Being a Woman, a Mother, and a Human in Today’s Political Climate

Being a Woman, a Mother, and a Human in Today’s Political Climate

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from being a woman right now. A deeper one that comes from being a mother. And an even quieter, heavier one that comes from being a human watching the world feel increasingly unsafe, unjust, and unrecognizable.

Many women are walking through their days carrying more than can be named. We are expected to parent gently while systems feel violent. To remain productive while our bodies are tense with fear or rage. To explain hard truths to our children while still trying to make sense of them ourselves. This is not just stress it is moral fatigue, grief, and chronic nervous system overload.

And it makes sense.

When the World Feels Unsafe, the Body Knows

Political climates are not abstract. They live in our bodies. When rights are debated or taken away, when families are separated, when violence or control is normalized, women especially mothers feel it viscerally. Our nervous systems are wired to protect, and when the world signals danger, the body responds accordingly.

This can show up as:

• Persistent anxiety or hypervigilance
• Anger that feels too big or too quiet
• Exhaustion that sleep doesn’t touch
• A sense of hopelessness or numbness
• Guilt for not doing “enough” or for doing too much

For mothers, there is an added layer: fear for our children’s futures. For women who don't have children there can be a question of if bringing a child into the world right now is something you want. Questions we never expected to hold. Decisions that feel heavier than they should have to be. The weight of protecting innocence in a world that keeps asking us to explain injustice.

The Impossible Standards Placed on Women

Women are asked to be calm, reasonable, informed, but not too emotional, as if there is such a thing as "too emotional'" when lives are being lost or permanently changed and not for the better. We’re expected to stay engaged without being consumed, to care deeply without burning out, to resist injustice without letting it affect our families. These are impossible standards.

There is no correct way to exist in a harmful & broken system.

Feeling angry does not make you a bad mother. Feeling tired does not mean you are disengaged. Wanting to look away sometimes does not mean you don’t care. It means you are human.

Motherhood in a Time of Moral Tension

Motherhood magnifies everything. Love, fear, responsibility, grief. Many mothers are holding the tension of wanting to raise compassionate, justice-aware children while also wanting to protect their sense of safety and joy.

You might find yourself wondering:

• How much do I explain?
• How do I raise kind humans in a cruel system?
• How do I stay informed without becoming overwhelmed?

There are no perfect answers. But it is okay to pace your engagement. It is okay to take breaks. It is okay to choose moments of softness even while staying committed to your values.

Caring for Yourself Is Not Political Apathy

Rest is not indifference. Joy is not denial. Boundaries around news and social media are not ignorance. They are survival tools in a climate that asks women to carry more than their share.

Caring for your nervous system through rest, connection, movement, therapy, or quiet is an act of resistance in a culture that thrives on your exhaustion. You cannot pour into your children, your community, or the future if you are completely depleted. If we are all drained and exhausted we can't continue the fight, if you need a break from it, there are others who are ready to step back into the active fight to allow you to rest, recover, and remember why the fight matters: your rights, your children's rights and future.

You Are Allowed to Be All of It

You are allowed to be angry and loving. Informed and overwhelmed. Hopeful and grieving. Strong and tired.

Being a woman, a mother, and a human in today’s political climate is not about doing it perfectly. It’s about staying connected to your values without abandoning yourself in the process.

If you are struggling, you are not failing you are responding to something real, that no one could have prepared us to have to navigate.

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