By: Margot Walsh

A lot of women are walking around thinking they’re the only one.

The only one who lost it and yelled at their kids this morning.
The only one scrolling Instagram and wondering how everyone else seems to have it together.
The only one feeling behind in their career or frustrated that they’re not making what they thought they would be by now.
The only one lying next to their partner at night thinking, How did we get here? and feeling more like roommates than a couple.

And also…the only one who can’t remember the last time she changed her sheets. The only one who wakes up every morning slightly surprised that the fish is still alive, even though the tank hasn’t been cleaned in… honestly, who knows how long. The only one with a mental list of 27 loads of laundry that will get done someday, whenever that day comes.

So we keep going. We show up. We smile. We say we’re fine.

We don’t talk about most of it, because it feels like everyone else must be doing okay. And if that’s true, then whatever we’re struggling with must be something we should manage.

But under the surface, there’s a lot happening.

There’s replaying the day in your head once everything finally slows down. There’s the guilt about how you handled something. There’s regret about choices you made years ago and the constant wondering if you’re making the right ones now. There’s the anxious spiraling, thinking ahead, thinking back, rarely landing right where you are. Most of us are carrying some mix of anxiety, shame, guilt, or self-doubt and just doing our best to function through it.

No one really taught us what to do with any of that. We learned how to get through the day. How to hold it together. How to look okay.

Something shifts when women sit together and actually tell the truth.

When someone says the thing she usually keeps to herself and instead of silence or advice, the room just… gets it. When what’s shared doesn’t need to be fixed or wrapped up in a lesson.

I’ve had so many moments sitting with other women where they reflected things back to me that I couldn’t see on my own. Times when someone said they never would have guessed I was dealing with that because of how I presented on the outside. Or that they assumed I had it all together. Or when they named strength or steadiness in me that I hadn’t fully recognized yet.

Those moments stick. They change how you see yourself. They remind you that a lot of what we carry isn’t some personal shortcoming—it’s what happens when you’re trying to juggle a full life with limited energy and very little space to be honest about it.

Most of us are worrying about similar things. We’re second-guessing ourselves. We’re replaying conversations. We’re thinking about the past and the future way more than we’re ever in the present. And we’re doing it without much guidance on how to make it feel lighter.

There’s something really grounding about being in a space where you don’t have to pretend. Where you don’t have to explain or justify or polish anything. Where you can just say what’s true and have it be met with understanding instead of comparison.

That’s what being in circle has done for me.

It’s not about fixing anything. It’s about being real together. And somehow, that lightens to load.

Margot is the Co-founder of Femnest and serves as the Director of Growth & Connection. She is a life coach and the creator of Beyond: Discover Who You Are Beyond the Stress, a group coaching program that helps women move past overwhelm and into clarity, calm, and confidence. To learn more about working with her or to join the next round of Beyond, send her a message!