Stress!!!!

For me, it is delegating chores ,some alone time and plenty of sleep. But most importantly I talked to my Doctor and he presribed an anti anxiety medication to help me deal better with stress or to help me see that some situations are not as stressful as they seem. Hope this helps and good luck.

I would say- yes, go lay down- say mommy needs a time out. We all do- we have to refuel and regroup- no to mention the need for more sleep period. You will be modeling to your children- good health and nurturance, by taking care of yourself.

Ahhh, remember nap time? that time you looked forward to albeit brief and elusive at least you knew everyday for a little while you would have a break.... just because your children have outgrown naps it doesn't mean they have outgrown quiet time. Send them off to do something constructive, alone, in their room, for a set amount of time. They need private "down" time as well. Your older child can read or work on something, younger maybe watch a movie or play quietly. My husband and I insist on it from time to time when it's obvious that we all need some downtime. Give it a try

K.! Wow...what a great topic for this time of year especially! I completely know how you feel right now. A little about me, I'm currently out on maternity leave (although not for long) with my 6 week old and I have a 1 year old to boot! I will be returning to work on Thursday (12/20 - today 12/18) when my daughter will only be 7 weeks. I'm currently trying to get everything done for Christmas before I go back plus, I'm in the middle of switching my son to another daycare because I currently don't like the one he's at. Just driving down route 28 yesterday with all the traffic and thinking about going back to work and the money whoas has gotten me all in a tizzy. So much that I had dizzy spells last night. Let's just say, I usually try to make lists of what I need to get done and what I'd like to get done when I get this stressed. It helps me sort out things as to really what's important now. Also, breathing helps. Just take a breath and step back from things for a little. This will help when making that list. Don't stress...life is definitely too short to be stressed about it. Really try to enjoy life and everything else will fall into place. I know it's easier said than done...but it has helped me. Hope this helped....

K., I have one son (my life as well), who has ADHD and a husband with MS. I work full-time and pretty much am the man of the house. One of my ways of handling stress is by talking it out with someone in the same situation. I bet you felt a lot better once you wrote about and asked how others handle stress.

Even though I don't have much time, because I spend every minute I can with my son, I try and find a little time for myself, even if I lock myself into my bedroom and tell everyone that I need a private moment. Just taking a deep breath and sometimes shedding a few tears, gets me right back on the right track. Also, counting my blessings is always a stress releaser. We tend to think too much about our troubles and not enough time on our blessings.

Keep the faith. I loved reading your bio.

K.,
I feel your pain! Now, I know that I'm not bi-polar or depressed but there were times (PMS) that I felt I could actually hurt someone (usually a stranger or my husband!!) really, really bad and enjoy it! LOL (please take this tongue in cheek, of course) I discussed with my OB and she recommended not only increasing my calcium, but also an herbal suppliment called "Feverfew". It took about a month of taking this herb daily but now I am a little more balanced during those really bad times of the month and I feel so much more balanced during the stressful days, at home or at work, and balance during the hectic nighttime as well! On the really stress filled days that I work, I have been known to take a valarian root pill. I have also found that the healthier I eat, (I'm not a big veggie fan, but when I choke them down) the better I feel.
Good luck
M.

Hi K.,

Without having any idea if your stress is related to emotions and the hectic lives all of us Mom's lead, or if it's truly something that is medical-related. However, here is one thing I do to take my stress level down a notch or two - and it always works. (Doesn't SOLVE my problem, but helps me calm down a bit.).......I force myself to say outloud all the great things I have in my life, from my INCREDIBLE children, wonderful husband, decent job, awesome family, a house, a car, food, on and on. In a nutshell, I think about all my blessings. I think that it could have been me that lost a loved one in that car accident on the news; or the person whose house burned down; or some other tragic situation that nobody deserves to go through.

That's all. Quite simply, I believe that when I start feeling psycho (lol), I need to remember the good stuff.

I hope I helped out you - or somebody else - even just a little. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Hi K.,

I am a stay at home mom with one son. I have no idea what it would be like to have a second but my husband and I are thinking about it. One of my biggest worries is wether or not I will be able to handle the stress.
I wanted to share what has worked for me so far, maybe it will be useful to you.
1) Whenever I am about to explode, my son goes to daycare. It's a luxury worth having. I work part time (teach one class a semester, one day a week) and it's money that keeps my sanity. This lets me take time to rest, exercise, whatever I need to get energy back and catch up with the little things that I can't seem to get done any other way.
2) I get one morning off when my husband takes our son and I can either go to my yoga class, sleep in, read or whatever I want.
3) talk to other moms. Get together for a walk, play date, any excuse is a good one. Play dates are great because the kids are less demanding when they have someone to play with.
4) Do yoga. It's my thing. It keeps me centered and so far my son is happy to sit by and crawl around me when I do it. Other moms run, swim, etc... I feel that my body needs the exercise to get stronger and my mind needs it so I can sleep better at night.
5) Do whatever you need to do to get some sleep. Maybe if you have a friend that also has kids and you can trade time, share a babysitter and while the kids play, get some sleep.

6) MOST IMPORTANT: learn to let the little things slide and do them later. This includes laundry, dishes - what I call revolving chores that by their nature are never done. Sometimes you just need to let it go, laugh about it and remember that your sanity and your kids' happiness are more important than a clean house or getting somewhere on time. I am still working on this one...

Good luck, and I hope this helps.
A.