Podcast Episode 392: Burnt Out, Busted Myths, and the BS of ‘Supermom’ Culture with Vanessa Bennett, LMFT
Ever feel like if you’re not juggling snacks, laundry, emotions, and a career — with a grateful heart and a full face of makeup — you must be doing motherhood wrong? Welcome to the exhausting fantasyland of the “Supermom,” where burnout is disguised as achievement and exhaustion is treated like a badge of honor.
This is exactly what licensed depth psychotherapist Vanessa Bennett, LMFT, is calling out — and breaking down — in her latest book, The Motherhood Myth. Vanessa is a therapist, speaker, and mom who knows firsthand the emotional toll of trying to live up to impossible standards. Her work dives deep into motherhood myths and mental health, exposing how our culture sets women up for failure by glorifying self-sacrifice and silence. And she’s not afraid to get real about what it’s doing to us.
In her candid, soul-hitting conversation, Vanessa unpacks how the “do-it-all” mentality is actually a symptom of deeper systems that disconnect moms from their own needs, identities, and joy. From the unspoken trauma of childbirth to the guilt we feel for even wanting something outside of motherhood, Vanessa shows how motherhood myths and mental health are more tangled than most of us realize — and how we can start to untangle them.
If you’ve ever snapped at your family and then beat yourself up about it, if you’ve ever sat in the car for five extra minutes just to breathe, or if you’ve ever asked yourself, “Is this it?” — you’re not broken. You’re in a system that was never built to support you.
And that’s why you need to hear this episode.
We’re talking about healing. About truth-telling. And about choosing a version of motherhood that leaves room for you too.
Because the real myth? That you’re supposed to do it all alone.
In this episode of the No Guilt Mom podcast you’ll learn:
- Why so many of us feel shame for not instantly loving motherhood (hint: it’s not personal failure)
- How traumatic births are a silent epidemic
- Why exactly the glorification of being a ‘supermom’ leads to burnout
- How to get clear on your needs and prioritizing your joy can change everything!
Resources We Shared In This Episode:
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Read the transcripts HERE
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