I still feel guilty when I need the house to be quieter than it is

Dear Delyara, As if my nervous system is some moral flaw. When the children are talking over each other and the television is still on and someone is asking me something from the kitchen and the dog is scratching and my husband is mid-story and the phone is buzzing, I can feel a very real physical need for less. Less sound, less demand, less impact. And then guilt arrives. Because good mothers should be warmer than that, more available than that, more cheerful in the middle of their own lives than that. I know overstimulation is real. I know my body is not inventing it. Still, guilt gets there first and makes me feel harsh for wanting peace.