Geraldine Walsh: ‘The overwhelm of motherhood is so intense’

When it comes to motherhood, women often find that their expectations do not align with reality.  Writer Geraldine Walsh describes being floored by her experience of becoming a parent. “The overwhelm of motherhood is so intense,” she tells Aideen Finnegan on the Mother’s Day episode of The Women’s Podcast.

“We begin with this idea of what it’s going to be like, and we’re knocked down because it just doesn’t pan out the same way,” she continues.

In her new book, Unraveling Motherhood, the mother of two shares her intense and often debilitating experiences with postnatal depression and anxiety, offering a motivational tool kit for anyone struggling with overwhelm, feelings of inadequacy and burnout.

Walsh explains how she began to imagine her struggles as knots to unravel and how she eventually untangled her new identity as a mother.

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“So if we unravel our individual ideas and experiences and what we go through, we can see a clearer vision of where we’re headed,” she says.

Listen back to this episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.