Being a Mum is amazing and the best job in the world, but it’s not easy! The mental load and ‘the juggle’ that we deal with is REAL. The demands can be endless….caring for your child, cooking, cleaning, healthcare appointments, organising activities, paying bills, finding time for your partner ….l could go on. You may be a working mum or a full time mum; both come with their own set of struggles and demands!
We also have the added pressures of modern day society, and the belief that mum’s can have it all. We have so much knowledge at our finger tips now – in some ways that can be good, and in others not so good. There are so many parenting tips out there! We have the pressure of social media to portray the perfect family image, and compare our parenting successes. We are surrounded by stuff that we feel we need to buy, but don’t need, especially for our kids, to make sure they fit in or to be accepted. And a big one for me is wanting to feed our kids healthy nutritious food, but being surrounded by lots and lots of unhealthy foods in our supermarkets and restaurants. It’s not always easy to make a healthy choice, especially if you are overwhelmed, which often results in a feeling of guilt. The list really is endless. No wonder, according to a survey undertaken by the ‘Mental Health Foundation’, 81% of women admit to regularly feeling overwhelmed!!
So, what happens when all those demands outweigh the resources, and your body has reached its limit?
How does stress effect my body?
Our nervous system releases key hormones, cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream, these prepare the body for the fight or flight response. Our heart rate and blood pressure increases, our breath quickens, more blood will flow to our muscles and our senses will become sharper. Some body systems will slow right down, like our reproductive organs and our digestion as they are not essential when stressed and other organs will ramp up such as our heart and muscular systems in preparation to deal with the situation quickly.
Stress is a normal part of life, our bodies are designed to handle everyday life experiences, from work to finance pressures to more serious events. Once the stressful event passes our stress hormones calm down and our body systems go back to normal. However, when stress becomes chronic it can impair our immune system and have a negative impact on our physical and mental health.
Signs you are you running on stress hormones?
- Exhausted all of the time
- Often feeling overwhelmed
- Irritable, and constantly snapping at the kids
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Anxiety
- Trouble concentrating
- Poor memory
- Feel bloated
- Weight gain
- You have lost control, and small things are tipping you over the edge
- Craving lots of sweet/salty foods
- Often getting ill
What can l do to reduce my stress levels
We can’t take away the demands of motherhood but we can change certain aspects our of lifestyle that will also be impacting our ability to deal with stress. Here’s a few ideas to start you off:
Stressors to the body (they can increase our levels of the stress hormone – cortisol, not ideal when we are already running at high levels of stress)
- Try reducing or if you can cut out highly processed food, sugar and refined carbs from your diet – consume nutrient dense foods instead
- Reduce stimulants – caffeine/alcohol
- Quit dieting
- Try to avoid skipping meals (there are benefits to intermittent fasting – but not when you are dealing with chronic stress)
- Limit high intensity exercise during stressful periods (exercise is great for our health, but high intensity exercise increases cortisol levels – not so good when we already stressed)
Things to introduce/change:
- Look at your schedule – is there anything that you can give up that you really don’t enjoy doing
- Try to fit in some YOU time – even if it is just 15 minutes a day
- Get outside in nature
If you are fed up feeling stressed and overwhelmed, and would like personalised advice, please check out my Busy Mum’s Power Hour or book a free discovery call.
Kerry x