The Art of "Mommy Brain"

The term “mommy brain" is used jokingly and sometimes critically to describe the mental “mush” that results from the day to day stress of being a primary caregiver in today’s world.

To me, it’s a frequent “tip of the tongue” feeling during conversation that falls somewhere along the spectrum of postpartum sleep deprivation and COVID brain fog. The juggling act of balancing a career, the mental load of daily domestication, the unique stressors of pandemic parenting of littles, the full time job of nursing an infant in the midst of a national formula shortage, the existential angst about the future of women’s reproductive rights… all involve just enough cognitive exertion to render us speechless at times, grasping for the right words to capture just exactly how we're feeling at the end of a given day. Emojis help.

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Studies have shown that there are indeed physiological forces at play that contribute to this communication deficit–that the language processing center of the brain where verbal recall happens is underutilized after the birth of a new baby, while the social-emotional brain centers are lit up like New Years in Las Vegas. Creating, sustaining, protecting, and consistently attuning to a nonverbal, fully dependent creature involves a kind of hypervigilance that occupies most of a mother’s headspace.

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Here is where the value of mark-making and an expressive creative process come in, as a fundamental means of giving form to, organizing, deconstructing, containing, or releasing an otherwise indescribable inner experience. More than just an outlet or hobby, but as a lifeline, keeping us connected to ourselves, so that we can continue taking care of everything and everybody else. #theartofmommybrain #neuroscience #arttherapy #cocreatearttherapy #maternalmentalhealth

Sharon Itkoff Nacache