Do you often feel inexplicably tired as a parent – or totally off-balance with raising and taking care of your children? Burnout among parents is becoming a big issue, especially for those parents of babies and toddlers or those who have children with special needs. Parents often report about feelings of frustration, powerlessness, physical and mental exhaustion (which is usually a consequence of the lack of sleep), or feeling totally burnt out.
Because of knowing how much our children need us and rely on us, we often completely ignore or neglect the possibility we could be burnt out. We don’t want to talk about it because we think this cannot be the issue. However, if we don’t address this problem, recognize our feelings, we can’t find the right solution for solving it.
Some possible symptoms of burnout are:
Mental and physical exhaustion that continues even after sleeping enough
Fast and frequent irritation over little things
Doubting in yourself as a parent
Sleep issues
Feelings of inefficiency
Emotional distance from your family and close ones
You can check other symptoms here. Here’s what you can do to regain feelings of renewed hope on the one hand, and staying connected to yourself on the other side.
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The Power of a Morning Walk
To be a good parent, you must first be kind to yourself. If possible, take at least 10 minutes each morning and take a walk outside. Research shows that a morning walk boosts your energy, reduces stress and possible fatigue. Spending time with yourself, relaxing and thinking about moving trees, or maybe thinking about nothing at all will help you to be less occupied and overwhelmed with all the responsibilities that come with raising your kids. Connecting with nature often leads to connecting to yourself, which will also help you give this energy and vibes to your kids and other family members. It’s a win-win.
To be a good parent, you must first be kind to yourself. If possible, take at least 10 minutes each morning and take a walk outside. Research shows that a morning walk boosts your energy, reduces stress and possible fatigue. Spending time with yourself, relaxing and thinking about moving trees, or maybe thinking about nothing at all will help you to be less occupied and overwhelmed with all the responsibilities that come with raising your kids. Connecting with nature often leads to connecting to yourself, which will also help you give this energy and vibes to your kids and other family members. It’s a win-win. Try running too. Running is a great way to lose weight and improve your overall fitness level, and also improves mental health. Just make sure you have your comfy and stylish running shoes on.
Communication is Key
Trying to be a superman/woman isn’t working. Not for you and not for your kids. You cannot do everything alone, and if you keep on pushing yourself above the limits, burnout is inevitable. Communicate clearly – whether it’s with your partner, relatives, or friends. If you’re hungry and cannot prepare yourself something to eat – ask. If you need to recharge – ask your partner or relatives to take over. If your house is a mess – hiring someone to do the cleaning isn’t a bad thing to do once a while. And mostly, if you feel like nothing you do really makes a change in how you feel, don’t be afraid to talk to mental health experts. It can be a good start to recovery.
Take Time For Your “Quiet Moment” During The Day
You’ve probably heard about meditation and its positive effects on our well-being. Take at least 5-minute per day whenever you can, put your headphones on, make yourself comfortable, close your eyes, and focus only on your breathing. After practicing meditation for at least 21 days, it will become a habit, and soon you’ll notice a shift in how you cope with stress, unpredictable situations, and how more calm you’ll be.
Exercise, Take Care of Your Body
It is entirely normal sometimes to feel like time is running right past you. And the last thing you want to do after a whole day of running around is to exercise. However, just a short stretch of your body can boost your energy, clear your head a bit and make you feel better in your body. If you’re always trapped in a loop of negative thoughts, exercise can help. Whether it’s yoga-kind-of-stretching, the short exercise you found on youtube or a run – you’ll feel better. You don’t have to spend any money or spend time in the gym every day.
Don’t Forget About Vitamins and Minerals
Many parents often forget about proper nutrition and meals during the day. However, without the right nutrition, your body can quickly run out of energy. It’s important to not run solely on coffee and sugar – the crash that comes after will make you even more drained. Eating nutritious meals isn’t as complicated as it may seem. The food doesn’t need to look “amazing-for-Instagram” on the plate. Whenever you have time, prepare some veggies like carrots or cucumbers to grab as a snack. Prepare some fruit salads to be at hand when you are running out of time to make something else. Keep it simple – eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and avoid eating junk food or too many carbs every day. Small adjustments can make a big difference.
To avoid any vitamin/mineral deficiency, you can also supplement them – try first with B Complex, Omega-3, and some probiotics. Here you can learn more about the best supplements.
Photo by Naomi August on Unsplash
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