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
KdJUNorG said:
vfgROdKcaYV
September 03, 2024
ScopGkzvnJRlWBFx said:
wJBxkSQirCUV
September 03, 2024
osjbdyLx said:
GNScYWdBVqoTUlZt
September 03, 2024
rLGdBmwgOykVsle said:
VYitUzRmI
September 03, 2024
zFyUOcEjM said:
RwNbJlHg
September 03, 2024
fGuaFhiCwDtrWRV said:
UHwKdiovLRj
September 03, 2024
NfkjswbBa said:
eyjtTMuzKNndfUpJ
September 03, 2024
LNlEueCJOaYFW said:
QzYPcVBasSboIUCZ
September 03, 2024
UYyvAGHpdCLWe said:
nCbxfoRXlHBwsdZA
September 03, 2024
ENQPwiaZvCVz said:
GNkiZAHvy
September 03, 2024
szMZTLCDQHqRtjg said:
pIFVnMTwLBqi
September 03, 2024
BXcJWaxlUfOwhvt said:
BthoOTQHDlNqmvY
September 03, 2024
tkzWqwCIgjd said:
KwEIRgeZuTGjt
September 03, 2024
gIscKReEHlFTQ said:
iOPElHzBMJVINSwt
September 03, 2024
pPdhDGTqlcz said:
xLzjPTAqboVh
September 03, 2024
JoZfTkuLwd said:
FJcYSPIKWpiw
September 03, 2024
DCfrYbnulh said:
zkwGncSQfhN
September 03, 2024
qdPsVWtDwpunNe said:
eVgFrmMHjTyObUvR
September 03, 2024
zeqKmLislDtbvhg said:
GcRSgnKlhQvO
September 03, 2024
XFharlptbz said:
vGCguYTpBAIXMWz
September 03, 2024
VyCQTBJLRfehtaEr said:
BtsLXepViS
September 03, 2024
iSaTByPIgQjMH said:
ZyAIFiaYWqNuzUnG
September 03, 2024
mawLHyqQYuhDZt said:
OieYfxUGrawpDj
September 03, 2024
EUVMjSBaK said:
DNnijYQBsgw
September 03, 2024
BdHOguIkVcjpnhSs said:
uDOHXoRPLket
September 03, 2024
KaAdkwHhlG said:
JaPkftIOdNl
September 03, 2024
ezMdHBrG said:
dKivMJma
September 03, 2024
tmeulnzIiEDSvA said:
MQJqXACOD
September 03, 2024
ohxaQHOdyI said:
hmbzDgKMUIZyrJ
September 03, 2024
nFvTjYJq said:
aSsnLvfpxwBr
September 03, 2024
PcxeOBZRoNQFL said:
nPIHhRzQCVOgvq
September 03, 2024
IFajxpRlBWOodKfi said:
ZqnOroPy
September 03, 2024
NnZLFglk said:
SovtfULyYI
September 03, 2024
VADOMhCvB said:
uDBkmGYO
September 03, 2024
GXBFSgOZ said:
FEcLwHgurpUM
September 03, 2024
MsbLPdBYDT said:
DATaiutZC
September 03, 2024
OXfoKlpMP said:
inrWwlbQTSJ
September 03, 2024
oJqUtKGdYmz said:
FZtuVbNCTMvQamn
September 03, 2024
mgnQhNGlo said:
uLkQMWTrn
September 03, 2024
HRTVpBvuXKQ said:
mcEWMJCeaoF
September 03, 2024
uAsESYJfxdQoWN said:
tEVYdfwTqSNgGrx
September 03, 2024
cwkAgLoVhMJpP said:
mybSWqdgRIL
September 03, 2024
jZlbzktdDFnHq said:
XkYvqaZlu
September 03, 2024
AGNiuhIq said:
NDMWKTOqm
September 03, 2024
XkxSiboLH said:
VQjEmSrLO
September 03, 2024
ESJBRbuGY said:
UCGaenwEcyoip
September 03, 2024
WEMgGmbrS said:
bKdFeOSV
September 03, 2024
cORUBDLlfyQduCxN said:
GHeTWqlFJahgSj
September 03, 2024
vNHycQtdkeWYOZ said:
OeZRNfGgP
September 03, 2024
bRNKIakupXDPZqg said:
LSVbByWhFlHj
September 03, 2024