- Image by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent) via Flickr
Being a mom means we’re all over the place, trying to do too many things at once, fast. It seems like 24 hours is not enough to do what the job description requires us to be especially if we have careers on top of being a mom. This can lead to stress most often than not which could cause physical and mental problems.
According to Cheryl Borst, a clinical psychologist and panelist at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, “Health is a complex interaction of habits, lifestyle, attitudes and social support.” She further explains that “there is a significant research showing how much the mind and emotions affect physical well-being through hormones, neurotransmitters, and stress response. Stress produces an abundance of adrenaline and cortisol, which decrease the feel-good chemicals like serotonin. Over time, that imbalance can cause depression, anxiety and chronic anger, which can harm your heart, immune system, and overall health.” Totally not a pretty picture.
Finding balance in our lives and thinking more positively is the key to managing stress, and helping us stay young and fabulous. Believe me, if there are two things I want my kids to learn and remember from my never-ending lectures to them, it’s the taking care of themselves part and the focus on positive and what makes you happy part. If they master those two things, I can say I’ve succeeded in being a mom!
So here are some mom tips in finding that balance and help us build a better mood:
- Physical
- Regular exercise fights stress and increases serotonin. Stop giving excuses of not having time to go to the gym. Plug in those exercise dvds or use your kids’ wii and sweat it out! I don’t go to the gym, I make use of what I have here at home. Even walking counts. Just move it!
- Follow a healthy diet. And I don’t mean starve yourself. Eat less processed and more whole foods – veggies, fruits, foods that are closer to the source. More of these types of foods to keep you feeling full, less of the chips, soda, candies, sweets, and junk, if you cannot totally eliminate them.
- Deep breathing is essential when you’re feeling stressed. Practice a few minutes just closing your eyes and being mindful of your breathing.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Avoid alcohol or drugs.
- Mental and Emotional
- Find the time to engage in self-nurturing activities like having lunch with a friend, or getting a massage regularly. I get a massage on a weekly basis. Not from a spa but from a chiropractor’s office. I had back problems before which they treated, and now I go there weekly for maintenance – to make sure I’m aligned, and of course, an hour long massage to relieve stress and muscle tension.
- Practice good communication skills and positive conversation with family on a regular basis. This is why I enjoy talking to my kids. The conversation is light and happy most of the time, I just follow their lead, and it lightens my mood everytime I hear them giggle and talk about “shallow” topics. It’s actually the shallow topics and their attitude about life that keeps the conversation happy and light. I learn a lot from them!
- Open up your mind and assume that people have positive instead of negative intentions.
- Practicing being fully present each moment keeps you from feeling distracted from outside stressors.
- Spiritual
- Finding a sense of purpose or passion encourages a positive outlook in life.
- If you’re stuck to feeling angry all the time, let go, and work hard to forgive those who anger you. To most people, this is not an easy thing to do at all. Whenever I’m feeling angry, I tell myself that I don’t deserve to feel this way, and I don’t want to waste my energy on these totally unworthy causes. I’m way better than whoever caused me to be angry. And that I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me miserable and angry — so I let go, and make them realize that I could care less about them or what they did.
- Get connected to something bigger than yourself, whether it’s religion, community, or even nature or the environment.
There you go my hot moms! A balanced mind, body, and spirit, is key to being young and fabulous!
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Cherrie, the thing I love most about your posts is the Step-by-Step, simple way you lay things out. And this is one of your best yet.
This goddess is going to follow those steps (because, heaven knows, balance is Not a natural state for someone this wildly enthusiastic about things!), and I can honestly see myself becoming – well, not Young – but definitely Old and Fabulous!!
Bliss and blessings,
The goddess aka Jacqui
.-= Jacqueline Gates´s last blog ..The Goddess Guide to Finding your Purpose =-.
Cherrie how true it is, balance is key to enjoying life! So many of us gals have so many balls in the air at one time that we seldom find ourselves even on the radar. True balance is being able to have all three in alignment yet so many are willing to settle for just one of them! With the tips that you share we all have a better chance of bringing all in balance! Thanks!
“Dream, Believe, Become…”
Tracey
.-= Tracey Keefer´s last blog ..Attitude – A Perspective =-.
This is such a Great article, Cherrie – All of what you said, is so important for our Children to know more about Stress and what it can do and how to avoid it and release it, especially with all of the added Stresses of today, that they have to deal with. As a child, I so wish that I had had more information and knowledge about Stress and what it can do to us. Don’t think, I even knew what Stress was until I was in my early 20′s and for a while there, I thought Stress was a good thing. What was I thinking back then ? Many of us have to find out the hard way about Stress, after it has done damage to us but I am so grateful that I now, know what it is, how to avoid it and how to release it, with the many tools that I have learned through the years. It would be great if more of the information that you have listed here was taught in our schools, it is something that I have though about often -
Balance is so challenging. I can usually manage 2 out of three. I think we also need to be gentle with ourselves. For me 2 out of 3 is great. I don’t beat myself up for not managing all 3 areas.
The instant balancer for me is to breathe. Breathing gets me in touch with my body instead of focusing on my thoughts. Being in my body seems to bring instant balance to any situation. And it reminds me to be present.
.-= Debbie Lattuga´s last blog ..Make a Collage Vision Board =-.
It’s important to take care of self. Like Debbie, I try not to stress if I didn’t get to everything. For me, as long as I did a little of each of what’s important to me, I feel balanced. The key is to find out what is important to you that you will be happy with.
imahotmom.com! … gotta luv it! … “Regular exercise fights stress and increases serotonin. Stop giving excuses of not having time to go to the gym.” I meet so many people who always make excuses to NOT WORKOUT … most are based around time … gr8 post. Let’s connect more on UT and over at my dot com … =)
Hi Cherrie – Great article…clear, concise and well organized. Found your post through the UT…looking forward to more. Kimberly
Hi Cherrie,
Completely agree with everything you say hear – it’s such an important message! Health and happiness is in the mind, body and spirit, and having a holistic approach really brings results in all areas of our lives! Thanks for some great practical tips here and useful reminders to keep it simple and apply simple strategies to be healthy and feel great!
.-= Justine Simard´s last blog ..Simple Guidelines To Healthy Eating Habits. =-.
Great article, thank you! I’ve really been focusing on the nutrition aspect lately and it really makes a difference!
Thanks for giving us great tips about how you can achieve balance physically, mentally, and spiritually. However, I find that being truly healthy takes more than just diet, exercise, and everything else you mentioned. I’d like to include that making sure your hormone levels are balanced is important as well. People don’t really see how influential your hormones can be to your health.