Are you stressed? Do you have children? You are not the only one, so please don’t feel like you are alone. In fact, almost three-quarters of the parents in the United States, especially mothers, are stressed out. They are workers, have other responsibilities, and are trying to help their children become great adults. Most mothers feel they have much more stress in their lives than their own parents did. There are all sorts of stressful triggers, from finances, to finding the right parenting style, to having too high of expectations. Does any of this sound familiar? If so, you may need to find some ways to relieve stress as a parent. Yes, there are that many, and even more ways to do destress.
Learning the Signs of Your Stress
One of the ways to relieve stress as a parent is to learn the signs of stress. Instead, of waiting until your stress is beyond maxed out, learning the signs of your stress in the beginning can help a great deal. Do you get a headache? Maybe you feel your body becoming exhausted in the middle of the day or even a couple hours after you wake up. Once you recognize these signs, when they start coming on, you can take a breather or go for a quick walk. You can remind yourself that nobody is perfect and you deserve a break.
Taking Breaks
That leads us to the next way to relieve stress as a parent. You need to give yourself breaks. Mothers and fathers can’t do their best possible when they are stressed out. Even if you just take a couple of minutes to yourself a few times a day, this should be enough to relieve some of your stress. You should also take a few hours to yourself at least once a week. If you don’t have a partner, see if a family member or friend can take care of your children for a few hours. Whether you are going to take a nap or do something else for yourself, taking breaks might be just what you need to destress.
Having Pre-planned Solutions for Your Stressful Times
Do you have certain times of the day where you are the most stressed? Maybe every evening, before dinner, you get stressed out. If this is the case, you may want to take 10 minutes to yourself to breathe. You may want to go into the bedroom and do meditation. If you get most stressed out in the morning before work, maybe giving yourself an extra half an hour just to sit and breathe, before getting your day started might help.
Learning Meditation or Deep Breathing Skills
Another way to relieve stress as a parent is to learn meditation or deep breathing skills. There are many different techniques for meditation you can learn. You can find many guided meditations for beginners as well. One of the best deep breathing techniques you can use is 4-7-8. This means you will breathe in for 4 seconds. Then, you can hold it in for 7 seconds. You will breathe it out for 8 seconds. This can help to relieve tension and stress.
Exercising Regularly
Research shows that exercising can help you relieve stress. Most people hold tension in their body and the tension causes a lot of stress. Since exercising helps to relieve tension, it makes sense that it would help to relieve your stress as well. You can go for a walk, ride your bike (if you want an effortless ride you can look into electric hybrid bikes), play basketball with your kids, go swimming, or just jog a bit. Get the best portable basketball hoops at Hooption.com and easily take it where you want! Dancing is a great exercise as well.
Laughter
You will find that laughter helps to relieve stress too. In fact, research shows that those who are stressed don’t laugh much. The more you giggle, smile, and laugh, the more tension you can relieve. When was the last time you have laughed really hard? Do you need to find ways that you can bring more laughter into your life? If so, start finding fun things to do, so you can relieve stress.
Spontaneity
While it may seem frustrating, sometimes spontaneity can be the best thing for relieving your stress. Many parents become stressed because they are stuck in a rut, stuck with the same routines, day after day. If this is the case for you, doing something spontaneous can help you relieve your stress.
Finding Some Mom Buddies
How often do you get out of the house? Do you have any other moms to hang out with who understand what you are going through? Most moms get that there is stress in being a parent. They understand what stress you are under and may want to help. You can help them as well. Just by hanging out with other moms, you can let go of that stress, even if it is just for a few hours at a time. You can go out to the movies, out to eat, or just have dinner inside as well. Make some mommy time, even if the kids are playing together in the next room.
Finding Support Groups
As a parent, your time is mostly devoted to your children. This is perfectly fine. However, there are some times when you feel extremely stressed. Maybe you drink a bit too much or you have fallen into a depressive state. Other moms and parents get what you are going through. You aren’t alone. You can find a support group for just about anything you are going through, whether that is acute alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, stress, or anxiety.
Going on a Date
As parents, you likely spend a lot of your time with the children. You are running them to and from sporting events, going to school events, and participating in the PTA. Maybe you are so busy between work and the sleepless nights that you don’t have any time left for your partner. This can create a lot of stress in your relationship. If this sounds like the case for you, make a plan to go on a date at least once a month. Have someone watch the children, even if you have a date night at home. This can help you relieve a lot of stress and tension in your relationship and your life.
There is a reason you are supposed to take care of yourself before others. Your stress is going to fall off onto your children. That tension is going to hang over everyone’s heads. If you are stressed out as a parent, your children are going to feel this. Everyone is going to feel on edge and under stress. As a parent, there are some things you can do to relieve your stress. You can take care of yourself first. This may seem like a tough thing, but it doesn’t have to be. As you can see here today, there are many ways you can relieve your stress and tension. You can teach your children that it is alright to take a break and take care of yourself. Stress is one of the issues teens face. So, this is a great life skill to have. Let go of your stress. Choose any one of these things to do for yourself today.
