Every morning, before the sun rises, Hazel Turner is already awake. Between preparing breakfast, organizing school lunches, replying to work emails, and getting her two children dressed, she sometimes forgets to breathe. “My day starts at full speed,” she says.
“By 8 a.m., I’ve already lived a lifetime.” Like millions of women balancing career and motherhood, Hazel discovered that emotional wellness isn’t a luxury — it’s survival. Her journey toward finding peace, balance, and mental resilience has become an inspiring lesson for working mothers everywhere.
When Multitasking Becomes Overload
Hazel works as a project manager for a major tech firm in Austin, Texas. Before becoming a mother, she thrived on long hours, tight deadlines, and travel. “I loved the rush,” she recalls. “But when I returned to work after my first maternity leave, I realized I was no longer the same person.” Every demand — a client email, a crying baby, a school form — pulled at her mental bandwidth. “I wasn’t failing,” she says, “but I was fading.”
At first, she brushed off the exhaustion. “I told myself I just needed to organize better. Buy a planner. Sleep less. Push harder.” That worked — until it didn’t. When Hazel found herself crying in the parking lot after dropping off her toddler, she knew something had to change. “That moment wasn’t weakness,” she says. “It was awareness. My body was screaming for emotional rest.”
The Turning Point: Learning to Acknowledge Burnout
Hazel started small. She downloaded an app called Shine, created by women of color to promote mental wellness and mindfulness through short, daily reflections. “It was the first time I’d heard a voice that sounded like mine — warm, real, forgiving,” she says. Within days, she began identifying the subtle signs of emotional burnout: irritability, guilt, fatigue disguised as productivity. “Working mothers are trained to ignore the warning lights,” she says. “But I learned that noticing them is the first step toward healing.”
Experts agree. The Mayo Clinic defines emotional wellness as the ability to handle life’s stresses, adapt to change, and maintain positive relationships. For working mothers, that definition often feels impossible. “We give everyone else grace except ourselves,” Hazel says. “I had to unlearn the idea that being strong means being silent.”
Building Micro-Moments of Peace
Hazel’s transformation didn’t come from quitting her job or overhauling her life. It came from what she calls “micro-moments” — five-minute habits that restore emotional balance. “I started scheduling breathing breaks between meetings,” she says. “I’d close my laptop, put my hand on my heart, and just say: You’re doing enough.” She also used apps like Calm and Headspace for short meditations, many designed specifically for parents.
Science supports her approach. Studies from the American Psychological Association show that mindfulness and self-compassion reduce cortisol levels and improve emotional regulation. “Mindfulness doesn’t erase chaos,” Hazel says. “It creates a quiet space inside it.”
She began waking up fifteen minutes earlier — not for work, but for silence. “It’s my sacred window,” she says. “No emails, no requests, just me and my coffee.” Over time, that practice rewired her mornings. “Instead of reacting to my day, I started creating it.”
The Role of Support Systems
“No woman thrives alone,” Hazel says. One of her biggest breakthroughs came when she joined a digital community for mothers called Peanut. There, she found connection with women across the U.S. juggling careers, kids, and chaos. “It felt like a judgment-free zone,” she recalls. “We laughed, cried, vented — it was therapy without the invoice.”
She also began attending virtual counseling sessions through BetterHelp. “I used to think therapy was for people in crisis,” she says. “Now I see it as maintenance — like exercise for the mind.” Her therapist helped her set emotional boundaries at work. “When my boss emailed at 10 p.m., I stopped replying immediately,” Hazel says. “My time didn’t become less valuable just because I became a mom.”
Therapists emphasize that such boundaries are crucial. The Harvard Health guide to boundaries states that emotional wellness depends on “knowing where you end and others begin.” Hazel internalized that lesson: “Boundaries aren’t walls,” she says. “They’re fences that protect your energy.”
Redefining Success as a Working Mother
Before motherhood, success for Hazel meant productivity — ticking every box. “Now it means presence,” she says. “If I’m with my kids, I’m really with them. If I’m at work, I’m focused — not guilty.” That shift didn’t happen overnight. “It took therapy, tears, and a lot of unlearning.”
She now practices what psychologists call “emotional agility” — the ability to navigate feelings without judgment. “When I feel overwhelmed, I don’t suppress it,” she says. “I ask, what is this emotion trying to tell me?” Sometimes the answer is simple: rest. “I used to think self-care meant spa days,” Hazel says. “Now it means letting myself cry in peace, then moving on.”
Through journaling, Hazel tracks her emotional triggers and triumphs. “Writing helps me process instead of spiral,” she says. She uses prompts from Healthline’s guide to journaling for anxiety. “It’s amazing how much lighter I feel after I write.”
Integrating Emotional Wellness Into Daily Life
For Hazel, emotional wellness is no longer a goal — it’s a practice. Her daily structure reflects balance: morning mindfulness, digital detox breaks, healthy meals, and family time. “I learned that I can’t pour from an empty cup,” she says. She also mentors younger moms at her workplace through an internal wellness group. “We share resources on postpartum recovery, mental load management, and burnout prevention,” she explains. “Just knowing you’re not alone changes everything.”
She credits her husband for becoming her emotional partner, not just co-parent. “At first, I tried to do everything myself,” she says. “Then I realized teamwork isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom.” They began using shared family calendars and task apps to divide responsibilities. “When mental load is shared, love grows,” she says.
Nutrition also plays a role in her wellness. “I noticed that sugar spikes made my anxiety worse,” she says. She switched to balanced meals rich in protein and omega-3s — nutrients proven to support mood stability. “Food is emotional fuel,” she explains. “When I eat well, I feel grounded.”
What Hazel Tells Other Working Mothers
Hazel now speaks at local women’s conferences and online events, sharing her story of burnout and recovery. Her message resonates because it’s honest. “I don’t pretend to have it all together,” she says. “Some days I cry in the car. But I no longer call that failure. I call it being human.”
Her advice for other working mothers includes:
- 1. Lower the bar of perfection: “Your best changes daily — and that’s okay.”
- 2. Schedule recovery like meetings: “Put rest on the calendar and protect it like a client call.”
- 3. Find your emotional allies: “Whether it’s a friend, therapist, or online group, connection heals.”
- 4. Teach your children emotional language: “When I say ‘Mommy feels overwhelmed,’ my kids learn that emotions are safe.”
- 5. Celebrate small wins: “Folding laundry, eating lunch, taking a walk — they count.”
For Hazel, emotional wellness isn’t about calm perfection. “It’s about messy peace,” she says. “The kind that exists between meetings and tantrums, between emails and bedtime stories.”
Looking Forward: Redefining Motherhood Through Emotional Wellness
As the world continues to evolve, Hazel believes emotional health will become the new currency of leadership. “Companies talk about productivity, but the future belongs to emotionally intelligent people,” she says. “And mothers? We’re already experts at that.”
She now encourages workplaces to support parental wellness programs. “Flexible schedules, empathy, and open conversations aren’t perks,” she insists. “They’re policies that save lives.” She dreams of a world where no working mother feels invisible. “We can do hard things,” she says, “but we shouldn’t have to do them alone.”
Her closing reflection sums it up: “I used to chase balance like a finish line,” Hazel says. “Now I understand it’s a rhythm — some days louder, some softer, always human.”
