Health and other associated issues - Tips, Information and Guides
How To Deal With Supermom Stress
by: Kathy Wilson One of the top stressors for women today is what many are calling the
“supermom syndromeâ€. Many of us are led by society today to believe that in
order to be successful Moms, we have to do it all, and give all. Nonsense. We
all want to do our best as Moms, as we should. But at some point, for our own
mental health, our best has got to be good enough. Here are some great ideas to
reduce the syndrome at your house. It’s ok not to be perfect. Let me say that again. It’s ok, not to be
perfect. I think many of us hold ourselves up to a level of perfection that
merely hurts our ability to be a good Mom. So what if the living room isn’t
clean on Monday nights?…you had bedtime stories to read. Who cares if you had
to choose a work presentation over your childs field trip…you’ll go next
time. Not allowing ourselves any slack simply causes more stress in our lives,
and prevents us from savoring every precious moment of being a Mom. Lighten up.
It’s ok not to be perfect! Don’t buy into societies hype that in order to be a good parent, you
must offer your child every experience under the stars. Over and over again,
psychologists talk about the dangers of over scheduling our kids, but it seems
few are listening. It is not healthy for your child to learn to be so busy that
he/she never learns to be with and like himself, to dream, use his imagination,
or just be bored! Limiting your family to one extracurricular activity per child
will help reduce family stress both in time and money. Do not let society guilt
you into doing more…after all, this is the same society rules that say its ok
for our children to starve themselves to look like movie stars, or to play
Nintendo for 12 hours straight. Is that what you want for your kids? Make time for yourself. Make a rule that you will take 10, 20, even 30
minutes a day and shut out the world. Close the bedroom door, take a bath, take
a walk…just have that time to yourself. You deserve it, and your family owes
you that much. Do not feel guilty asking for it either! Tell the kids Mom is not
to be disturbed unless someone is bleeding or something is on fire…then
enforce the rule! Oprah says it well…if your cup is empty, how will you fill
up the ones you love? That being said, it is important to recognize your family as an essential
part of your life. Stopping to smell the roses when it comes to your family will
help you to keep your life in perspective, and therefore, reduce your daily
stress. Make sure you take time for yourself, but also take time to spend with
your family outside of the daily chores and running around. Let your children
help you cook dinner, play cards together in the evening, take a walk around
your neighborhood with your kids. Make sure you read to those little ones every
night, and make sure you do those great voices with the characters! Laugh with
your family, choose your battles wisely, and savor every moment of their
precious childhood…before you know it, they will be tending their own
families! (And won’t you feel good knowing what an example you were,
cherishing your family as you do!) Finally, make sure you remember who you are as a person. Not as Mom, or
wife, or business associate, but as who you are. Cultivate old pastimes, and
expand your world by developing new ones! Learn to play piano, paint, or to
speak a different language. Read. Celebrate your spiritual life, and let
yourself grow in the world that has been gifted to you. It is time Moms stood up and made a stand…we don’t have to do it all
to be good Moms. We already are good Moms, because we do our best. And that’s
good enough.
About The Author
Kathy Wilson is a columnist, author, and editor of The Stress Less
Journal. For free stress reducing inspiration and to sign up for her free
online newsletter, visit her at
http://www.StressLessJournal.com. |
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