Being a mom is one of the most challenging lifetime jobs there is. Moms are so busy taking care of everyone else that they sometimes, or more precisely very often, neglect themselves in every sense. However, neglecting your physical and mental health can have detrimental effects both on you and your loved ones. So, you need to find time and dedicate it to yourself. You’ve probably heard people saying that a happy mom equals a happy family. So, moms, brace yourselves as we’ve compiled a list of things for you to do to boost your mental health.
You can start with practicing thankfulness. We all have plenty of things to be thankful for. We just often overlook them and forget to appreciate them. Being thankful can really boost your mental health. As beauty and health come from the inside out, we should be mindful of our diet as well as physically active. Moreover, it’s essential that moms have some time for themselves. Also, opening up to somebody such as a family member or a close friend can help you relate and realize that other people also have similar issues or worries. And lastly, we can’t be at our full mental capacity if we don’t allow our bodies and mind to rehabilitate during sleep.
Practice thankfulness
To set a positive mindset, you should remind yourself from time to time about things you are thankful for. That can be your family, health, job or even some little things that mean a lot to you. However, it’s often way easier to focus on negative things rather than positive things around you. It’s not easy creating this kind of mindset. What helps is noting down three things you are grateful for each day. You can write them down in a journal perhaps. Writing them down creates a habit for you. By doing it regularly, eventually, you’ll be able to do it even without writing them down.
Pay attention to your diet
Our mental health can easily be jeopardized with the choice of food we take in on a daily basis. For instance, many people have reported feeling anxious, nervous or under stress when eating too much junk and sugary food. Similar feelings are evoked with too much caffeine. What we put in our bodies has a significant impact on our mental health. To boost your mental health, you should have a well-balanced diet. Such a diet is based on fresh, nutritious food including fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds, dairy products, fish and meat. What you should avoid is highly processed, sugary food and too many simple carbs.
By maintaining a healthy diet, you not only help yourself but your child as well. You teach your child good nutrition habits in that way, which is an essential thing for their overall health as well. When choosing a suitable early learning center, pay attention to their meal choice – it should be based on healthy food mostly for your child’s optimal development.
Get active
Getting physically active and engaged in some kind of sports activity can help you in terms of boosting your mental health. When we don’t feel our best psychologically, the easiest thing for us to do is stay in and watch TV. However, such behavior won’t aid your mental health. Instead, you should get a grip, get up and do something physically engaging. You can opt for jogging, taking a brisk walk, riding a bike, swimming or simply going to the local gym. You can even engage in some family time sports activities and play badminton or some other sport. It will help keep your spirits up.
Dedicate time for yourself
One thing that’s key and that many moms don’t have is time for themselves. As we already mentioned, moms have so many things on their minds that they very often, neglect themselves. There are simply too many things regarding their work, children as well as household and other obligations. If you realize that you are in this kind of situation, you should stop for a moment and make a different plan that involves some you-time. In this time for yourself, you can do whatever you enjoy doing. You can go to the hairdresser, practice yoga, take a long, soothing bath or simply do nothing. Don’t feel guilty whatever you do – you’ve earned it! This you-time can recharge your batteries in no time, making you happier and in a better mood.
Open up to a family member or a friend
It’s essential to have some kind of support, regardless of whether you have an issue or not. It helps us just to speak to someone we trust. It can be a spouse, family member or a close friend. By connecting with someone on such a level, we can learn a lot about ourselves. It also helps us calm our psyche down. And if you are struggling with some issues, it would be most beneficial for you to have someone who’s been through something similar to talk to. It should definitely be a person you can trust.
Get enough sleep
Quality sleep is the essence of good mental health. This is a basic human need and you shouldn’t allow yourself to be sleep deprived as it affects both your mental and physical health. You should have approximately around 8 hours of sound night sleep. Your bedroom should be quiet and dark, the bed and pillow comfortable and the bedding soft and clean. All of these things promote good sleep habits.
When being a mom, it’s important to take a break every once and a while and dedicate some quality time to yourself. It perhaps seems not so relevant, however, try practicing these things and you’ll see a boost in your mental health. After all, it’s true that moms are almost almighty, but they are still made of flesh and blood, just like everybody else.
Author Bio:
Jess Cooper is a part-time journalist and blogger based in Sydney, Australia. She is an energetic, creative highly motivated person with plenty of interests. The most prominent areas of interest include makeup and cosmetics, fashion, style, event organization and decoration, healthy food, fitness, learning languages as well as home improvement. Jess loves learning about new things and having the chance to combine those insights with her ideas and spread them to the world. She enjoys having a mindful and well-organized, healthy life, filled with all kinds of different activities and interwoven with close friendships.
