As a parent, you know better than anyone how stressful raising kids can be and moms often take the brunt of it. They’re the ones home with baby changing diapers and breastfeeding at all hours of the night, and it doesn’t get any easier as they grow. While you may not have to deal with blowouts, you’ll still have to navigate temper tantrums, sibling rivalry and disobedience. Thus, you must learn to manage stress early on or you may very well lose your mind.
Luckily, there are dozens of healthy ways to deal with the stress and find joy in parenting again.
1. Leave Work At the Door
Separating work from family life may be difficult, especially if you work from home. However, leaving your professional responsibilities at the door is essential to minimizing stress and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
When you finally wrap up for the day, transition from the office to home with a wind-down routine. First, shut off your computer and phone. Then, stay in your office a while longer and do some stretches, jam out to your favorite song on the way home or spend a few minutes journaling or reading. Eventually, these simple actions will become habits and make it easier to compartmentalize any and all professional problems.
2. Recognize Your Triggers
How often do you find yourself on the brink of blowing up? Do you resort to threats and taking away privileges when your kids act up? Maybe you’ve already lost your temper a few too many times and you’ve fallen into a brash, angry parenting pattern. In this case, it’s important to step back and take a long, hard look at yourself. What’s making you so angry, anyway?
The next time you feel your blood start to boil, take a deep breath and analyze the situation from an outsider’s perspective. Your kids are pushing your buttons, but what are those triggers? Where do your frustrations really come from? Only after pondering these questions can you learn to manage your anger, respond calmly and minimize the stress that often accompanies parental meltdowns.
3. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness exercises can also help you find peace in stressful situations. For instance, if you’re working on recognizing your triggers, taking a few deep breaths before you respond can give you enough time to reign in your emotions.
If you’d like to take your mindfulness practice one step further, try yoga and meditation. These two exercises are beneficial for both your mind and body and help you return to the present moment when you feel overwhelmed. Escape for a few minutes each day to practice a short flow and sit in silence with your breath. You’ll likely notice a huge shift in your mood and stress levels after a couple of weeks of mindfulness practice.
4. Break a Sweat
You already know that exercise can do wonders for your physical health, but did you also know that breaking a sweat can help you destress? When you work out, your body releases feel-good hormones and chemicals like endorphins and serotonin, which can instantly boost your mood and relieve tension.
So get out there and move your body. Try a new sport or exercise regimen to find a few you truly enjoy. Then, make fitness part of your everyday routine by making it a family affair. You might also ask your partner to watch the kids while you take a jog if you need time to decompress by yourself.
5. Revisit Old Hobbies
Many new moms struggle with their identity after giving birth. Between taking care of themselves and the baby, there’s little time to do things they once enjoyed. Eventually, their laundry list of to-dos wears them thin and they lose themselves in their new role as a mother.
While it’s ok to leave old interests behind when life gets busy, it’s important to create some sense of normalcy by revisiting old hobbies and rekindling artistic passions. When you have a few minutes to yourself, pick up your favorite novel, a pair of knitting needles or some craft supplies and let your creative juices flow.
6. Ask for Backup
It takes a village to raise a child, so there’s no shame in asking for help if you’re feeling overwhelmed. However, most moms don’t have a village to depend upon. Instead, they must rely on their partner to help them around the house and take care of the kids.
If being a parent doesn’t come naturally to your partner or they aren’t sure how to lend a hand, suggest ways they might help and thank them when they do pitch in. Refrain from micromanaging and try to create regular tasks for which they alone are responsible. Most importantly, be confident and assertive when asking for backup. You deserve a break, too and your partner could stand to pick up the slack every now and then if it preserves your mental health.
Reprioritizing Your Mental Health
Societal often pressures parents to sacrifice themselves in the name of caring for their kids. However, this standard can be very damaging, especially when moms feel the need to forfeit their mental health. While numbing thoughts and feelings might make parenting easier at first, ignoring your mental health will only create more serious problems down the road. And, in most cases, your complete self-abnegation will negatively affect your relationship with your kids and spouse.
After all, you can’t be the best mom you can be until you take care of yourself. Therefore, it’s crucial that you reprioritize your mental health by practicing the de-stressors above. Even just five minutes a day can be enough to transform your outlook on life and help you embrace your role as a mom.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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