Stress is not good for anyone, especially not for a mom raising kids on her own. Dealing with stress as a Single Mother in a positive manner can change one’s whole life for better. Since stress is something you cannot avoid, you need to learn ways to deal with it.
There are many choices you can make when it comes to dealing with stress – Here’s a list of the ways you can deal with stress in a positive manner.
Nutrition
Eating healthy food is a great way to counter stress. A lot of people actually reach for junk food when they are stressed, so it only seems natural to do the opposite. Junk food can really hurt your body and make you quickly gain weight too. Instead of grabbing a piece of chocolate cake, why not grab some carrots and celery?
Exercise
Exercise is a natural part of life; the more you exercise the more fit you are. You do not have to be an exercise freak to ward off stress. Instead, just do some walking or light jogging which will help you relieve some of the stress. There are other perks to exercising too, like being able to keep up with your kids when they run around.
Write it Out
Getting a journal could be one of the best decisions you have ever made as a single mother. If you are scared someone will get into your journal, then you can always get a lock for it. Writing your emotions is a great way to deal with your stress. Even if you are not good at writing, you can even type it out on the computer. There is something about writing that just helps you get your worst emotions and stress drained out. Also you may slowly develop the skill for writing which can come in quite handy for some of the jobs for single mothers.
Say No to Others
Single mothers, parents and adults in general have a hard time saying “no” to others. It’s hard to say “no” to someone because you feel as though they are depending on you. As hard as it must be sometimes, you have to say “no” so that you can work on keeping your stress levels down. Do not let others give you guilt trips either. Not being able to say “no” and allowing them to give you guilt trips will only push you to your boiling point. At a personal level, if you are closed to the idea of sending your kids to childcare, you must also refer to top reasons to put your children in childcare, which may help you change your perspective.
Take 15 Minutes
It’s vital that you try and take 15 minutes for yourself each day. It does not matter what you do in those 15 minutes, as long as you are doing it just for yourself. Remember that you are always giving of yourself and sometimes you do need to take a step back and introspect where you are. If you are not sure what to do in those 15 minutes, then just sit down and take deep breaths. Part of dealing with stress is surely finding ways to prevent it. Also some of the best success stories of single mothers do allude to such mothers squeezing out time to introspect and planning their next steps.