Have you ever wondered what would happen if you just carried on driving? What if, on the way home from filling the car with petrol/going to the supermarket/dropping a child at ballet/(insert relevant chore here), you just kept going – far, far away into the sunset – leaving your cares behind you?

We know that motherhood is exhausting, now more than ever. According to research from the University of Bath, mothers have 67% more tasks on their mental to-do list than fathers, and this, added to the demands of caring for small children (the tears, the tantrums, the constantly being touched), means we’re desperate for a break. And two things can be true: we love our children – wholly, completely and viscerally – but we still want (and need) time to ourselves.

Sometimes we need a break so badly that we can start to daydream about ways to get off the treadmill of endless washing, meal prep, cleaning and cajoling (not to mention, y’know, our actual paid jobs). And these fantasies can range from the simple (locking ourselves in the bathroom for a few minutes and taking some deep breaths) to the extravagant (oops, did I really just end up at the airport, passport in hand) to the downright hilarious (a friend and I once tried to coincide our minor surgeries so we could catch up while recovering).

But far from being extreme, it turns out that thoughts such as these are widespread, even if we don’t admit to them.

“When mothers feel pushed to breaking point, thoughts about escaping or running away are surprisingly common,” says registered psychologist Dr Carolyne Keenan. “Under chronic stress, sleep deprivation and emotional overload, the brain shifts into survival mode and looks for relief. These thoughts are not a sign of being a bad mother or lacking love. They are a signal that the system is overwhelmed.”

And it helps, when you’re in the thick of it, to know that there are others in the same boat. So, grab yourself a cuppa, take a seat and immerse yourselves in the whys and wherefores of all our craziest motherhood daydreams.

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