Some argue that parenting is a full-time job, requiring love, patience, and attention. Others would point out that it’s not just about being responsible for your kids, but being happy and enjoying the time you spend with your little ones. However, there is one thing all parents can surely agree on – parenting is never easy and can be stressful at times, taking a toll on our mental health.
Stress, in turn, may cause emotional, mental, and physical issues. Long-term stress may even cause serious illness or exacerbate health conditions – depression, headache, eating disorders, skin and hair problems, and more. You need to recognize stress and handle it effectively to prevent these negative consequences.
This article will outline the common reasons for parental stress and provide you with stress management tips parents can use. We’ll also explain why it is worth visiting a chiropractor to relieve stress and manage anxiety
Top reasons for parental stress
Quite often, the demands placed on you as a parent are high. That is, you need to take care of your children and provide them with everything they need. At the same time, you need to maintain comfort at home, live a happy family life, and fulfill your other social roles. Such an abundance of demands can make you feel like you are not meeting them and become truly stressful.
So, what exactly may cause stress among parents? Let’s outline some of the most common causes.
Finances
Financial issues often cause parenting stress and parental anxiety. When you have kids, you worry about providing them with necessities. These are not only food and shelter but also money saved to send your child to a good college. To achieve this, parents often become anxious about their career development and even about keeping their jobs.
Time constraints
Trying to find time to fulfill all the obligations that their social roles impose, parents often feel a lack of time. That is, you may feel shortness of time for many things, such as:
- House cleaning;
- Spending time with children;
- Sports activities;
- And much more.
In this case, you may feel like there are not enough hours in the day and it causes emotional distress!
Health issues
Health issues are among the most significant stressors. When your kid is sick, you can hardly work since you need to care for them. Extended illness, among other things, may add financial stress and make you feel overwhelmed.
Relocation
Moving to another place of living can be truly stressful as long as it interrupts your habitual routine. In such situations, parents often feel anxious about how things will go in a new place and how their children will perceive the relocation.
The birth of a new child
New parents’ lives change 180 degrees. They have to change their habitual way of life, adjusting to the newborn baby. Also, they often do not have time for their usual activities anymore.
And if the family already has children, then parents may face the jealousy of older kids. Needless to say, such obstacles can make the daily routine more complicated and add stress for the whole family.
How to cope with parental stress
We have outlined the common reasons for parental stress. When neglected for a long time, stress can lead to a feeling of burnout and helplessness. How can you, as a parent, prevent this? The good news is that there are specific self-help techniques for stress management. Let’s look through our top eight stress management tips parents can apply today.
#1 Define your stress triggers
Let’s start with an essential tip on our list of stress management tips parents can use. To get out of stress, your first step is to understand what causes your anxiety. So ask yourself a question: what causes negative emotions?
Parental stress factors may vary from insignificant little things to more serious issues. Long queues at the children’s clinic and overall anxiety about the future can be stress triggers. Once you figure them out, it will be easier to cope with their impact through self-help techniques for stress management.
#2 Use positive reframing
Parents often pay closer attention to the negative things than the positive ones. That is, teachers’ words about your child’s issues typically have great importance. Yet, they usually focus on development needs and problems instead of achievements, and the positive things get out of sight.
Positive reframing is among stress management tips parents can use. Here is how it works. Instead of considering that your kid is “stubborn”, try thinking that “he will be able to stand up for himself”. Instead of saying “I know better”, try “if you need advice, I’m always here to help”.
Once you start thinking of challenging things positively, you will notice how fear and anxiety gradually decrease.
#3 Connect with fellow parents
Knowing that you are not alone can do wonders. When looking for self-help techniques for stress management, start interacting with fellow parents and find support groups near you.
Once you do, you will soon notice that the feelings of anxiety and loneliness are going away gradually.
Connecting with others will help you understand that everyone has certain issues and get emotional support. And the neighbor, who seemed to be doing so well with her twins, is not an exception.
Let’s move further to the following stress management tips parents find effective.
#4 Take time for yourself
With the current rhythm of life and lots of obligations, finding time for yourself is not easy for a parent. However, “me-time” is crucial for managing stress, staying calm, energetic and maintaining peace of mind.
So, you should not deny yourself things that give you pleasure and joy. Dedicate specific times to your hobby or favorite sports within your daily schedule.
Physical activity is a proven way to reduce stress. Exercising regularly will help you get distraction from your daily worries and will make you feel better. It will also force your body to produce endorphins – the key to a good mood.
The more joy you incorporate into your day, the less stress you will have.
Apart from the activities mentioned above, it’s good to activate your body’s natural relaxation response. You can achieve this through various relaxation techniques, including yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, and meditation. You will learn more about them in our next stress management tips parents can use.
#5 Try yoga or tai chi
Yoga is a great way to get distraction from problems and anxious thoughts. Yoga consists of asanas (poses), breathing techniques, and meditations (both passive and active). It develops a person comprehensively – through the body, mind, and emotions. From the very first lessons, you will take a big step towards mastering your body and controlling your breathing. Plus, like all the exercises, yoga helps you tone your muscles.
Tai chi is a cross between martial arts and dancing. By practicing tai chi regularly, you will feel and understand your body, its needs, and capabilities better. You will also learn to focus on the present, which will help clear your mind and achieve a relaxed state. Besides, tai chi may give you the following health benefits:
- Improved posture;
- Increased flexibility;
- Improved blood circulation.
#6 Practice breathing exercises
You may not even notice how you hold your breath when under stress.
Concentrating your attention on your breathing is among self-help techniques for stress management. This way, the feeling of breathing should become an anchor for you to return to during stressful moments. That’s why breathing exercises are among the proven stress management tips parents can apply.
To get the most out of these practices, practice deep breathing. Feel the air filling your chest. It is easier to overcome harsh feelings – anxiety, sadness, or anger when we breathe freely and deeply.
Besides, deep breathing may contribute to certain health benefits:
- Detoxifying the body;
- Lowering blood pressure;
- Improving immunity.
It’s good to take a few minutes each day to focus on your breath. To make it a regular activity, you may want to find a quiet place where you feel comfortable.
#7 Meditate
Meditation is one of the most popular self-help techniques for stress relief.
Meditation has been practiced for centuries. It is a form of mental training that helps control how we think and feel. Through meditation, we calm our minds. At the physical level, deep breathing increases the flow of oxygen, improves the brain’s activity, and helps relax and calm down. All these changes bring our body into a state of deep rest. Through this relaxation response, meditation helps us cope with stress and deal with problems in a more balanced way.
When it comes to meditation, here are stress management tips parents should follow:
- Find a place where no one will disturb you;
- Before you start meditating, identify your state of mind (in case of severe anxiety, it is better to lie down);
- Try to get rid of all the thoughts, especially if you are in a state of irritation and anger;
- Breathe deeply and calmly;
- Concentrate on your physical body, on your here and now state.
It is also important what kind of music accompanies the meditation. If you are just starting with meditation practices, using relaxing music (sounds of nature, birds, or mantras) is best.
#8 Visit a chiropractic doctor
Prolonged stress may cause the body to develop a defensive response, often expressed in the following:
- Fatigue;
- Headaches;
- Digestive issues;
- Aches, pains, and muscle tension.
- Tech neck
- Back Pain
- Jaw Pain
It is challenging to remain energetic, make informed decisions, and enjoy the moment in this state. If you cannot cope with anxiety and emotions on your own, consider seeking help from specialists.
Visiting a professional chiropractor for stress and anxiety management can be a way out. By balancing the nervous system, chiropractic care may help restore the body’s resistance to stress and anxiety. Let’s see precisely how a chiropractor can help you achieve this.
First, performing the spinal alignments helps release muscle tension, relax the whole body and improve blood circulation.
Second, chiropractic adjustments restore the proper alignment in the spine. As a result, it removes the excess pressure on the bones and muscles, prevents nerve pain and tension headaches. And overcoming pain is a key to overcoming emotional stress.
Third, restoring the proper alignment unblocks the central nervous system. This way, the message exchange between your nervous system and other parts of your body remains uninterrupted, helping reduce the mental stress placed on you.
Your next reasonable question might be, “how often should I visit a chiropractor for stress and anxiety management?” There is no definite answer here, as long as even one visit can bring tangible results. But, it is best to do this regularly. Your chiropractor will determine the optimal frequency of visits based on your individual needs. Remember that chiropractic alignment is a preventive treatment, so the sooner you schedule your first appointment, the more benefits you will reap from it.
Summary
In today’s fast-paced and busy world, parents of children of all ages inevitably face stress. Depending on the degree and duration of the stress you experience, its symptoms can significantly reduce your quality of life.
But it is not all that bad! Although you cannot altogether avoid stress, you can still find strategies to practice self-care and help you combat it effectively. This article has covered the stress management tips parents can use to ease their well-being.
The first step is to understand what exactly triggers stress. Once you do, you can move further to self-help techniques for stress relief. It is essential to know that you are not alone, and there are many like-minded people around you with whom you can share common concerns.
Try not to deny yourself what brings joy – reading, sports, or music not to lose vital energy. Don’t forget about relaxation techniques -yoga, tai chi, deep breathing, and meditation. Even half an hour a day can be enough to recharge.
Finally, if you find it challenging to deal with parental stress on your own, do not neglect the help of a professional. In response to stress, your body can react with muscle tension, headaches, and other types of pain. This is where visiting a chiropractor for stress and anxiety management can help.
Here is how restoring the proper alignment in your spine can help you resist the stress impact:
- Release muscle tension;
- Remove the excess pressure on the bones and muscles;
- Improve blood circulation.
That’s why you should consider visiting a chiropractor for stress and anxiety elimination.
