This post is about parental self-care for mental health.
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Taking the time to put your mental health first can be really tricky, especially when life gets busy. As a mother of a busy and adventurous toddler, I often find that my mental well-being suffers as I focus on caring for my child and completely ignoring my mental health needs.
When I ignore my mental health, everything around me suffers my business, relationships and parenting. That is why I have taken the time to learn easy and practical steps that I can take right now to ease the burden of caring for my own mental wellness.
In this blog post, you will learn the importance of prioritising mental health and the efficient steps I take daily to incorporate mindfulness and self-care into my daily routine.
Parental self-care for mental health
The Mental Load of Parenting
Managing your mental health when life is busy is strenuous.
As a mum of a busy and adventurous toddler, I find that my mental health sufferers so I can show up for my son. Sometimes I don’t take a moment to practice mindfulness (read more about mindfulness here). Practising mindfulness includes sitting still while dribing a cup of tea, praying or taking a moment to gather and process my thoughts.
Instead of doing those things, I find myself jumping out of bed and attending to my toddler, which is a requirement of me as his caregiver, but then not taking any time throughout the day to organise my thoughts or needs.
When I neglect my mental health, the mental load of being a parent accumulates. The brain then becomes full to the capacity of the endless to-do list of running a home and looking after my family. This doesn’t make me a great mum; it makes me an ok mum.
Strategies for Prioritising Mental Health
To be the best mum that I can be, I need to prioritise my mental health.
This means that when I have gotten my toddler off to daycare after a busy morning with him at home, I need to sit and be still before starting to operate my business or run my home.
As a business owner and mum, there are always tasks to do. Always things that I could be improving on with my mental health advocacy work and mental health blog. For more information about why I started my blog, read here.
If I rush to do all the work tasks in my office after a busy morning at home and not even stopping just to be still, it snowballs into burnout, anxiety or even stress.
Strategies for Prioritising Mental Health
- Take a moment to sit and be still. Sit quietly, allowing your mind to reset and refocus.
- Write down three things you are grateful for, fostering a positive mindset.
- Engage in deep breathing exercises to reduce stress and promote relaxation (Learn about deep breathing here).
- Ensure your work environment is clean and organised.
- Prioritise a quiet and tidy workspace to enhance productivity and mental clarity (to learn more about setting your work day up for success, visit here).
Prioritising Mental Health Amidst Busy Lives
Even if you don’t have a busy family, you are likely busy doing something else exhausting. This could be going to the gym, connecting with friends or preparing for important meetings.
If we continue to run from task to task without stopping and being present at the moment, we suffer. It means we won’t have longevity in our work or life as a parent or friend. We must first take care of our mind to clear it up from the pressures of life.
Remember, we don’t know what each day brings, so we need to be mindful to make moments throughout the day. This is particularly true before we begin our work to clear out toxic thinking, re-group, reset and refocus.
Your mind matters.
This post was about parental self-care for mental health.