Why stress in motherhood can be a GOOD THING.
Why Stress In Motherhood Can Improve Your Outlook.
There's a lot of pressure on mothers to be perfect. We're expected to have it all together, and when we don't, we feel guilty or inadequate.
This pressure can cause stress, which can lead to burnout and even depression. But that doesn't mean you need to give up on your goals of being a good parent.
Stress is defined by Merriam-Webster as "something that causes you to feel worried, upset or afraid." It's normal for mothers to experience stress in different situations — like when they're parenting their newborns alone while their partner is at work or when their kids are sick, and they don't know what to do next. Some stressors may be unavoidable (like the daily demands of caring for children), while others can be avoided by setting boundaries with other people in your life (like asking your older child to stop taking his brother's toys without permission).
Stress can feel like a burden and leave you feeling exhausted. But it's important to remember that stress is a normal response to the challenges and responsibilities that come with raising children. In fact, some experts believe that stress can actually help us perform better when it comes to certain tasks.
The problem with stress is that it can make moms feel unappreciated for the work they're doing — especially if they're feeling like their partners aren't pitching in or helping out as much as they should be. But there are ways to manage this stress and get through those tough patches together.
Motherhood is a high-stress job. Whether you're a new mom or have been at it for years, there's no doubt that parenthood is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. As your whole life changes after the birth of your child/ each of your children, stress is a new and common feeling. Your life has changed dramatically in a matter of days.
As a new mother of multiples ( I have five children in total 4,4,9,10,14), I often felt like I was going crazy. I couldn't stop crying, and if someone asked me how I was doing, they would get a 10-minute monologue on how miserable my life was.
I wasn't alone in this — many new mothers and mothers of multiple children find themselves overwhelmed by stress and anxiety as they adjust to their new roles in motherhood.
But it's also one of the most rewarding things you'll ever do. The question is:
How can we manage stress in motherhood?
There's no easy answer, but researchers have found that moderate stress can help make you more resilient and better able to cope with new parenting challenges. So don't beat yourself up for feeling anxious about parenthood; instead try to recognize the signs that stress is getting out of control and learn how to manage it before it gets worse.
You’re a mom, you know that stress is a part of life. But that doesn't mean it has to be all bad.
In fact, stress can actually be good for you — so long as it's not chronic. That's because stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, help us fight, flight, or freeze when we're in danger. These hormones also prepare our bodies for action by increasing blood flow to the muscles and providing energy for movement.
You might feel like your plate is full with kids, work and other responsibilities. But you have more control over your level of stress than you think. Here are some ways you can reduce stress in almost every way you do everyday activities:
Take time for yourself each day. Take a minute to breathe deeply and let go of anything that's bothering you. This could mean going for a walk (or take a drive in the car with music loud) or taking a bath (or shower in my case) at the end of the day instead of watching TV or scrolling through social media feeds. You'll feel better after just a few minutes!
Set realistic expectations for yourself and others around you. It's important to appreciate what's happening now instead of wishing things were different in the past or projecting into the future what might happen someday when things get better.
As a mother, you probably have heard a million pieces of advice on how to be the best parent.
You may have even heard that "there is no right way to parent." But if you've spent any time reading parenting books, blogs or scrolling on social media, you've probably realized that there are many ways to raise your child.
The truth is there is no right or wrong way to parent, but there are definitely better and worse ways.
And one of those "better" ways is to accept that there will always be stress in motherhood. It's not something we can avoid.
Here are five reasons why stress in motherhood can improve your outlook:
1) You'll learn how to manage your emotions better
2) You'll become more patient with yourself and others around you
3) You'll see the bigger picture when it comes to raising children
4) You'll learn how to find balance in life by prioritizing certain things over others
5) You'll realize that being a parent isn't as easy as it looks and judging each other just a little less in the grocery store.
For me, one of the biggest stressors in motherhood has been my inability to find balance between being a mom and a myself. I love my family, but it can be difficult to squeeze everything in each day. I'm always trying to figure out how to spend more time my mental health care and kids while still doing what I need to do for work.
I've found that if I don't make time for myself, I end up feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. Finding what works best for YOU will take some trial and error, but there are ways to make it easier:
I found figuring out my love language helped me figure out exactly how I wanted to spend my time destressing from motherhood.
If you're not familiar with the concept of love languages, it's basically a way of understanding what kinds of interactions make us feel loved and appreciated. There are five main languages: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch. Everyone has a primary love language — mine is receiving gifts — but there's no right or wrong way to express love in each language. When we have an understanding of our love languages, we can better understand how to express our feelings and desires to support systems in our life the ways that make us feel understood and cared for.
One thing is for sure: The stress of being a parent can wear us down and make us feel like we're failing at our job as mothers — but that's actually not true. Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It's often how we deal with it that makes the difference.
A lot of people think that stress is always bad, but there are actually some benefits to being stressed out from time to time. "Stress can be good," says Dr. Jerry Weichman, a family physician based in Austin, Texas. "It can help us perform better on exams or during athletic competitions."
Weichman explains: "Stressors are things that cause us worry or anxiety, but they can also motivate us to take action and perform better." This means that stress could actually make you more resilient if it's managed appropriately.
So why do some women struggle with stress more than others? Because we carer! We either want to put everyone before us thinking this is the right approach OR we run away from the negative and think if we ignore it then its gone.
Your doing amazing mama and being a STRESSED OUT MAMAS isn’t as bad as it sound it means your tackling the negative and turning it into the positive motivator in your life.