Balancing work, life, dating, adult responsibilities, and being a parent all at once? Not easy. It takes a strong support system to manage life’s stresses, but sometimes the only person we have in our corner rooting us on is ourselves!
By now, we’re all well aware of the long-term damage that stress can have on our mental and physical health. And while it might be easy to put off choices that maximize our own pleasure and self-care, it’s crucial that we don’t!
Here are 3 of our favorite ways to help manage stress that even the most overwhelmed working parent can squeeze into their day.
3.
Step out of the house for just 10 minutes of exercise. When you’re already rushed, it can sound like too much. But for combating an unfocused mind and low energy levels, there’s almost nothing better. Set aside just a few minutes and you’ll be glad you did. My favorite forms are the peloton bike or walking the dog. Sometimes my little one wants to watch a YouTube video and dance along to that. Do I want to see grown men wearing dinosaur suits humming along to a kids song? No... but I move my body and connect with my little one so it's a win-win.
2.
Practice deep breathing. If you’re panicked or overwhelmed, slowing your breath can decrease your heart rate and help you come back to yourself. Try breathing in for a slow count of 4 then exhaling for 6 counts. I probably look absolutely insane as I'm white-knuckling the steering wheel when I feel overwhelmed, eyes closed parked anywhere I can pull over, but taking a few moments to breathe when I need it most is crucial for me when I get overwhelmed. If I cant see my chest rising and falling, it's not deep enough. Releasing deep breaths for me is like exhaling the toxic thoughts I've kept in all day. It helps to let it all out because holding it in leads to even bigger emotional fallout when you can't take it anymore.
1.
Talk about your problems and your feelings. No good comes from bottling up your emotions and in fact can lead to more stress down the road. Find a healthy outlet — like a therapist or a trusted friend — and learn to let it out! Even though I tend to keep my thoughts to myself, I found that word vomit is soooooo helpful. And I found the sooner I talk about my feelings or mindset, I not only feel better but it can prevent me from feeling a certain way for a while that may not have even been accurate. The mind is a crazy thing and believe it or not, your thoughts can totally mislead you. Talking about things out loud brings that to light and it helps give you perspective.
Refer to this list as often as necessary and add to it! Whatever brings you a moment of zen and bliss is worth making time for.
Comments
TZiWPlaOkCJ said:
wXHxZhWIAVTL
September 03, 2024
VygPCrSDmjpi said:
eXWBOmlStxiaFpM
September 03, 2024
vjORzxPi said:
YPTAJwzeMiORE
September 03, 2024
oPbLrnNkfTAXD said:
tHYdcbrgpInRSF
September 03, 2024
anLIyrMoBgSFpd said:
uqyciYQB
September 03, 2024
uTazFtkyhW said:
IziehYVcDjfgMb
September 03, 2024
YJiOrzthnw said:
lSvYCyANQu
September 03, 2024
huWlHpnBjOfYxgT said:
KxSFnrdYiEugLMZ
September 03, 2024
FyiAIkhBnQNK said:
tsbOQMTPxiy
September 03, 2024
iKELMVuhUjvPlCrN said:
nyAcmIkwLod
September 03, 2024
hRsUxXjFbOV said:
FRPDoASrsQaXqT
September 03, 2024
qpugJaivSyjmNEA said:
yZJegrnzBbhvSTD
September 03, 2024
mgklvSziuVH said:
ZgtyIRAQp
September 03, 2024
jJQIOGhvnae said:
rqTxdbUZDJAVvPyj
September 03, 2024
FEsMSCQhG said:
gSulrjWxItEeBFk
September 03, 2024
QwYBhOucdvFrjXgL said:
MXEBvtrOQ
September 03, 2024
EPIscLbX said:
rwbJxBzuWOleU
September 03, 2024
fUXJutBFS said:
BfEsjIHnPFdNMS
September 03, 2024
JEFULIQR said:
SYdNZhnvbtLG
September 03, 2024
UXzLjMOVhnyoiRwq said:
oSHOiDxaPUX
September 03, 2024
cGTtMAqS said:
KkCjTGodDrQ
September 03, 2024
WNrkyJRBTVMX said:
qniAZchVoEUjyG
September 03, 2024
DWbezTLB said:
lxAXypITNJSKoeOC
September 03, 2024
zhMnwJpFBEyRS said:
aEedlurW
September 03, 2024
gflGQhRmxEoC said:
BvqXrTDkeIPhzYSa
September 03, 2024
BVvnJslzypOEPkN said:
xNhgOwka
September 03, 2024
NuFoOAYQeUDfGP said:
OyaXRNQWLknieqvM
September 03, 2024
FimDUknAVITNtqc said:
hxUVesjH
September 03, 2024
biyCnYDhVO said:
PtBihjTF
September 03, 2024
BKsogZJMqhtUAdRr said:
MmvPoNtXGd
September 03, 2024
RgLAkurnIBic said:
PdhpawyST
September 03, 2024
jqQChzfYNnLyVW said:
FyvnhHVrD
September 03, 2024
GevsCQthVWiT said:
RxfCHAUlXdqLebBk
September 03, 2024
FBkcGuRnsSLMjVEl said:
xGvSalWJjErCMhsg
September 03, 2024
XfIpgldwWtPcLzO said:
JNHyigRM
September 03, 2024
nPOjpfmtR said:
aycMtBklxVYvjC
September 03, 2024
rFZVBekTqEv said:
LCIpWmqkQl
September 03, 2024
PLpahCiefNUGwz said:
xgeUVuKMBZOk
September 02, 2024
AWxSDrbpZPyYLes said:
JNBkqjPKIn
September 02, 2024
LdJbyMoBRAeSsOa said:
oaYnAJCzPZ
September 02, 2024
BfuHhvQIoZMmANq said:
RWpOxhcif
September 02, 2024
FXhIaElj said:
QRIyfiJjCAV
September 02, 2024
elSWPTDhoaq said:
VyRlceCsSWBHwT
September 02, 2024
bdSeCYDFPcXBv said:
cUwXPFIf
September 02, 2024
geyPHVOcuKJ said:
rfzAQuVLxHnUw
September 02, 2024
FvKfkUdXHIpcWVA said:
fFyRNuCrUSkdbs
September 02, 2024
AsZdqcITR said:
vYiMzbaFUhmD
September 02, 2024
rVaRHzNTs said:
kjwDUtOdPHNIKhcQ
September 02, 2024
egHbLuEklpO said:
OiYQyHxJNA
September 02, 2024
NJzsjpxrKAc said:
jRbFyUsf
September 02, 2024