Exhausted Moms Need a Time Out Amidst Growing Holiday Pressures

BOSTON – Millennial moms are in this holiday season exhausted, according to numerous mental health experts, who worry that this year’s holiday hubbub will only serve to elevate holiday pressures and parental stress levels amidst a rise in Omicron variant cases across the U.S. They are among the most impacted with 93% of household CEOs (chief everything officers) surveyed reporting pre-holiday burnout, according to Motherly. Moms fear that their next task, will be the one that puts them over the edge, according to Motherly contributor Mita Mallick, who reports, like many moms, she finds herself feeling more angry, resentful, and guilty this year. Although many aren’t feeling up to be this year’s so-called magic maker, there’s increasing pressure for moms like Miller and Mallick to continue to make merry. With so much pressure surrounding shifting holiday gathering guidelines, additional time outs are needed.

Nearly 60% of holiday hosts say they need escape routes, according to a Festive Burnout survey, which reports respondents’ estimate they’ll need 10 or more time-outs over the holidays. This year will be different than year’s past, according to mental health experts who share concerns that the convergence of pandemic-weary revelers with rusty social skills will result in holiday havoc. Although many experts (and the overloaded masses of millennial moms) agree it’s time to hit the off button, it can be hard to find.

Although a popular, the liquor cabinet is no cure-all according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Maryland, who found that pandemic-related alcohol consumption spiked among women, 60% of whom reported more stress-related drinking last year. No pandemic panacea, stress-related alcohol consumption contributed to elevated alcohol addiction rates, pandemic weight gain and chronic health issues like liver disease, up 30% in women since the pandemic’s start, according to the University of Michigan. Increasing rates of cirrhosis and liver cancer deaths of women are becoming the canary in the coal mine, Professor Jernigan states in a New York Times report. The impact of alcohol abuse is far reaching and is a major contributor to a range of issues. Experts recommend overly stressed moms consume with caution and avoid using alcohol as an escape.

Women seeking non-addictive products to cope, are shifting to supplements, according to the Brightfield Group, which reports that consumption of CBD and related products like Delta 8 are on the rise among millennial moms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence in humans. It’s also liver friendly, according to a Validcare, which affirmed CBD safety in its 7-month clinical study that revealed “no clinical evidence of liver disease or increase in the prevalence of elevated liver function tests in any participants.” Although such research is promising, CBD advocates and skeptics in the scientific community are calling for further research. Practicing tolerance, putting boundaries in place, and maintaining them will be key to keeping America’s peacekeepers (moms) on the holiday front where it’s a given that things are going to go wrong. Health professionals recommend moms set aside a few minutes for themselves daily to decompress from holiday stress. Maintaining an exercise routine and a healthy sense of humor help, and when stress overload arrives, as it predictably does every holiday season, reminding yourself to take a few deep breaths helps many moms keep their calm on, says Delony.

Two-thirds (65%) of millennial moms feel unappreciated family members who don’t realize how much time and effort they put into the holidays. Factor in the 80% feeling pressure to make the 2021 holiday even more special this year, many moms are at a breaking point. We can’t quit, according to a Microsoft survey, which revealed 4 of 10 millennial moms believe they would be more likely to win the lottery than have a family member step up and lead this holiday. No mom, there isn’t an elf on the shelf for this one.

(This information is primarily sourced from Boston Hemp Inc.  Highly Capitalized has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Read our Disclaimer here).