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Self-care doesn’t happen often for us adults. It’s a thing called life. It exists so we can live our lives to the fullest. We live each day not knowing what it’s going to bring. We have bills, a career, families, friends, errands, school and so on and so forth. This thing called life is something that we continually strive to perfect. Perfect? That, it is not. When in this life do you have time to make for your self? To make that gratifying release of relaxation. Self-care is essential for health. Let me break it down for you with these 8 Quick Self Care Tips for Moms.
What is Stress
Stress by definition is a feeling of emotion or physical tension. Stress is your body’s way of telling you that it has been challenged or has been demanded. In other words, it is something that happens after you experience anger, frustration or even nervousness.
For instance…let’s say you get into an argument with your boss or rather he tells you something that really irritates you but you can’t say anything because you need your job. So you just leave the room and begin to think about it NON-STOP, ALL. DAY. LONG. You have just put yourself into stress mode.
Did you know that there are two types of stress? The first type of stress is called Chronic Stress or long term stress. And the second type is called Acute Stress or short term stress. Each plays a different role but each type of stress can take a physical toll on your body. With all that it amounts to all sorts of strange things that can happen. In case you were wondering I have left some examples for you to check out below!
Chronic Stress
Caused by prolonged periods of stress the following are the effects of prolonged stress:
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Depression/anxiety
- Skin problems
- Interrupted sleep patterns
Needless to say these effects are not good for the body. It can result in high risk issues that take a toll on your body.
Acute Stress
Caused by Short periods of stress or like mentioned above about your boss. The following are signs of short periods of stress:
- Forgetfulness
- Headache (Get Rid of a Migraine Fast with these steps)
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Stiff Neck or muscles
Stressors can come in many forms, unfortunately. We should be aware that no matter what curve ball life throws at us, feelings of stress dissipate soon after the event occurs. Whether it be a money situation, a divorce, a death…life just happens. But sitting at that particular moment for a longer period of time and not allowing your body to heal can take a toll on your overall health and be detrimental in the long term.
The Effects of Silence
Although we have all at some point in our lives experienced these situations, how can we get through these stressors? You know that thing that is called life. That can bring on such a ridiculous amount of issues for us? Switching tones here for a moment. Have you ever been to the mountains or even the ocean and just sat there listening to the silence? How wonderful it feels to just turn off the noise in your own head and hear nothing for even just a minute or two.
Even with just a minute or two of silence and your mind on something else, like a noise for instance, can instill a great amount of peace. That is why I cannot urge the importance of of self care enough. It is so important. Yes, yes I know we are all so busy. Life gets hectic. I know I am there too.
But with it comes sanity and maintaining your sanity (I actually wrote another post on this check it out!) is essential if you want to be a good mom, wife, sister, or whatever your role is. It is about taking care of you. Like my mom always said, ” If you can’t take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of other people too?” Maybe there is some truth in that.
Self Care Tips
#1. Relaxation
Relaxation itself plays a key role in healing your mind and allows you to reconnect with yourself. Do you ever just vedge on the couch sometimes and not want to get up. Mainly because you are a hard-working women and you are exhausted! Yes!! That is relaxation mama and you deserve it sometimes. You know how nice it feels getting a massage? Yes! That is an amazing feeling and how good do you feel after it? Revel in the relaxation of a massage.
Or maybe you’re a meditating type person. I can say that I have done this numerous times and it is so amazing how at peace you feel afterward. If even for 5 minutes. Set some you time aside and make it happen! Even if relaxing for 10 minutes with the door shut so you can think. Yes, I have done that too. It does help and allows you to regroup so you can back to your bad A self! Make self care a priority for you to get back on your feet.
#2. Socializing
Now I know socializing can be a form of self-care and I have really had a hard time setting myself on this one or even putting it in this post for that matter. But the more I read about self-care benefits ( I do a lot of research) it is so good for you! Who would have thought? In doing so I did a little experiment. I was feeling rather gloomy, it was a long week at work and like we all are, I was tired.
The hubs suggested we go to our friend’s house as they invited us over for dinner. Well, I am not much of a getter outer, I’d rather stay in. Let me tell you, I felt so much better having interacted with people our own age, outside of work without kids. It was kind of like a breath of fresh air. Even though it was a short-lived refresher it felt good to socialize outside of the norm!
Socializing Research at it’s Finest
Here is where my research comes in. Experts agree that talking to people that have experienced the same things that you have and just getting things off of your chest allows yourself to heal on a deeper level because you are able to connect with someone and share experiences. Hmm, I guess it does work! Try it out!
#3. Write It all Down to Reduce Stress
Writing in general for myself is a form of escape for me. As you can tell. In all actuality, it helps you to be able to open up your mind and jot down your feelings at that point in time. It may be hard sometimes but underneath the stress write down what you are grateful for.
It’s crazy how often I just jot down on paper or a word document what I am thinking at that point in time. How freely I can just tell the paper what I want to say. I find this very helpful. Even as a young child I kept a journal full of my adventures, and friends. It was a way for me to basically vent. And it was very helpful. Even though writing may not seem like self-care it is definitely in the category of quick tips!
#4. Sleep for Self Care
We all love to sleep. Some more than others. As for me I rarely sleep past 7 am. I am a mom and young kids just don’t sleep in. Sleep is shown to reduce stress on many levels. Have you ever noticed that if you’ve had a stressful day at work and come home and all you can think about was work? It goes through your mind over and over all of the stuff that happened. Then you fall asleep and wake up the next day and you realize how bad the day yesterday actually WASN’T that bad? HA! I do that all the time. Sleep allows your brain to recharge and be ready for the next day. So get some sleep it will help ease your mind.
#5 Exercise
Hmmm, exercise. You either love it or you hate it. I am a lover of exercise and I am not afraid to say it. It Is one of the most important things that you can do for yourself. And by far the highlight of my day. The main reason I choose to exercise as an escape is because of all of the endorphins it releases into the body after you are finished.
Once my work out is completed I am in a better mood, I have more energy and I sleep so well at night. I recommend exercise to everyone. Even if it is just taking a walk or a bike ride. Any type of exercise is good for the body and it allows you to have more confidence in yourself as well. If just beginning a new work out routine. That’s ok Here is how you can Rock your new workout routine with confidence!
#6 Essential Oils
Essential oils are up and coming and have been around for a while now. Essential oils help with a wide variety of things. I was never a believer until my family and I started using oils. They have so many uses! When my kiddos were sick with a nasty cold I was searching for something over the counter that would get rid of it fast. Having looked it up online I came across DoTerra. The benefits are amazing I am a firm believer that essential oils work!
Essential Oil Benefits
The cool thing about essential oils is that it can be used topically, diffused in a diffuser or some may even be ingested. (please read the label before ingesting). Essential oils have massive amounts of healing potential and allow the body to use its natural healing properties to reach full potential. It was amazing how fast they worked in combination and alone.
How great is that, that we can just put some oil on and start to feel better. Oils such as Ylang Ylang, Lavender, Sandalwood, Chamomile, Frankincense, Orange blossom, Vetiver, and Neroli. All are amazing stress relievers and can be used interchangeably. Take care of your family and love yourself by using oils to promote healing. Preferably I use Doterra products they are amazing.
#7 Learn to say NO
Many people go throughout life consistently saying yes to everything and everyone. Consistently say yes to something on a daily basis, no wonder you wouldn’t get anything done. Take time for yourself and get the things done that YOU need to get done practice self care. Saying no puts your priorities first and allows you to regain control over your life and your self. Just think of all the things you could get done and avoid procrastinating if you had said no to that unnecessary thing that adds to your pile. Try not to take on more than you can handle.
Self care isn’t just about what you can handle. That is what stress is. By making small shifts in your mind set and putting yourself first sometimes, can make such a huge impact in your life!
#8 Get a Manicure or Pedicure
What a great day it would be that we could set aside the time to go get a manicure or pedicure. Hey! How about both! Now I know that I have given you numerous choices on self care, and how to get through. This one is by far the most important. I love the fact that I get to have my hands and feet massaged and freshly painted nails, AAWWW that is an amazing feeling. It may sound strange to some. Getting a mani pedi is proven to reduce stress by 70-80%! Can you believe that!
Let me just give you some insight here. The feet and hands are made up of numerous nerves, pressure points, capillaries etc. Each one is linked to a different part of your body. When triggered it increases circulation and improves blood flow to those areas. This is very beneficial for many reasons. A- It allows the body to release toxins built up in that area. And B- It feels fabulous.
Taking It All In
To sum it all up. Is life worth living stressed and anxious daily? In a minute this can all be taken from us and we take that for granted sometimes. Self care and loving yourself is so important. You have to love yourself first before you can go on loving others. I always tell myself this numerous times a day. Even though sometimes it may be hard as the dickens. We have so many things going on in life, love, marriage, divorce etc. Its tough taking time for yourself. I get it girl!
And at the end of the day, we need to just make lemonade out of the lemons and drink it up. Because when stress is at your door, it is so easy to just allow it to consume you and take you over. Take pride in yourself and allow yourself the peace and healing that it deserves and take time for YOU!
