We do our imperfect best. From the moment we push them naked and helpless from our bodies, they’re ours to nurture, protect, and love. They come without instructions and each one is so uniquely different that a single guidebook would never suffice.

We agonize over every nuance of development: breast milk or formula or both. A strictly enforced regimen or a relaxed approach. We check two hundred times those first nights to make certain they’re still breathing and wake them up if there’s any doubt.

As the cranky weeks of teething drag on we begin to wonder if there’s a God. Through it all is a nagging feeling that we’re not doing enough, that we’re unwittingly wreaking irreparable damage on this helpless tiny being. Mother guilt.

Does It Ever End? The Short Answer Is No

I was talking to a neighbor with an eight-year-old. Sometimes she’s so adult, and then, no warning, she’s a hot mess screaming at me that I don’t love her and sobbing. I feel so guilty! A conversation a few days later with my friend whose 50-year old son still blames her when anything goes wrong has decided she can’t be sorry any more. Yes, I made mistakes, but how many times do I have to apologize?

I have three daughters who are the joy of my life. They’re well-adjusted, successful women and I couldn’t be more proud. But even now when I least suspect it, a pang of guilt can knife through my happiness. I should live closer, I should be helping, I should, I should, I should. They aren’t the ones guilting me, I’m doing it to myself. But why?

Guilt is healthy when it functions as a moral compass and motivates us to right a wrong. Mother Guilt, on the other hand, is like a low-grade fever, an ever-present condition that tells us we’re not measuring up. But measuring up to what, and to whose standards?

Recently, in the throes of a self-imposed guilt-journey, I took a closer look at where those feelings were coming from. Why was I doing this to myself? What I discovered shocked me. It took me back to deep-seated core beliefs that I thought I’d dealt with. But there they were striking where I was most vulnerable: my mother-heart.

I Discovered That Guilt Wasn’t About My Children. It Was About Me

I had struggled with issues of self-worth in the past, feeling unlovable and unworthy. The fact that I’m living a life of extraordinary happiness on the opposite side of the world from family triggered guilt. The unspoken belief was: Perhaps I don’t deserve this. But it manifested in the thought that I should be closer to my children. That was the self-sacrificial, martyr mentality that would ensure my unhappiness.

Another story I believed for years was that I needed help. I wasn’t old enough, strong enough, smart enough, rich enough to do it alone. How could I have possibly thought that was true? It boggles my mind. In the past years I’ve manifested things that others only dream of and I’ve done it as a single woman. But the old fear slipped out sideways and I projected it on my girls. They must need my help, I should be helping.

The overarching proclamation, I’m a terrible mother! is code for the core belief: I’m not good enough. This damaging self-concept drives most perfectionists. A woman with this belief often sets impossibly high standards for herself and reaps more guilt and shame when she doesn’t achieve them. It has nothing at all to do with mothering skills and everything to do with inner programming.

I Never Cease to Be Amazed at Our Emotional and Psychological Complexities

So much of what drives us isn’t what we think it is. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to discover what’s really running the show. Now when Mother Guilt, or guilt of any kind hovers in my mental space I know that some fear of my own has been triggered.

I take a closer look at the story I’m telling myself and ask why? Why am I feeling guilty about this? What’s really going on here? Almost always, when guilt is called on the carpet it magically disappears. And if you really want to know what’s behind it, the questions can lead to the most startling awareness.

Have you experienced Mother Guilt, or Grandmother Guilt? After reading this article, can you identify what fears might be triggering your guilty feelings? Please join the conversation and share your experiences of Mother Guilt.