- Your neck and shoulders are constantly achy.
- You furrow your brow.
- There are changes in your eating patterns like eating too much or not at all.
- There are changes in your sleep patterns like not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep.
- You have negative thoughts going through your mind without intentionally thinking them.
- You find yourself becoming increasingly short tempered and irritable.
- You feel about 100 years older than you are!
So, now that you know you're a stress monster, what do you do? Although living stress-free is next to impossible, there are many different ways to reduce stress in your life, especially in the parenting department.
First, enlist some help. Even you parents sporting a cape and a big 'S' on your chest need to ask for, and accept, help when you need it. Ask a friend, neighbor or spouse to help with what needs to be done. Better yet, see if you can find a friend with children and either swap babysitting time or swap doing chores around the house or running errands for each other.
Second, get rid of the parenting guilt trip and understand that it is OK to need and want a break from your own children! Do not feel like you are a bad parent because you would like an afternoon alone without the little ones. You need time to refuel and regroup and that is next to impossible to do in between diaper changes and scrubbing crayon off of the wall!
Third, find (or rediscover) a hobby. Find something that you truly enjoy or try something new that you've always wanted to experience. Whether it's done in or outside of the home, in a group or by yourself, chose an activity that stirs up some creativity while quieting the tension in your body and mind. Some activities that work for me are exercise (aerobics, weightlifting, walking), craft projects (cross stitch, painting), and home improvement (landscaping, gardening, refurbishing old furniture and even cleaning the house helps sometimes).
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