From Mental Load to Neural Load: The Hidden Cost for Women Holding Everything Together
Tracks
Tamborine Gallery
| Tuesday, September 1, 2026 |
| 11:20 AM - 11:40 AM |
Overview
Faye Evans, Liminal Space Psychology
Three Key Learnings
1. Mental load is not only cognitive; it is neurobiological
Participants will understand how chronic emotional labour and responsibility drive sustained nervous system activation, impacting attention, memory, and emotional regulation.
2. Identity and cultural adaptation amplify invisible load in women
Participants will explore how migration, cultural expectations, and gendered roles contribute to ongoing psychological strain through identity reconstruction and relational demands.
3. Sustainable change requires integration, not just insight
Participants will gain practical strategies to reduce mental load through nervous system regulation, boundary recalibration, and alignment with values and identity.
Speaker
Faye Evans
Director- Principal Psychologist
Liminal Space Psychology
From Mental Load to Neural Load: The Hidden Cost for Women Holding Everything Together
Abstract
Presentation Summary
The mental load carried by women is often understood as cognitive, the endless planning, remembering, and organising required to sustain daily life. However, this framing overlooks a critical dimension: the cumulative impact of this load on the brain and nervous system. This presentation introduces the concept of “neural load” to describe how sustained emotional labour, caregiving responsibilities, and relational vigilance shape neurobiological functioning over time.
Drawing on clinical practice and lived experience of migration and cultural transition, this session explores how identity adaptation, cultural expectations, and gendered roles intensify this invisible burden. For many women, particularly those navigating multiple cultural contexts, the need to continuously adjust, anticipate, and hold relational harmony creates a persistent state of activation that affects attention, emotional regulation, and overall wellbeing.
Integrating neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and attachment-based frameworks, this presentation examines how chronic mental load contributes to dysregulation, fatigue, and burnout. It also considers the role of meaning and identity in either perpetuating or alleviating this load.
Importantly, this session moves beyond awareness. Participants will be introduced to practical, evidence-informed strategies to support nervous system regulation, recalibrate relational boundaries, and foster greater alignment between internal experience and external roles.
By reframing mental load as neural load, this presentation offers a more comprehensive understanding of women’s mental health, one that recognises the interplay between brain, body, identity, and environment and opens pathways for more sustainable and integrated change.
The mental load carried by women is often understood as cognitive, the endless planning, remembering, and organising required to sustain daily life. However, this framing overlooks a critical dimension: the cumulative impact of this load on the brain and nervous system. This presentation introduces the concept of “neural load” to describe how sustained emotional labour, caregiving responsibilities, and relational vigilance shape neurobiological functioning over time.
Drawing on clinical practice and lived experience of migration and cultural transition, this session explores how identity adaptation, cultural expectations, and gendered roles intensify this invisible burden. For many women, particularly those navigating multiple cultural contexts, the need to continuously adjust, anticipate, and hold relational harmony creates a persistent state of activation that affects attention, emotional regulation, and overall wellbeing.
Integrating neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and attachment-based frameworks, this presentation examines how chronic mental load contributes to dysregulation, fatigue, and burnout. It also considers the role of meaning and identity in either perpetuating or alleviating this load.
Importantly, this session moves beyond awareness. Participants will be introduced to practical, evidence-informed strategies to support nervous system regulation, recalibrate relational boundaries, and foster greater alignment between internal experience and external roles.
By reframing mental load as neural load, this presentation offers a more comprehensive understanding of women’s mental health, one that recognises the interplay between brain, body, identity, and environment and opens pathways for more sustainable and integrated change.
Biography
Faye Evans is a registered psychologist, EMDR practitioner, and Board-Approved Supervisor with over 30 years’ clinical experience. Her work integrates neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and attachment-based frameworks to understand women’s mental health across life transitions. She specialises in the impact of chronic stress, emotional labour, and identity shifts on the nervous system. Her perspective is informed by both clinical practice and lived experience of migration and cultural transition. Faye is the author of Soulful Simplicity, a neuro-spiritual and contemplative exploration of intentional living.
