Parental burnout is on the rise and many of us are suffering in silence

CapeTalk's Clarence Ford is joined by Mark de la Rey, a clinical psychologist practising at Netcare Akeso Kenilworth Clinic.

Listen below:

Were you one of the tens of thousands of parents who let out a huge sigh of relief when the kids went back to school this week?

Not because you don't love your kids, or enjoying spending time with them, but rather, because you just don't get a break, and school takes on some of the responsibility for a few hours of the day.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by being 'mom' or 'dad', you're not alone.

It's quite possible you're suffering from parental burnout - a syndrome defined by experts as 'chronic and overwhelming stress which leads parents to feel exhausted and run down by their role.'

De la Rey says many parents struggle to find or even ask for support. 

"When you buy a DVD player, you get a manual with 16 pages on how to run it, when you get a kid, the doctor says good luck."

- Mark de la Rey, Clinical Psychologist 

De la Rey thinks the way modern families are changing also plays a role when it comes to support.

"We also don't have the support that we might have had from uncles and aunts and grandparents..."

- Mark de la Rey, Clinical Psychologist 

On top of their day-to-day stresses, many parents are left feeling inadequate - thanks to social media adds De la Rey.

"On social media you've got this picture of what the perfect parent looks like, and most of the time it's totally out of whack with reality."

- Mark de la Rey, Clinical Psychologist 

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Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.