The Psychological Importance of Mother’s Day
20th March 2020
Whether it’s your mum, nan, granny, favourite aunt, teacher, or friend- the women in our lives shape and define the people we become, our behaviours we display and the lives we lead.
Regardless of whether it is a product of our genetic make-up or the environment which we are raised, there can be no question that maternal figures play a key role in helping to mould us to become the person we are. They comfort, encourage, care for us, protect us and provide for us in more ways than we can possibly begin to list; in doing so they help to teach us what it is to be a strong, caring force of love and support.
In short, maternal figures teach us so much. They provide us with language skills to communicate, to train us to be diplomatic, to be fair, and to encourage us to look past ourselves and out to the world around us.
It‘s maternal figures who give us the strength, determination and the courage to embrace the future unfolding ahead of us. The maternal figures in our lives, who traditionally care for and nurture us as we grow, give us confidence to define and present ourselves out in the world… and, if we are fortunate, it is the maternal figure who teaches us how we can do the same for others.
While all this is touching and lovely to think about, what does it actually have to do with the psychology of Mother’s Day? Well in actual fact, it has plenty to do with it!
Maternal figures (if your family is anything like mine) have been referred to as the pillar of the family, the glue that holds it all together… although the glue is often underappreciated. Celebrating Mother’s Day by recognising the super human who does it all not only serves to lift to her spirits (I don’t mean Gin in a glass, although it will be part of our Mother’s Day celebrations), it helps to bring the family together, in a unique way that evening dinner doesn’t. The celebration of Mother’s Day allows us to take a little bit of time to reflect on all we’ve overcome together, who we are, who we want to be as a family and how we are all connected—a gift that mum is sure to appreciate, no matter how it’s wrapped up and packaged.
My mum is literally an older version of me, which means that she knows best how to deal with ALL my drama (there is a lot of it). When I get stressed, the majority of my friends might accidently end up stressing me out, annoying me or making me worry more, whereas one phone call to my mum sorts me out. She puts all my problems into perspective, she’ll overact with me where necessary, and kick off when she needs to. She makes me realise how futile it is to cry over a boy, but will cry with me all the same because she feels the pain I do. She then dusts me off, wipe the tears away, helps me get a grip and move on to the next, better chapter of my life. Thank you for all you do, Mum, you really are the queen in my life- today, every day that has ever been, and every day that is destine to come.