You Don’t Have to Do This Alone: A Note to the Overwhelmed Parent
By Danielle M. King, M.Ed., Counseling VT LLC
There’s a particular kind of loneliness that comes with emotional overwhelm. Maybe you’re trying to hold it all together after having a baby. Maybe you’re grieving a loss others struggle to understand. Maybe you’re parenting a child with needs that feel bigger than your capacity.
You might be doing everything you can to show up—for your family, your work, your community—while feeling like you’re falling apart inside.
If that’s you, I want you to know this: you don’t have to do this alone.
You’re Not Weak for Feeling This Way
So many of the people I work with tell me some version of, “I should be able to handle this.”
But being human is not about handling everything on your own. Especially not when you’re healing from birth trauma, living with depression or anxiety, navigating parenting stress, or recovering from emotional wounds that run deep.
Parenting, grieving, recovering—none of it was meant to be done in isolation. We are wired for connection, especially when things feel messy and vulnerable.
There’s No “Right Way” to Heal
Maybe you’re someone who looks calm on the outside, but feels numb or lost underneath. Maybe you cry in the car or snap at your partner over things that don’t make sense even to you. Maybe you’ve been through something others have dismissed—like a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or years of invisible caregiving labor—and you’re only now beginning to feel the weight of it.
However your pain is showing up, it’s valid. And however you’re coping, it’s adaptive. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need space to process, to feel, and to be met with compassion.
What I Want You to Know
As a therapist—and as a mother who has walked through postpartum depression, pregnancy loss, and the complexities of parenting—I want you to know that healing is possible. Not overnight. Not in a perfect straight line. But slowly, gently, and in the company of someone who can walk with you.
Therapy isn’t about fixing you. It’s about helping you listen to the parts of you that are tired, hurting, protective, or just trying to make it through the day. It’s about reclaiming space for your voice, your needs, and your wholeness.
If You’re Ready to Reach Out
I offer a free 15-minute consultation to help you see if working together feels like a good fit. Whether you’re navigating postpartum mental health, grief after loss, an eating disorder, parenting stress, or emotional residue from intimate partner violence—I’m here to hold space for your story.
No pressure. No judgment. Just support, so you don’t have to carry this alone.
Danielle King, M.Ed.