The Good Enough Mother

In this solo re-released episode I reflect on the ways the festive season brings with it an amplification of the perfect mother myth. I explain how and why the festive season and other celebrations intensify the pressures mothers face, and give voice to the often-invisible load that women carry at this time and the expectations on mothers, children, and the ‘family’ unit to ‘perform’. I reflect on the mental load, but also on some of the challenges in having the only solutions suggested as ‘stepping back’ or ‘delegating’. I pose questions to consider about the extent to which mothers are expected to sacrifice their wellbeing to facilitate the enjoyment of others, how we have been conditioned to want to ‘please’ others, but also the complex dynamics involved when it comes to wanting to ‘give’ to our children. This leads to a consideration of how our worthiness is measured, and purpose is defined. Ultimately, cultivating connection with ourselves as Mothers offers a precious gift of ‘presence’ to ourselves and our family.

Today’s conversation is with author, psychotherapist, speaker, and Mum of three, Anna Mathur. Anna and I dive into reflecting on the complexities of motherhood over the holiday season, and consider how we can prepare ourselves for the increase in emotional and mental labour that can come with this busy time. Anna shares her perspective on how to enjoy a magical yet simple Christmas, dealing with disappointment, tips on how to say ‘no’ without feeling like we are letting people down, setting boundaries and more. Tune in to invite a sense of reflection, lightness and self-compassion for yourself during this holiday season. Listen to Anna's podcast The Therapy Edit Purchase Anna's most recent book The Little Book of Calm for New Mums Find links and more details about Anna and the episode on the show notes website here: https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast86

This conversation is with psychologist and motherhood coach Yara Heary. Yara shares ways to come home to our bodies in those moments when mothering can bring up hard feelings, using somatic tools for nervous system regulation which can help to connect with ourselves and our children in a way that fosters intimacy and trust. We look at the process of repairing with our children after a rupture, what this feels like for children and for us as adults who may or may not have received repair as children ourselves. Read more show notes and key quotes here - https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast85 Connect with Yara - lifeafterbirthpsychology instagram.com/lifeafterbirthpsychology

This conversation on shame and perfectionism is with mother and psychotherapist, Catherine Counihan. Catherine and Sophie both share from their own personal stories of mothering their daughters to look at some lived examples of how the perfect mother myth, shame and perfectionism can play out in the day-to-day of mothering, and model a pathway through which we as mothers can interrogate our guilt, honour our values, release ‘shoulds’, and offer self-compassion. You’ll learn about the connection between perfectionism and shame, and how shame is created through stories of the ‘good girl’ we experience as children. Catherine shares her approach of working with clients to gain an embodied sense of being good enough in their mothering, helping to shift dysfunctional patterns in our families. . . . Follow Catherine: @psychotherapy_mum www.psychotherapymum.com Listen to the Grow Yourself Up podcast Read episode show notes page: https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast84 . . . EARLY enrolment for Sophie's course The Motherhood Studies Practitioner Certification 2023 ends Wednesday 23rd November. Early enrolment includes bonus masterclass and group calls, and capacity to join course on a 12 month payment plan. More information - https://drsophiebrock.com/motherhoodstudies/

In this short episode I share some of my reflections about the creation of my latest program The Liberating Motherhood Experience. This is a program that I've been thinking about for many months but it's been within the space of a week that the program structure has landed with me (while listening to the audiobook of Gabor Maté's latest book, which I reference in the program). In this episode I share what WOULD be an 'easy' and 'appealing' selling point when it comes to the liberation of motherhood, but one that I believe is not actually possible.... I then share where I think our place of agency and power is in what we CAN do in the working towards the liberation of motherhood. Within this episode I walk you through the narrative arc of The Liberating Motherhood Experience and what you can expect from the program. Join The Liberating Motherhood Experience for $50AUD and joining before Saturday 12th November, 2022 gives you access to a live 90min group call + replay, where we come together in connection and reflection on how we witness/experience motherhood and what it means to ENACT a practice of liberation. Join here: https://drsophiebrock.com/liberatingmotherhood Watch fishtank animation here: https://drsophiebrock.com/thefishtankofmotherhood

Today I speak with doula, mentor and women’s circle facilitator Rachael Rose. Rachael works to build community around motherhood, and is driven by a desire for mothers to feel less alone as they journey through rites of passage such as pregnancy, birth, postpartum, launching and running a business, and navigating the complexities of mothering in the modern world. She is a strong advocate for community making and re-villaging in ways that are practical, honest and simple. She's also very frank about the need for mothers to actively pursue and maintain relationships, and that community takes effort, time and a little discomfort. We discuss what she's learned from being a circle facilitator and mentor, and what she feels mothers are needing most right now. She shares her own experiences with mothering and business, and what she has learned since the birth of her first child. Rachael Rose is a mother of two, a pregnancy and postpartum doula and women’s circle facilitator. Rachael wants mothers to be seen and celebrated, to feel loved and less alone. She is utterly obsessed with creating spaces of connection for women, through her circle work. Rachael has recently released Together, her online Women’s Circle Facilitator Training and over 130 women from all over the world have joined. She would love to offer listeners a $50 discount off Together, with the coupon code GOODENOUGH, for the first 20 enrolments. https://www.rachaelrose.com.au/together?coupon=GOODENOUGH That brings the price to $349AUD. https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast83

Today I talk with doula, coach and mother, Jessie Harrold. Jessie is passionate about navigating the transition into motherhood with trust and confidence. Jessie talks to the experience of both losing and finding ourselves in motherhood, and how bounce-back culture overlooks the hard work of navigating huge identity shifts. She shares what happens after the first 40 days of motherhood, how to reorient our lives around newly defined values and priorities as parents, and ways to make sense of pivotal moments. We dive into the shifts that occur in our relationships, and how we can take responsibility for creating our place of belonging in our communities. Jessie shares her work supporting mothers to lean into the liminal nature of postpartum, understanding it as a slow yet profound process of stepping into our motherhood identity, with all the meaning, joy and grief that comes along with it. She encourages new mothers to ask themselves, at many points along the journey ‘who am I now’? And to continue asking questions of ourselves as we become, and continue to evolve, as mothers. Follow Jessie at @jessie.es.harrold and head to the show notes for episode highlights and links to Jessie's quiz and programs https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast82

Today’s episode is with author and child activist Zoe Haack. We discuss Zoe’s work supporting parents to navigate the critical period of birth to 5 years, as they learn what it means to become parents. Zoe’s approach is to look at the intergenerational patterns of parenting we inherent, and how to bring awareness to the ways in which we would like to parent our children going forward, and to see them as unique individuals with value to share. Zoe explains the importance of reflecting upon the way we were treated as children, and to realise how we are seeing our own children through the lens of how we were raised. Zoe shares how the most important thing is being able to approach ourselves and our children with compassion and to have awareness of the language we use. We also ask, how can we be more free to enjoy our children? How do we parent the child in front of us, and not base our decisions on outside influences and education? How do we aim to meet the cultural demands of the society around us? And where could we let some of that go, to allow ourselves to be oriented towards joy? Because children are experts at following the joy and can teach us so much. https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast81 About Zoe: Zoe Haack is an author, child activist and thought leader on growth through osmosis. She sees a world where our natural rhythms are restored, and children lead. She recognises the innate wisdom of childhood and implores adults to see beyond the confines of societal structures to regain sovereignty. An avid researcher and remarkable storyteller, Zoe revolutionises the way educators prioritise trust, freedom, and autonomy for children. https://www.facebook.com/zoe.haack.childactivist https://www.instagram.com/zoe.haack.childactivist/ https://akunaconcepts.com

What does it actually mean to say that motherhood is 'social' or 'constructed' through our culture? Why should we care about motherhood-culture and how does it impact and influence individual mothers, and our children? What is the perfect mother myth, how does it show up in our lives, and what can we do about shifting how we feel about ourselves as mothers? What's the alternative? These are some of the questions I speak to in this episode. Find out more on the episode webpage here: https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast80 If you leave a review of the podcast, I'll send a little 'thank you' in the mail :) Pop your postal details in here - forms.gle/uaDvhtFYnUQvG69EA *Please note that this episode mentions suicidality.

Redefining our careers and purpose as mothers with Amy Taylor-Kabbaz In this episode I speak with best-Selling author, speaker, journalist, Matrescence Activist and Mama of three, Amy Taylor-Kabbaz. We examine the individual and social costs, consequences and challenges of mothers navigating and engaging in paid work and building/maintaining careers in a system that isn’t set up for mothers. Amy shares her experience of this, the development of her business, and how the way we ‘work’ shapes how we see and experience ourselves as women and mothers. We discuss some of the social and structural barriers that face mothers and what it can mean to contribute to the world through our mothering and a career. We reflect on re-valuing the role of the mother within our society, and the need for institutional and system change to better support and value women when we become mothers. Connect with Amy further by following @amytaylorkabbaz/ Check out Amy’s Mama Rising® coaching certification training and enrol using Sophie’s link here - https://bit.ly/3SaXXIz See full show notes and resources for the episode here - https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast79 If you leave a review of the podcast, I'll send a little 'thank you' in the mail :) Pop your postal details in here - forms.gle/uaDvhtFYnUQvG69EA