Being a mom is stressful. Whether you stay at home, work at home or go out to work, trying to juggle your children’s needs with your own responsibilities and commitments can sometimes seem impossible. If you do choose to return to work while your children are young, you face a steep learning curve where you have to work out how to fit everything in and develop a routine. That’s not to mention the guilt many parents feel when it comes to leaving their children behind.

This, not surprisingly, doesn’t leave that much time for yourself.  However, if your stress levels continue to rise you could find yourself facing burn-out, issues in your relationships, weight gain, hypertension, and long-term you could be at higher risk of strokes and heart disease. So, it’s essential to find ways to ease your stress, even when you are busy.

Essential Oils

Essential oils like doTERRA oils can be used to reduce your stress in a variety of different ways. You can diffuse doTERRA products to give your home a calming and relaxing aroma. You can apply oils directly to your body or mix a few drops into your bath or with your normal moisturizer. Or, you can add some oils to tea or baking recipes. Just remember to start with just a few drops at a time. To help you relax, lavender, rose, ylang-ylang and chamomile can be especially effective.

Reading

Reading is a brilliant way to unwind and lose yourself for a while. While spending an hour reading a good book in a nice hot bubble bath is the dream, even 10 minutes reading with a cup of coffee in the afternoon can be enough to give you a little break from life.

Exercise

Exercise is probably the most productive way to reduce your stress. Chanel the stress-energy into something positive. Many people find repetitive exercises such as running or swimming, where you don’t need to focus on anything other than the movements of your body, to be the most beneficial.

Time Off

Take a break, from work, kids, everything. Try to get a night out on your own whenever you can or even send the kids to stay with grandma, so you and your partner can get a real break.

Find the Cause of Your Stress

Is there something in your day that you find particularly stressful? Do you struggle with the morning routine or hate having to get dinner ready as soon as you get in from work? If so, change it. Get clothes out and prepare lunches the night before. Invest in a slow cooker and prepare weekly meal plans. Making a few small changes to your routine can ease your stress drastically.

Say No

Most moms are guilty of trying to do everything. Because we feel guilty if we don’t. We say yes to taking on more work because we don’t want our colleagues to think having children makes us poorer employees. We say yes to taking on more at home because we don’t want our families to think work is interfering. Learning to say no lets you take back some power.

Remember, your children are susceptible to your moods. Even if you think you are hiding your stress well, it could be affecting your children’s feelings and behaviors. A happy, stress-free mum, is a lot better than a stressed and grumpy mom, even if that means occasionally taking some time away from them and their needs.

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