If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed as a parent, then it’s important to realise that you are far from alone. Indeed, it’s true to say that most parents feel this way at one point or another and it’s also worth mentioning that there’s nothing inherently wrong with this. Indeed, one could argue that if you’re not feeling stressed, then you may not be pulling your weight as a parent and that’s the last thing that you want. The good news is that there are steps that you can take which will help you deal with your overall stress levels. But first, let’s explore some of the common causes of stress and what you can do about them.
What’s Causing You To Feel Stress?
It’s important to note that stress and the causes of it depend on you and your individual lifestyle. As such, they might not all match your situation, but here’s some common possibilities for parents.
Money
First, you might be stressed due to your financial situation. This is an incredibly common cause of stress. Indeed, it’s possible that you are struggling to get to sleep at night because you are worried about your finances. Again, if you feel this way, then you are certainly not alone. This is why it’s important to make sure that you are taking control of your financial situation. Avoid living past your means and if you need to, boost your salary with the right side hustle. This will help you keep your head above water and cover your overall costs.
Career
Next, you should consider your career and whether this is also having an impact on your overall stress levels. That could be the case if you are not happy in your current position or if you feel like your boss isn’t providing you with the right support. In either scenario, it’s possible that you feel as though you are struggling in your day to day life. Don’t forget, most people will spend 30% of their life working. That’s far more than you will spend with your family, friends, or doing anything that you love. This is why it’s best to work to find a career that you enjoy. That’s always going to lower your stress levels.
Health
If you’re not looking after your health, then you’re always going to struggle with higher levels of stress. This can include anything from a poor diet to terrible levels of personal fitness. Why is this? Simply put, if you’re not looking after your body, then you are going to struggle to deal with basic situations in life that can cause you to feel stressed.
Symptoms Of Stress
It’s important to understand that the symptoms and signs of feeling overly stressed can be severe. They will impact you as well as your children if you don’t take control. Here are some of the key possibilities.
Anxiety
One of the main symptoms of high levels of stress is anxiety. This can make you more on edge and anxious than usual. It may mean that you struggle to get to grips with day to day activities and you could find that you are more irritable around your children as well. This is the last thing that you will want to happen as a parent because it can mean that your children start to feel as though you don’t even like them. That’s why it’s important to get a handle on your stress levels as soon as you notice that they are becoming an issue.
Depression
If stress is left unattended, then it’s possible that you will develop more severe symptoms such as depression. Again, this can be a nightmare because it means that you will feel as though you don’t have the energy to do anything in your life. You might even struggle to get out of bed each morning. Even if you manage to work, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to find the time to spend time with your kids. If you are worried that you are experiencing depression, then you should consider speaking to a mental health professional, sooner rather than later.
Long Term Health Issues
Again, if stress is left untreated, then the situation can grow even worse. For instance, you might find that you start to develop long term health issues. Serious problems such as cancer have been linked by medical professionals to high levels of stress. It’s why it’s always important to make sure that you do explore how to relax more and take control of your mental wellbeing. This brings us neatly to the next point we’d like to discuss.
The Right Solutions
Now let’s explore some of the best ways to deal with the high levels of stress that you might be experiencing in your life. In doing so, you can make sure that things don’t start to swallow you whole.
Me Time
One of the first solutions to explore is how much ‘me time’ you are getting. If you aren’t getting enough then you can quickly begin to feel the effects of stress and burnout. Me time can be anything from taking ten minutes to yourself while you have a bath or even heading out on a girly shopping trip. The key is finding something you enjoy, there is no point doing things you don’t enjoy as this will be doing more harm than good. If you like online gaming such as solitaire or minesweeper then there are plenty of places to do this.
Meditation
Taking five minutes to yourself can really make all the difference to you, your body, and your mental health. You might assume that meditation is completely silent while you sit in a dark room with your legs crossed. This isn’t always the case and meditation can look different for everyone. You can try that and if it works out for you then great job. However, if you want to take part in some guided meditation then you can also do that, stick on your headphones and find a guided meditation that really works for you.
Diet
Be aware that your diet can cause high levels of stress or make issues with stress far worse overall. Similarly, if you eat well, then you will find it easier to handle stressful situations and you may even experience more peace of mind.
There are lots of ways that you can balance your diet and ensure that you are getting everything that your body needs. This could be as simple as eating a home-cooked meal each evening and avoiding takeout as much as you can.
If you are worried about your diet, then be aware that there is an app for that. This will help you keep track of your calories and ensure that you are not consuming too many fatty foods or sweet treats.
Exercise
Do make sure that you are taking the time to exercise regularly. By exercising, you can guarantee that you are keeping your body active. Ideally, you should aim to exercise for approximately 45 minutes each day. Be aware that this doesn’t mean that you need to rely on high impact forms of exercise. Instead, you may want to explore other possibilities such as yoga. Research shows that this is beneficial for the body as well as the mind.
Supplements
There are plenty of supplements out there that can help you overcome your difficulties and reduce your stress levels. You might think that supplements only come in the form of CBD but you can totally avoid this if you want. There are other supplements that only contain natural ingredients known to calm you down and relax you, magnesium and B vitamins are a couple of examples.
Life Change
If you are still struggling with high levels of stress in your life, then it could be worth considering making a change. This could be a change in your career or in your personal life such as by removing toxic individuals from your inner circle. Any change can have a tremendous impact on how relaxed you feel.
Extra Support
Finally, it’s important to note that if you are struggling with high levels of stress, anxiety, or even depression, then there are always options that you can explore which will help you get things back on the right track. For instance, you might want to think about speaking to a therapist. A lot of parents shy away from this possibility because they think that a therapist is only suitable for individuals who are having serious struggles with their mental health. However, this isn’t true at all. In reality, a counselor can help anyone even if you can’t pinpoint the exact cause of your stress. Research shows that it’s beneficial for anyone, regardless of your overall mental wellbeing.
We hope this helps you understand some of the key reasons why you might be feeling stressed and the steps that you can take to eliminate further issues here. In doing so, you can make sure that stress does not start to take over your life. Instead, you can get things back on track and continue to support your children in all the right areas in the future.
