When ‘and, and, and’ becomes too much

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Usually, this is the part of the corporate calendar where we talk about boundaries, mindfulness apps, and taking a lunch break.

But I want to take a minute to talk about what mental health actually looks like for a lot of us right now.

Currently, my husband is away for a week. I am running a business. My daughters are standing at the base of the twin peaks known as A-Levels and GCSEs (a special kind of household tension that should really come with a hazard warning). The dog is looking at me with the soulful, judgmental eyes of a creature that hasn't been walked in four hours. It’s a friend's birthday. There’s a pile of laundry that has achieved sentience.

And, and, and...

The invisible mental load

In the world of Internal Comms, we talk a lot about capacity and bandwidth. We build beautiful strategies to help employees manage their workloads. But as women, mothers, and business owners, our own personal bandwidth often looks like a browser with 47 tabs open - and one of them is playing really bad music, but we can’t find which one it is.

It’s the thinking and the doing (our Cosy Meerkat mantra) applied to every single micro-second of the day:

• Did I buy the highlighters for the revision session?

• Is that client deck ready for the 10 am? 

• When did the dog last eat? 

• I must remember to text her 'Happy Birthday' before 9 pm or I'm a monster.

The ‘lucky’ paradox

I am acutely aware that this is a ‘champagne problem’ version of stress. I have a business I love, a family I’m proud of, and a dog who... well, a dog who is cute. I know I am incredibly lucky compared to many, and that realisation can sometimes add a layer of guilt to the stress.

‘I shouldn't feel overwhelmed,’ we tell ourselves. ‘I chose this.’ But the thing about mental health is that stress isn’t a competition, and it is all relative. You don't have to be the most unlucky person in the room to admit that your plate is spinning so fast it’s starting to wobble. Acknowledging the juggle doesn't make you ungrateful. It simply makes you human.

Why the juggle changes how I see communication

It would be easy to say that being busy just makes me more efficient, but it goes deeper than that. Managing a week like this - where the emotional stakes are high at home and the professional stakes are high at work - shifts my perspective on what we do at Cosy Meerkat.

It reminds me that:

• Communication is an act of care

When people are overwhelmed, whether by exam stress, personal life, or workplace change, they don’t have the cognitive room for corporate jargon. Truly meaningful communication isn't about messaging; it’s about clarity, kindness, and respect for the recipient's time and mental space.

• The whole person isn't a corporate buzzword

In Internal Comms, we often talk about engaging employees. But this week reminds me that every person we're trying to reach is carrying their own invisible ‘and, and, and.’ When we acknowledge that people have lives outside of their 9-to-5, our communication becomes more empathetic and, ultimately, more effective.

• Vulnerability is part of resilience

Resilience isn't about pretending everything is fine while the plates are crashing around you. It’s about being honest when the load is heavy. At Cosy Meerkat, we value straight-talking, and that includes being real about our own limits. It’s only by being honest about the struggle that we can actually support one another, whether that's a client, a colleague, or a daughter in the middle of revision.

• Community is the safety net

None of us are meant to do this in isolation. Just as I rely on my Meerkat Mob to bring their expertise to a project, I know I will need to rely on my personal community to get through this week. Mental health thrives in connection and withers in isolation.

A gentle reminder for the ‘and, and, and’ people

If you are currently white-knuckling your way through May, juggling exams, work, birthdays, and the general messiness of life, this is your permission slip to lower the bar.

The house might not be tidy. The LinkedIn post might be a day late. You might be surviving on coffee and the leftover crusts of a revision-fuelled toastie.

That’s totally okay.

Mental health isn't just about the big interventions; it’s about the small kindnesses we show ourselves when the juggle gets real. It's about saying, ‘I've got a lot on my plate, and I'm doing a grand job of eating it one bite at a time.’

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a dog to feed, a teenager to bribe with snacks, and a business to run.

All the best this Mental Health Awareness Week - may your coffee be strong and your ‘and, and, ands’ be manageable.