Feeling scattered
  • Struggling to relax
  • Worrying constantly
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Mood changes 
  • Frequent irritability
  • Sadness
  • Sleep changes – sleeping too much or not enough
  • Lack of appetite 
  • Difficulty focusing

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of what you might experience if you are impacted by excessive mental work. 

Counseling Can Help

Mental load is often an invisible force that impacts our daily lives and mental health. When you begin to take stock and pay attention to how mental load may be impacting you, you can take steps to feel better. Delegating, taking care of yourself, practicing practical self-care and simply learning to say no can help. Many of these things are easier said than done, therapy can help. 

Carolina Counseling Services contracts with skilled licensed therapists . You aren’t alone. Finding the right therapist can be the first step to decreasing your mental load and feeling better. Providers are in network with most major insurances including Aetna, Aetna State Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) and many more. If you are looking for a caring therapist in Durham, NC, call CCS today!

Jaime Johnson Fitzpatrick LCMHCS, LCAS is one of the Owners and Vice Presidents of Carolina Counseling Services. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in the State of North Carolina as well as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in State of New York. Jaime is also certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and utilizes various other approaches in her practice.