Analysis of the psychological and social concepts associated with maternal burnout syndrome

Abstract

This article reflects on the phenomenon of maternal burnout, a contemporary syndrome that leads mothers to mental exhaustion as a result of caring for their children. This work focuses, above all, on understanding the causes of maternal exhaustion in the face of the phenomenon, as well as on understanding the reasons why mothers exceed their limits and suffer in silence. The idea that women must endure everything in the name of
raising children is widely supported by the sociocultural discourse, which is why mothers and women feel unauthorized to demonstrate their suffering socially. The methodological bases of this article were established through a bibliographic survey about maternity and femininity, exploring these concepts in the psychoanalytic theory, social anthropology, and social psychology. Are also part of this work, the results demonstrated in qualitative research and exploratory studies about maternal burnout. The aspects present in the phenomenon in
question, such as excessive guilt, mental exhaustion and desire to be perfect mothers, reveal that the constructions rooted in the society raise a mistaken concept of motherhood. Therefore, it is necessary to expand research on the subject, in order to make mothers closer to their desires as women, aware of their maternal limits and experience motherhood in a more rewarding way and with less guilt.