I want to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me:

How stressed are you?

And yes, dear mom, it is okay to admit to being stressed.

In fact, I would be slightly more concerned if you weren’t dealing with any sort of stress.

Because, let’s face it — being a mom is stressful.

Being a stay at home mom is stressful.

Is it rewarding? Yes, of course it is.

But it’s also stressful. 

So what can we really do about this?

For starters, you can check out my series of posts on dealing with Mom Stress:

 

Just remember this mom: you are not being selfish by taking time for yourself.

Mom stress is a real thing and it’s high time that we acknowledged that. 

Yes, we love our kids.

Yes, we love our families.

But we also need to love ourselves.

 

Why Parenting and Stress Go Hand in Hand

 

There are very few things in life like parenting, and very few things in life that lead to such incredible stress.

It seems stress and parenting all too often go hand in hand. But with a little forethought and planning, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Yes, raising children takes more patience than almost any thing else you will ever encounter in life, but there is no reason that it should be the thing that drives you completely batty! Yes, it is challenging and can at times cause you to wonder how you are going to manage but stress and parenting do not have to be tied at the hip.

Stress is a mental and physical condition that occurs when you try to deal with the issues that must be dealt with and yet you feel incapable of doing so.

It almost describes parenting to a tee! There are many situations that you will encounter as a parent that you know you must undertake and press through, but ones in which you really believe you are truly incapable of doing so in the long term.

Parenting requires long term planning and a long term commitment to the process. Yes, there are many parental goals that leave you facing a long and time consuming path, but there is simply no need to feel completely overwhelmed and paralyzed by the challenge of parenting.

There are so many resources available to you as a parent that as you work towards learning to be a better parent you can also learn to deal with those stressful situations.

As a parent it is very important that you are a realist. There are going to be plenty of times that you simply do not meet the goal that you want for yourself or your child. This is of course true in life as it is with parenting.

Take a deep breath and think about it…there are really only a very few “absolutes” or even “mandatory requirements” in parenting. This should help you to be able to sleep a bit easier tonight.

It’s Okay To Get Help

 

One thing stay-at-home moms may suffer from is the superhero mentality – the idea that they must do everything, and do it alone. Even to their own detriment! Whilst it’s great that you’re motivated to be independent and self-reliant, this will undoubtedly cause a lot of stress, and actually make it more difficult to meet goals and feel fulfilled.

 

It’s okay to need help, whether it’s someone to open up to or literal help around the house. 

 

Sites such as Better Help offer a wonderful counseling service that can be done from the comfort of your own home, a service that you should take full advantage of for the sake of your mental health. 

 

Getting help isn’t just about seeking professional help for your mental health though, but also allowing yourself to take a break by seeking others to do chores or offer their services. If you’re short on time – it’s okay to have your groceries delivered!

 

Is your roof literally falling down around you? It’s okay to employ the likes of Equity Roofing company to fix it for you.

If you’re getting to a point where you feel like you can’t function anymore, take a break. Rely on the people around you to help out for a few hours while you take a break and have a sleep. Purchasing a high-quality buckwheat pillow may be able to help you get a comfortable rest and reduce some of the pain that you may feel due to the build up of stress in your neck.

 

It’s okay to need a break, and it’s okay to know your limits. Pushing past them in some cases is necessary, but you have to know what you can realistically achieve and what is not possible. There is nothing wrong with needing help, we cannot stress that enough.

Being realistic about what you can and can’t do, and accepting the help available, is one of the most difficult things to do. If you can do it, though? You’ll find your stress levels decrease and your outlook brighter- which is good for everyone. Allow yourself to relax, and don’t feel guilty about it!

Get a Recliner Chair

You may be surprised by this, but the truth is, a recliner chair is pretty effective in helping reduce stress levels. Are you feeling tired after a long day of work? Hop on your recliner chair that will offer utmost comfort and support. When your body reclines and the spine rests, this will put you in a state of relaxation.

 

Besides this, a recliner chair can help increase blood circulation in your body. For example, working in an office where you sit at a desk the whole day may limit blood flow within your body. But when you finally set yourself on the recliner chair, you will give your lower body some relief, promoting blood circulation.

Have you been experiencing back pain of late? If so, a recliner chair might be the solution to that stubborn pain. Chiropractors suggest that resting on this kind of chair can work magic in reducing back pain. So, what are you waiting for? Time to get leather recliners from Leather Furniture USA. 

Ok, for example, educating your children is mandatory and terribly difficult. But there is not just one school that can provide the education for your child. There are lots of different options for education.

But when you are trying to make a decision about education, which is mandatory, there is no reason to have a melt down over it. Just make a decision, a well educated and well thought out decision.

Making decisions for your children should not lead to stress. While you must take these choices seriously, it you allow the stress to brew, you can experience helplessness, hopelessness, chronic worry, irritability, and even insomnia.

There are very few parenting dilemmas which are as potentially stress-inducing as a child who simply will not listen to you, especially when their behavior is unruly, irritating or even violent. But again, in this situation, as in many others, there are rarely any quick fixes.

But, if you take the time to see the challenge for what it is and learn to deal with the situation before it becomes a stressful situation then you and your family will be better adjusted in the long run. Minimizing stress is a worthwhile goal for which you should strive.

Remember even thought stress and parenting all too often seem to go hand in hand, it just is not necessary. Chronic stress is unhealthy. Make a decision to do something different to manage the stress of parenting.

Search for alternatives and solutions before you decide you have no other choice but to have a stress related meltdown.

Stress and parenting can be a thing of the past if you elect to deal with being a parent in a more constructive method.