Self doubt, why we need to banish it.

To quote my dear friend Hannah from Hi Baby Blog, I’ve been on a bit of a “down turn lately, despite never being more successful”. I don’t know if it’s because Edith’s sleep patterns have been worse and I’ve been spending an increasing amount of time in her bed – which in turn as led to a nasty crick in my neck – or perhaps it’s the spat of illness that seems to have swiped across our family like a plague of locus… whatever it is, Hannah is (as per usual) quite right.

At the moment I seem to be consumed with self doubt, the better my work life seems to be, the more I worry that I’m not up to it or that I’m not doing enough for the kids. Toby has been so poorly with gastroenteritis, and it has given him the most horrendously sore gums – it looks like we never brush his teeth. Que me in a flood of panic thinking that it’s my fault, we should have brushed his teeth, I should have been more thorough… in fairness there is a logical part of me that knows this isn’t my fault, Reuben and Toby brush their knashers together, usually while I’m putting Edith down, and Reuben (the only one not to be ill) is totally fine – so it’s clearly not that, yet here I am wondering if social services are going to be involved because I’m clearly neglectful af. On the flip, I’m off to an event today and I’ve been asked to be a VIP guest with the likes of Anna from Mother Pukka, Clemmie from Peckham Mama and Sarah from This Mama Life – yet here I am sat on the train chewing my nails to the core because, quite frankly, I’m wondering if there has been a mistake. The what fudge do they want me to come for? I blog, vaguely vlog upon occasion but my measly youtube channel hasn’t had an upload in over a year and I went viral on Facebook for being in the bath with my kids. Talented this does not scream to anyone… and yet it would appear it does.

Perhaps it’s age, perhaps it’s a part of discovering who I am now that I’m not the girl I was pre kids, something I’ve struggled with before and written about in the past. I have always been my worst enemy, rarely giving myself a break because if I don’t get on my case, who will? I think there is something to be said for the rediscovering yourself after you have had children and the self doubt that often comes hand in hand with that. I spend an inordinate amount of time second guessing myself and as Adam said last night “You do 101 things and have time for 5, don’t make life harder by keep questioning yourself and second guess what you are doing, that doubles your work and you don’t have the time.” Wise words from one your is often not so verbose.

So why am I telling you this? I’m getting to the point I promise.

I’m telling you because last week I had a message on instagram that said something along the lines of what an inspiration I was, how amazing this lady found me and how I made her feel like she was normal for struggling sometimes with motherhood. These emails aren’t unusual, in fact a lot of you reach out to me to tell me that I’ve made your life a little brighter by letting you know that you are not struggling alone, that every mother, no matter how polished or perfect she may appear behind the pixelated world of instagram or the web, goes through the same worries, the same fears and feels like she is making an epic balls up of everything. I can’t begin to express how much that means to me and how, without knowing it, you make me feel less alone too.

I’m telling you because if you are having a “downturn” as my darling lady Hannah puts it, you aren’t alone. You aren’t messing everything up and I urge you to get yourself something, anything, to remind you why you are here, that you rock and to make you smile. For me that something has come in the shape of a Merci Maman keyring with my children’s names engraved on it. I was approached by Not on the Highstreet to choose something to review and I asked my husband what he thought my mum would like for Mother’s Day, but he told me to treat myself, to give myself something that would mean something to me when I was having those moments of self doubt and needed a reminder of just how bloody special I am. I look at this pretty trinket, that means so much to me and I love that I have created these lives, because I know that to them I am their hero if only fora short time until they develop a crush on the coolest footballer or super model. That in turn reminds me of the messages I’ve received over the years on instagram, on the blog, on twitter, it reminds me that to someone my words might mean something and that it enough and they might know that it is normal to have these moments where you are pretty sure you can’t see the light from the dark.

That is enough to take the aforementioned downturn and make it an upturn.

H x

9 Comments

  1. Avatar March 24, 2018 / 12:05 pm

    Amazing post Harriet. I get this too! I often pile my all into one thing which means neglecting another, then feel bad. Luckily I’m very self aware and recognise these feeling early doors and have learnt to give my head a wobble and remind myself of one thing… If I can lay my head on my pillow every night knowing I’ve done my best to improve my families life and make us happy no matter how big or small, then I’ve won that day. – Also I think the feelings you have about whether your good enough aren’t always a bad thing, they keep you from getting your head up your arse ?

  2. Avatar
    Leighann Barker
    March 24, 2018 / 8:20 am

    Reading that and knowing it’s not just me that feels badly about myself makes me feel better … I know that sounds odd.
    I’m pregnant with my first child, a baby I was told I would never have as it was near impossible for me to conceive yet here I am 6 months in growing a tiny human!
    I doubt myself everyday, why me, I can’t be a mother, how can I look after something so small and delicate? So many questions and self doubt and self hate.
    Your blogs are amazing, I laugh and cry and agree with you on every read. I hope you see that as a compliment! Thanks for making me believe I’m not alone.

  3. Avatar
    Kate
    March 24, 2018 / 7:01 am

    I hear you x

  4. Avatar March 22, 2017 / 10:58 pm

    I love this post. It is common for us to be fuelled by self doubt most of the time and the feeling of ‘faking it’ only leads to anxiety. Thank you for sharing and your honesty as always xx

  5. Avatar March 22, 2017 / 10:58 pm

    I love this post. It is common for us to be fuelled by self doubt most of the time and the feeling of ‘faking it’ only leads to anxiety. Thank you for sharing and your honesty as always xx

  6. Avatar March 19, 2017 / 7:46 pm

    I love the honesty and authenticity of all your posts, but this one spoke to me *so* much! I’ve recently set up as a freelancer and have been doing really well (despite being very ill for 2 months and having a loss in the family make things even more challenging than they normally would be!) And yet all I feel is panic and anxiety and stress, as if it’s all going to crumble, as if it’s not enough, as if I’m fooling myself and any day it’s all going to come crashing down around me. That self-doubt is a real nightmare, isn’t it? And yet, like you, it is my husband reminding me of all I do and practically forcing me to look after myself that makes me step back and realise that none of it is true! Here’s to amazing partners who see us for who we really are, and help us to see that too!! And here’s to us, for being so awesome in the first place 😉 xx

    • Harriet March 21, 2017 / 9:09 am

      Thanks lovely – it’s tough isn’t it!?

  7. Avatar March 16, 2017 / 6:38 pm

    Once again I’m so happy I read your post. I feel self doubt every single day. I feel bad that I tell myself and my husband that I can’t cope. But I put everything 100% into my 6 month old. He has multiple allergies so gave up most my diet to breastfeed, horrific eczema n bad reflux so it was so hard watching him suffer and I’d feel bad that I’d be crying while he did. My family are far away, I don’t really know anyone. You’re doing great and I guess I can now say so am I, maybe. ?

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