1. Identify the cause. Be aware of the issues that are generating stress. Do not ignore the slightest hint and try to perceive how the body reacts emotionally and physically. Accordingly, determine how you can change the surroundings to avoid, curtail or eliminate stress completely from your life. Have a control over your conduct and try to moderate the physical and emotional reactions under stressful circumstances. Medications bring short term relief of course, but control over one’s self is the most important key.
2. Let it out. Bottling up anger and pushing aside problems only result in building up of intense emotions. Talk with a friend or a family member who understands. Relationships and communications are great stress reducers. Emotional support from a person who cares for you goes a long way and makes life much easier. Plenty of social activities will automatically solve a lot of problems busy mothers face at work or in their domestic life.
3. Think positively. Women have a tendency to brood over matters which they think they could have done better. This tendency to self-suffer makes them more open to stress. So, let it go. Instead, admit to the failures, shortcomings, agonies, sacrifices and imperfections and focus on the positive aspects of life. Make a plan and figure out how you can perform better the next time.
4. Make new friends. Making acquaintances apart from the colleagues at work is very important because the friends from work place tend to discuss topics related to work which is the main thing that ties them all together. Friendships that take place outside the work area broadens the mind, helps share personal interests and experiences and provide opportunities to indulge in activities together unrelated to work like jogging or swimming, going to a movie or a health spa or a picnic.
5. Take a day off. Usually the wife is the one looking after the kids, picking up after them, feeding and bathing them in addition to all other regular household chores. Let your husband do the chores for one day of the week every week while you relax on the sofa and turn on some music. Talk with your husband, explain and schedule a workday for him.
6. Take it slow, enjoy motherhood. Mothers, working or not, are always hard pressed for time. So, they are always on the run. Rushing down to the grocery store after putting the toddler hurriedly in the car seat, flying up and down the stairs with the laundry, cooking a fast meal for self, cleaning the kitchen in five minutes all become regular routine and when the mother finally finds time to catch up on her favorite TV show, the baby starts bawling in the crib. There will always be something to be done. Strike off two or three things that you know can wait from your to-do list. Start your day before everyone in your household does. Wake up one hour earlier and enjoy a nice, warm cup of coffee at peace in your kitchen. Take a stroll in your neighborhood and admire the smiling daisies, the lush greens and take in as much fresh morning air as you can. Drive slower than usual on your way back from work. Slow walking helps release the stress. So, go out with your baby in the stroller during the evening hours after you are back from work and watch the sun go down. Listen to music in the evening, dance to the tunes with your baby and fill yourself with a refreshing pleasure.
7. Laugh a lot. Correctly evaluate a situation and stop blaming yourself for another person’s mistakes. Attack stress with the laughter weapon. Laughter medicine releases disease fighting antibodies, stimulates heart and lungs, relieves muscle tension, increases longevity and improves oxygen supply in the blood. Hearty laughter needs no effort at all. Invest a little in jokes books or funny cartoon magazines, hang around with people with good sense of humor or simply play with your kids and pets in your backyard after a long work day and rejuvenate your soul.
8. Diet and exercise. There is so less time for busy mothers to take care of themselves that either they can’t think about exercising or they are too tired at the end of the day to do some sit ups. But, mothers, here is a good and affordable solution to your problem. Exercising three or four times a week builds up your physical reserves and helps you fight stress more efficiently. Moderate and slow exercises like cycling, walking, aerobics, swimming and jogging can be very effective to ward off stress. Exercises help you sleep better and start a whole new day with new vigor and an enhanced feeling of self esteem.
9. Indulge yourself with Yoga and meditation. The rewards of yoga are endless, both physically and mentally. Setting up and honestly following a fitness regime which is both enjoyable and exhilarating both calms the mind and strengthens the body, giving you the boost, much needed by busy mothers, to carry yourself further. Practiced for centuries, yoga massages the internal organs as well as energizes the soul. It stimulates the muscles in the various body parts in a non-strenuous manner and brings about flexibility in those areas which were never so much worked upon before thus stimulating active blood circulation which means efficient transport of nutrients attributing to delayed ageing, a boost in stamina, improved digestion, dodging disability, enhanced breathing, rejuvenation of skin and radiation of confidence. You will discover a new vigor in life. Most importantly, the goal of yoga is to attune body with mind and soul. It requires only 15-20 minutes each morning to practice yoga. Regular practice of yoga will relieve you of physical pain and stress giving you a positive outlook towards life and enlightenment of soul. It is the exercise of the body as well as the mind. Thousands have been aroused by yoga’s magical touch and have benefited from it. In essence, the centuries’ old healing touch of yoga will transform your life at the spiritual level.
10. Pamper yourself with Aromatherapy. The word aromatherapy actually means the use of essential oils (many of which have magnificent aromas) found in various plant parts like flowers, seeds, fruits, leaves, bark or wood in a curative manner. Aroma or essence is found everywhere and it influences our mood in a wide variety of ways. Aromas of some spices like cinnamon and cardamom in the kitchen water the mouth while lavender and chamomile scented candles around the tub soothe the nervous system. Rose petals in bathing water improve the skin texture, dried citrus fruits freshen the indoor air and sandalwood powder alleviates stress. Aroma of ginger in tea eases cold symptoms and meditating with the use of jasmine incense in a dimly lit room and a restful environment calms the mind and sets the mood.
It is extremely difficult for busy mothers to find time to pamper them with the elaborate techniques of aromatherapy. But one thing is for sure. It is a sure shot stress buster. So, if the busy mother can find time, there is no alternative to aromatherapy.
Some aromatherapy techniques:
a) Massage- is the key to longevity. When we massage ourselves or receive a massage with essential oils, the oils lubricate the skin and are absorbed by the body. They enter through the pores in the skin, seep through the tissues and reach the bloodstream, which helps them reach the various organs of the body. The exhilarating aroma of the oils refreshes and relaxes the mind, rejuvenates the skin and cools down the body.
Recipe for massage:
3 drops of olive oil
2 drops of neem oil
2 drops of sandalwood oil
3 drops of arachis oil
3 drops of lavender oil
Mix the oils and gently massage all over the body after bath when the body is most receptive.
b) Meditation- Fragrances enter the human body through the nasal pores and stimulate the olfactory nerves. These nerves then carry the impulses to the brain thus energizing it, which in turn does the job of arousing the whole body. This influences the hormone levels of the body that regulate desires, passions, urges, emotions and memories. The subtle effect of the oils thus can control the senses and the body responses accordingly.
Recipe for meditation:
5 parts Sandalwood oil
3 parts Frankincense
2 parts Myrrh
Put the ingredients in a diffuser and put it in your room where you intend to meditate.
c) Sleep promotion and stress relief- Nothing can be compared to the soaking of the whole body in a tub full of lukewarm water with a few drops of essential oils in it after a full day of work. Aromatic candles with lavender scent can also be added to the scenario. The vapors penetrate the skin and reach the brain, where they stimulate the nerves and send down a cool, revitalizing and relaxing sensation all throughout the body.
Recipe to promote sleep:
4 drops lavender oil
Add 4 drops lavender oil to 1 teaspoon milk. Pour into warm bath water and soak or put them in a diffuser at bedtime.
Recipe to relieve stress:
1. 3 parts ylang ylang
2 parts Lavender oil
1 part Sandalwood oil
2. 4 drops of sandalwood oil
5 drops of lavender oil
Pour then in warm bath water and soak or put them in a diffuser at bedtime.
Lastly, do whatever is good for you. Take positive steps to reduce stress like laughing aloud with friends and family, going for an outing, pampering yourself one afternoon with a facial while your kids stay with their father or a babysitter or just soak yourself in the tub with some aromatic oils and rose petals after putting the kids to sleep. Determine the stress causing elements and be creative in finding solutions befitting your hectic schedule to not let them hamper your life. Put yourself to test and try to make these solutions work for you.
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