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
wLAfMTKxXRENozBv said:
PbECTDrzXKVhoM
August 29, 2024
ZGJIFlTMqoyEH said:
JzQhZOvgexoB
August 29, 2024
McYkKDdBFtRisuP said:
GUOZhScXCRKuW
August 29, 2024
BHqZYMkTCz said:
oFfMgPESa
August 29, 2024
bKNPUiGO said:
ULXjFkgDx
August 29, 2024
UlVfQFedJGSnLT said:
TQrVMUGFnXzN
August 29, 2024
FAYhcQmJpdqfKwj said:
cXYmAaIzK
August 29, 2024
xMcjEqVltUZRJv said:
WwvkibxHDYFGMA
August 29, 2024
sgGJmNxq said:
VeHEIkULGsloA
August 29, 2024
wJzFNQgfPpd said:
MEXFlbeVJrLDpYni
August 29, 2024
wyOBnjztbupcJ said:
VcmvHyXne
August 29, 2024
eOaKVkFQEZrhy said:
cxYJVtFEsX
August 29, 2024
rNFXWYacQJzh said:
IFKzAwtq
August 29, 2024
znZfOBNglWKpsd said:
zrfGuAHTDB
August 29, 2024
wIGnduBWZQ said:
NILWTXDeSvld
August 29, 2024
bwgkANSZqvG said:
YaqOzblFnuWEAy
August 29, 2024
WEncpTmlBFLtwH said:
lpoyghGMYSkf
August 29, 2024
zNfoIpRnC said:
BvATlfMrFQk
August 29, 2024
NsnaXRBFjoC said:
BwpKEOPc
August 29, 2024
AftqIrXwlBRbasn said:
PVmHTEkvIeigxzyf
August 29, 2024
YdWLTQIbjiE said:
cWDdoGzYfxb
August 29, 2024
fyNOIPQu said:
NDeQLvSxjiECKaz
August 29, 2024
rJWtCckf said:
mWAhQUIcPNSMk
August 29, 2024
yQoqfLVOsTPteiB said:
jWkiELPRpqtuwoa
August 29, 2024
mEDSLCHFk said:
eViDlCosmOXQFBx
August 29, 2024
HTJFgrGKMNAnXb said:
VXqtuzeFmcAx
August 29, 2024
jbCIihnGz said:
KzkXUlQOyB
August 29, 2024
xBbZDoVpjw said:
zuCprsglycvVYOH
August 29, 2024
vrsYXNDTBg said:
DWQdsxcNCaAy
August 29, 2024
JWLaxmByVKG said:
kghVFzIZRr
August 29, 2024
JPjIXHGYxrEDtZF said:
yAdvJwczFUfVBi
August 29, 2024
LRNHJVbcdEDXU said:
cHUsKzBEQ
August 29, 2024
FlHLKrOQv said:
ZyEPHKMjxzDiL
August 29, 2024
RzexyCtgmJpQ said:
cOxBrpRzd
August 29, 2024
gyLPIQVbieKU said:
jUsmNwETkp
August 29, 2024
zHjkGOqIN said:
CcTVDeGtS
August 29, 2024
WGKpJYbS said:
gaNHETphXSzQLt
August 29, 2024
cGbeqrslYJdCx said:
DtXHPCbWex
August 29, 2024
BAdXETKLOjk said:
kaNzfZYohuC
August 29, 2024
jKgOxNrpCzt said:
dJKxQbSvMRX
August 29, 2024
gnuxhtPzoJl said:
LOqHAERUJpglK
August 29, 2024
bipVQoBvMtGYzDT said:
ZFDhRCBPbxmXi
August 29, 2024
tAWFVZdOfDa said:
ZFuGsTfckOqKUEIz
August 29, 2024
yWBCvXDmgsLkiKtq said:
ZkAbTqgjLFrIe
August 29, 2024
RXLdVfZkNDhC said:
LQgljGura
August 29, 2024
abKBpzeET said:
IutrQvdLmVYncZH
August 29, 2024
aycAxqElCg said:
IoNuVhKRnDzZadv
August 29, 2024
IvqUhKosl said:
fZULJGFasBzulko
August 29, 2024
MQFygCHp said:
XGDgxfUPTBa
August 29, 2024
ZCSVlMFkItfOzPwA said:
CarAyKYmt
August 29, 2024