There are times in a mom’s life when everything just seems to pile up.
Kids aren’t sleeping. The toddler gets up in the middle of the night, always wanting to get in bed with you. You have a huge project due for work. The house is falling apart, and none of your friends or family could understand.
I’ve been there too. I was super stressed, and in some ways, all alone, because I didn’t have anyone to talk with. I felt that burnout was the next step.
Stress and burnout are difficult problems to deal with because it’s like fighting an invisible enemy. But I found that the physical impact on my body was so real. When I get stressed, my left shoulder gets tight. My skin, no matter how much lotion I put on, just feels dry. So I feel cranky, and anything that touches me gets to my nerves.
That’s what happens to me when I am too stressed and on the verge of burnout. So I realized that while I can’t always change the situation that’s causing me to be so stressed, there are things that I can do to help reduce the stress.
Because if the stress manifests physically, then there are probably some physical things you can do to combat it.
So if you can’t leave your job or if your partner just isn’t pulling their load and you’re doing more than your fair share, you can’t change that situation immediately. But you can do physical things to reduce the stress you’re feeling.
I’m going to give you the four things that helped me so that I can function. Sometimes it isn’t about thriving, sometimes about surviving. And these four things make a huge difference in managing stress and dealing with burnout.
Doing a guided meditation is always possible.
Breathe.
Seriously, take a breath. Set your alarm for two or three minutes. Breathe in slowly for seven seconds and out for seven seconds. If you like, hold it for four seconds, and then let it out.
If you do that for two to three minutes, you are going to feel so much better.
Meditate.
For me, meditation is almost impossible if I try and do it alone. But doing guided meditation is what’s possible. Go ahead and find a guided meditation that you like. And again, just for two to three minutes, follow it. It will help you to let go of the stress that you’re feeling even momentarily, which is going to help you over time.
Take a walk.
Get up and walk around. Walk around your office building, walk out to the parking lot and back, walk around the block or down your street. Wherever you are, get up and walk. Walking will help you to reduce some of your stress. If you have an extra 5 or 10 minutes, use it to help combat that stress in a physical way when you can’t change your situation.
If the stress manifests in a physical way, then there’s probably some physical things you can do to combat it.
Stretch.
Every day, a few times a day, set an alarm and stretch. Stretching helps reduce that buildup of stress that occurs in your body when you have too much going on.
Getting that 3-10 minutes of calming down and letting that stress buildup out is better than nothing. So go ahead, set an alarm for 60 seconds and do your favorite yoga position.
That will help and make a difference.
Take Action
I just gave you four different ways that you can combat physical stress. Set an alarm for 60 seconds and do it right now. Breathe, walk, do a guided meditation or stretch.
Do one of these things and you are going to start to feel better. You have control over this and you can find 60 seconds once a day to make it happen.
P.S. If you need someone to help you figure out a plan so you can clear the noise and create a defined game plan to achieve work-life harmony, let’s work together through my VIP Career Day. Book a consultation call here.
