Embrace the Mess With Less Stress

                                                

 


 

Every mom has stress.  The best we can do for ourselves is to reduce bad stress, know how to cope with good stress, and work on practicing a positive attitude.

Practice a Healthy Lifestyle

Sleeping enough, eating enough, staying hydrated, and seeking medical attention when needed, all contribute to living a healthy life. If you are committed to stress reduction maintaining and improving your health is essential. Tip: if you're 40, time to begin annual mammograms; don't avoid it because you're busy!

 

Learn to Meditate

One way to deal with stress in the moment is to take time out of your day each day to focus and meditate or pray. If you’re not sure how to meditate properly, you can find plenty of help from books like Mediation for Beginners: How to Relieve Stress, Anxiety and Depression and Return to a State of Inner Peace and Happiness by Yesena Chavan.

 

Be Like Elsa and Let it Gooooo!

It’s hard to remember even though you already intuitively realize it. You can only control your reactions, that’s it. Once you accept what little you truly have control over, it gets easier to let go of stress because it no longer serves us to stress what we can't change

 

Ask for Help

Asking friends, family, and others to help you be more reliable and accountable while you’re dealing with stress is a great way to start to lower your stress levels. You may need a life coach or a counselor if you are having issues doing it yourself.

 

Journal Your Stress Away

While you don’t want to focus on stress in your journal, you do want to find a way to let it out. Set up a special stress journal that has nothing to do with any of your other journals. When you feel overwhelmed with stress, take 10 minutes to write it all out and get rid of it.

 

Practice Smart Time Management

One thing that really contributes to a lot of stress for most people is feeling as if there is a lack of time to get things done. Use a calendar.  Schedule in your non-negiotiables AND your downtime.  Don't be afraid to outsource; it's not a sign of weakness. It's ok to turn down some invitations. You don't have to bake Pinterest worthy cakes on your child's birthday. Speak to your spouse/SO about how they can help if there are recurring issues in household chore or childcare.

Stress is a fact of life that everyone deals with. The goal isn't to be stress-free (is that even possible for us moms?) but to know how to manage it to enjoy life.  



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