Ep. 149: Dr. Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco — How to Deal with Mom Brain and the Overwhelming Emotions of Motherhood

My guest this week is Dr. Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco. She’s a clinical psychologist and she has a new book called Mom Brain: Proven Strategies to Fight the Anxiety, Guilt, and Overwhelming Emotions of Motherhood—And Relax Into Your New Self. We talked about what mom brain actually is—which is very different from the pop culture ideas about it. She also shares about how to deal with the resentment that many moms feel about all the invisible work they do for the family, and how to manage the common thought processes that contribute to mothers’ stress and anxiety. Ilyse does a lot to validate moms, which is especially important in a society that too often shames mothers for somehow not measuring up to unrealistic standards. Toward the end of our conversation I asked Ilyse how long mom brain lasts, and it turns out it’s probably a lot longer than we might think. If you’re a mother, I think you’ll get a lot out of this discussion, and please share it with other moms you know.