These days it’s easy to get caught up in the news that has been never ending since the transition of power. I’m ok reading a headline or a repost through my Instagram Stories but feel a sense of dread if I read too much news so I have to be mindful of what I consume and how much. If the onslaught of events has taken a toll, it’s time for some self-care to preserve your mental health.
As parents, it’s important that we recognize when we’re not feeling ok. I know that feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed hamper our abilities to be the best parent for our kids. We can only be the best for our families when we’re taking care of ourselves.
Self-Care to Preserve Your Mental Health
It’s important to show yourself some love and engage in self-care to preserve your mental health. Making a conscious effort to do small things that bring you joy are instrumental in reducing stress and anxiety.
Since there are times where we get ourselves into a unhealthy headspace, I thought I’d share 5 easy thing that have helped me in case you might feel the same way.
Carve Out Time for Yourself
As a parent, this can feel like a difficult thing to do but it’s one of the most necessary. In Why self-care is an important part of parenting, and how to make time for it (gifted article) author Lindsey Roberts called “parents the generals of their household.” As generals in charge of our troops at home (aka children) we’re always on and being at the ready for our kids 24/7 can cause burnout. Even moments we know we should treasure sometimes seem like chores. At the time I read this article, I was parenting a middle and high schooler. Roberts reminded me of the importance of saying no, starting a new hobby, or requesting alone time in the house.
What I did: I went for a run. 4 miles was just what I needed to zone out and focus on something different. Exercise also filled my body with much needed endorphins, natural feel-good chemicals that lift our mood and promote overall well-being. Recently I signed up for a wheel-throwing ceramics class. I haven’t thrown on a wheel since college and I’m really looking forward to spending 3 hours a week molding clay as it spins around!
Reframing your mindset can also help. Find joy in the small things like these students did. Read this gifted Washington Post article: A campus sign said, ‘Tell us something good.’ Students delivered.
What you can do:
- Think of a part of your day that brought you joy
- Go for a walk, run, or head to the gym
- Sign up for a class to learn something new or to refresh your skills
- Do something you love after the kids are in bed
- Indulge in a massage or mani/pedi
- Make your bathroom more spa-like. A simple addition like Hey Dewy’s Wellness Humidifier can make a world of difference.
- Go to bed a little earlier and wake up before everyone else in your house to savor the quiet
- Use your lunch break to get out of the office and do something for you
Connect with Friends in Real Life
Text messaging and our social networks are great for keeping in touch, but nothing beats catching up face to face.
What I did: Meeting a friend for a mid-week lunch date helped me realize that I wasn’t alone in how I’ve been feeling. Our brief after lunch shopping trip got me outside my head and laughing again. Over the weekend my husband and I met up with friends who are recent empty-nesters too. Over drinks, we heard about what they’ve been up to and their kids’ college experiences. I also have a group of mom friends that I meet for dinner once a month.
What you can do:
- Text that friend you’ve been meaning to get together with and make plans now
- If there are a group of friends you’d like to see, suggest a group outing or host a potluck to lighten the load on everyone
- Chances are your friends would love to get together for lunch, coffee, or even on the weekend while your kids are playing together
Use Laughter to Reduce Stress
When the weight of the world gets to be too much, laughter really can be the best medicine. Like exercise, laughter is known to trigger the release of endorphins, decrease stress, and increase immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies.
What I did: My husband and I have taken advantage of the steady stream of comedians who have come to the Washington, DC area recently and are always on the lookout for who might be here next. We’ve discovered that beyond the DC Improv comedy club, concert venues and even our local community college feature comedians. We’ve seen Mikey Day and Ego Nwodim from Saturday Night Live, Jimmy O. Yang, Leslie Jones, and more. Smaller venues also feature more affordable tickets.
What you can do:
- Search for comedies to stream during movie night at home
- Play a board game that will get the whole family laughing
- Search for a comedy club in your area and get tickets for a date night
- Rewatch a favorite series that always made you laugh
Intentionally Unplug
It may seem obvious, but intentionally unplugging is one of the best methods of self-care to preserve your mental health. Text alerts, app notifications, newsletters in our inboxes, social media feed, and more make staying informed less enjoyable with the constant barrage of headlines.
As someone who relies on social media for work, Facebook and Instagram have felt like too much. I absorb the emotional weight when seeing friends’ reactions to current events through Facebook posts and headlines reposted to Instagram Stories.
What I did: I put my phone down to get out of the rabbit hole of news that was void of positivity. In the last few weeks I’ve made a conscious effort to not open news apps on my phone, avoided social media, and unplugged over the weekend. There’s a reason why I haven’t posted to my Instagram account since last year. I’ve switched to accessing Facebook for work only on my laptop. Not opening it through the app on my phone has helped my sanity. When I do go on Instagram, I’m careful to avoid Stories since anything can come up. I prefer my For You page where the algorithm has figured out that I want to see content filled with dogs, baking, and ceramics.
What you can do:
- Be mindful about your time with screens and how social media may be affecting you
- Resolve to put down your phone, get off the computer, and turn off the TV at a certain time to take a break from the news
- Turn off notifications and unsubscribe to emails
- Use your phone’s features to set a daily social media limit for yourself to exercise self-care to preserve your mental health
- Accept that the Do Not Disturb iPhone feature is your friend
- Go analog- go back to writing things down, using a paper calendar, etc.
Seek Professional Help
There comes a point where you’re doing the best you can do every single day and self-care to preserve your mental health is not enough. It’s always ok to seek professional help from a medical professional, therapist, and 988. 988 counselors are available 24/7 via call, text, or chat for emotional support.
While I’m not a professional, I hold separate certifications in Mental Health First Aid for youth and adults and am always here for you. When you fill out my comment form, it goes straight to my inbox so I can reply directly to you.
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I love how you the self-care share ideas to help protect own mental health. It is helpful to know how you personally put them into action and to have the ideas for how we can implement them too. This is so important to staying balanced because the everyday stresses are so real in family and work life.
Great reminders! Sometimes the simplest things, like stepping outside for fresh air, make the biggest difference. As a landscaper in Homestead, FL, I spend my days in the sun, but even I forget to slow down and enjoy it. Lately, I’ve been making it a point to pause for a few minutes after work, just sitting in my backyard and listening to the wind in the palms. It’s a small thing, but it helps reset my mind. Thanks for sharing these tips!