What to Know
The only thing stronger than a mother’s love is a mother’s fear of literally everything that could ever go wrong. Just kidding, but those fears are pretty high up there on things that moms can’t help think about more often than they would like to. And for one mom on TikTok, Kayla, mom gears come in the form of intrusive thoughts about something happening to her when she is alone with her kids.
I know, totally fun. But such is life as a parent. As moms, we can’t help but worry and wonder about every bad thing that could happen, even if that bad thing is highly unlikely and we know that we feel down. Again, just mom things. Kayla isn’t alone, though, because plenty of moms commented on her TikTok to share their own fears and daily thoughts they have. In a strange way, we are all in this together apparently.
A mom’s intrusive thoughts can be on a whole other level.
@kaylaawhitesel Mom thoughts
♬ original sound – NotKayla
Kayla is alone in her home in her video. She is innocently sucking on a hard mint, which she shows to the camera. Then, she lays into her sudden thoughts on what could go wrong if she were to choke on said mint while home alone with her three young children.
“You wanna know what I was just thinking? I’m eating this mint, right? Choking hazard,” she says, matter-of-factly. “If I were to choke on this right now and die, let’s say I got one kid there, couple more over there, they’d be with my dead body for like five hours before someone found them.”
It might sound morbid, but it’s the reality that moms might feel when they are alone with their kids. Intrusive thoughts about worst case scenarios involving kids getting hurt are more common, sure, and even expected. But Kayla’s thoughts as a mom are also totally a thing.
One mom commented, “I taught my three-year-old how to call my husband from my locked phone if something happens and I’m not waking up.”
Another shared, “I’ve been a professional overthinker since giving birth. Made my fiance take down all the trees in the backyard.”
One mom worried for her safety and her kids’ safety, should anything ever happen to her, added her own solution to the mix.
“I think this stuff all the time but my husband travels a lot for work so I leave bowls of snacks and water cups around the house,” she wrote.
Other moms know what it feels like.
Moms talk a lot about postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, but there is less of an overall discussion about the intrusive thoughts that moms feel when it comes to the safety of their children. And these thoughts have nothing to do with the mom herself doing anything horrible, but instead being the victim of a terrible unexpected accident.
Kayla proves this with her video, but the dozens of moms who commented on the video get it too. Some commented to share that they found help with medications. Others simply shared their own stories about mom thoughts centered around some horrible accident. Sometimes just the comradery is all you need.
Some moms say they are now more afraid of dying than ever.
If we all didn’t have a fear of death before, then becoming a mom definitely does it. Moms commented on Kayla’s video to share that, since they had kids, they are more afraid of it than ever. Not because of the obvious reasons, like the great unknown, but because of what it means for their kids, especially if they die with their kids around. Yes, it’s morbid. But such is the anxiety of moms. We just can’t help it.
“I’ve never been more scared of dying since becoming a mom,” one mom commented. “I think of these situations too much like my babies, what about my babies?”
Then there is the worry of what would happen to your kids if something happened to you without another adult around. “Kids can do SO MUCH in two minutes unsupervised,” another mom added. “Me dead for five hours? The house would be gone and they’d end up hurt or something.”
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