The page’s creator, Lisa Munn, created Sarcastic Mommy to document the funny moments while raising her four boys. As she told Bored Panda in a 2024 interview, she used the platform as an “escape” and to “decompress.”
Knowing that her social media acquaintances have also shared their experiences, Munn continued to post content until the account grew into what it is currently. The Instagram page has 573,000 followers and counting.
As you’ll read from these posts, parenting has its draining moments. Moms, in particular, may experience periods of burnout, which experts refer to as Depleted Mother Syndrome (DMS).
As the name suggests, it happens when a mother gets physically, emotionally, and mentally drained from the demands of her role. According to Parents.com, DMS may manifest in the form of chronic fatigue, appetite changes, and overwhelming guilt, to name a few.
While DMS isn’t an official medical diagnosis, it gained traction on social media as a fitting description for the burnout women experience as parents. As Cleveland Clinic Director of Behavioral Medicine Dr. Amy Sullivan, PsyD, explains, moms experience higher levels of stress and anxiety compared to their husbands.
“All that juggling and those mental exercises — and the guilt from not doing it perfectly — results in women experiencing burnout more often than men,” Dr. Sullivan stated.
Along with Depleted Mom Syndrome is mom guilt, where mothers experience feelings of inadequacy and think that they have failed as parents because of unmet expectations. According to Dr. Sullivan, moms should drop the “Superwoman” label and recognize their strengths apart from their weaknesses.
“You’re spectacular in some areas of life, but accept that other areas are a work in progress — just like all of us.”
Dr. Sullivan adds that combating DMS and burnout is about recognizing them. The next step is to learn to live with the idea that things won’t be perfect.
Many of these moms are likely doing this through these posts–learning to poke fun at these imperfections through sarcastic quips. If you do it right, they will come off as funny and lighthearted.
