How to Treat Your Anxiety During Motherhood

Being a mother can be very stressful as you have all of these responsibilities that follow taking care of your children as well as the house. It can be overwhelming when tackling the problems your children may be facing as well as juggling that with a career. It is important to acknowledge your anxiety and take care of yourself so that you can be strong for your children and yourself.

Fit Exercise Into Your Schedule

You may seem like you are too busy to fit exercise into your life. If you do not exercise, you can experience fatigue and be out of shape which can lead to health problems down the road. Exercising tends to release the feel-good hormone dopamine which will help you relieve your stress. If you feel that you do not have the time to go to the gym, feel free to work out at home. You can take laps to each room of your house, do some jumping jacks, jog in place, or pick up some chores around the house while listening to upbeat music to get you moving. Find these little moments where you have spare time to lower your stress and have bouts of happiness.

Take a Break From the Internet

The internet has a tendency to drain your energy. You may find it as a great break from your motherly duties by seeing what your friends are doing on social media or checking the news. Too much social media can lower your confidence if you feel like your friends are being more successful than you are or having a better day today. You should also see if the friends that you have on your social media are worth devoting your time to. If these friends are adding more to your anxiety by offering unwelcomed criticisms or hardly listening to what you have to say, see less of these people or do not give them the time of day.

Be Creative

Everyone needs a creative outlet to help their mind grow. Instead of being so focused on your worrisome thoughts, find something to do that will be a good distracting and help you grow as a person outside of being a mother. This can mean putting your energy into baking a new recipe that you can share with your family. You can also channel your worries into writing them into a story whether it is in first person or third person. Once you read your own story, you might be able to see for yourself the triggers of your worries and how to deal with them next time you are forced to confront them. Keep trying out different hobbies until you find one that works well with you.

Declutter Your House

Cleaning your house is a great way to keep yourself moving. Another benefit of cleaning is that you will feel like a whole weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. If you are organizing your closet, your bookshelf, or your garage and you get rid of the clutter, you will feel comfortable knowing that you are living in a clean household with room for much more than before.

Say No

It could be very tempting to say yes to everything that your husband or children demand of you. You may be asked to pick up or drop your children off anywhere they ask or to volunteer at your children’s school. Only you know how much you can handle, but you also need to take your mental health into consideration as well. Do not be afraid to say no if the demands are piling up too high and see if someone else can take over that certain responsibility. You will still be a good parent even if you cannot do everything all at once as everyone needs help now and then.

Bring Humor Into Your Life

If you are feeling so stressed over your daily obligations, find something to laugh about. If your children are always able to find some way to smile every day, you can do the same thing. Find a joke book or daily humor websites to make you laugh. This can also mean watching comedian sets on video streaming sites or comedy movies. Being a mother does not have to be filled with only serious moments.

Savor the Small Moments

Instead of worrying so much about something bad happening today or all of the responsibilities awaiting you, cherish the small moments you have with your family. Whenever you hug your child, receive kisses from your partner, or seeing your child have fun should not be a fleeting moment. Appreciate anything good that comes into your life to show you how much love you have. Kids will grow up faster before your eyes. Do not live in regret that you missed out on the good moments your kids had because you were too focused on the bad. Because you may not have been taking good care of yourself, you were focussing more on your pain and worries instead of your children’s. Make time to be with your kids such as during the weekends or reading them a story every night before they go to bed. Go into treatment for your anxiety if you feel like it is interfering with your life. By being in control of your anxiety, you can be there for your kids and enjoy your life more.

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