This post contains affiliate links. I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you when you buy with my link. I appreciate the support!
Mental stress is extreme sometimes, and trying to escape mental stress can feel impossible
Life happens
Things will come up that throw you through a loop
But we can learn to handle those moments differently
Mental stress doesn’t have to run your life
Some stress is good
It keeps us moving through life and getting things done
But too much mental stress can destroy our happiness, give us anxiety, harm relationships, and more
I would know because I have been there
I’m naturally a stress case
I stress about what happened in the past, what is happening now, and what might happen in the future
Learning to manage my mental stress has been vital for my survival
I’m not kidding!
I could not live in that state of constant stress, so my journey to escape mental stress began
What is mental stress?
Mental stress occurs when internal or external events are perceived as a threat to our health or happiness
That results in emotional and physical tension
There are a few different kinds of stresses, and not all of them are bad
Some stresses help you get things done instead of procrastinating
There are physical stresses that happen when our body is in danger
But mental stress can be extremely harmful
It can lead to anxiety and burnout
There are extreme mental stresses, like the possibility of being laid off
And there are small stresses that add up, like laundry and cooking
Anything that can make you feel frustrated (ahem… many parts of motherhood) can add to your mental stress
The longer we are exposed to mental stress, the closer we get to burnout
Which is a scary place to be!
What causes mental stress?
Mental stress happens every day
It is triggered by anything that threatens us or makes us feel like we have little control
It may seem like no big deal for a long time, but little stresses adds up when you aren’t taking measures to manage them
For me, often times I don’t even notice that my mental load is getting heavy until one thing pushes me over the edge
Most of the time, I realize that I have been neglecting my prevention measures and that is why I got overwhelmed
It is important to realize that some stresses are big enough to create damage on their own
Prevention is great, but sometimes the mental stress may be too much
Money is often one of those stresses
Learning to manage our stress not only prevents major issues like burnout but also helps us recover when those big stresses hit you
Everyone reacts to life differently, and different things are stress triggers
For some people, like my husband, not much adds to his mental stress
His frustration comes and goes pretty quickly
For me, I stress about everything
I have a hard time with the extreme mental load of being a mom
I stress about cleaning, bills, my business, my blog, our meals, and the list goes on
If I miss something, I stress even more
So stress management has been a must for me
The stress of some things might be tiny, but that stress doesn’t naturally leave with me
At least not as fast as I build stress
The more I build, the worse the mental stress gets
Until I start feeling the symptoms of burnout that remind me to unload the stress faster than it can build
What are the symptoms of mental stress?
Everyone handles mental stress differently, but there are some common symptoms
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Irritability
- Restless
- Unmotivated
- Overwhelmed
- Unfocused
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Contact worry
- Memory issues
- Trouble concentrating
- Upset stomach
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Headaches
- And more
Remember that those symptoms are common for a lot of conditions and this is not meant to diagnose you
Stress can wreak havoc on your mind and body… fast
But slow enough that you don’t always realize what is happening
Learning how to escape mental stress can be a long and hard process, but it really is worth the effort
Why it is important to manage stress
As moms, we tend to try to carry the world
We expect ourselves to do the impossible with our schedule
It doesn’t matter what kind of mom we are:
- Stay at home
- Working
- Single
- Many kids
- One kid
We all carry so much
Since we carry so much responsibility, the stress add up quickly towards burnout
Avoiding burnout is very important!
By pushing ourselves too hard, we get to the point where we can’t get much done
Extreme exhaustion from mental stress can:
- Destroy your energy
- Harm your wellbeing
- Make you depression
- Give you crippling anxiety
- Make the smallest tasks difficult
- And more
Managing your mental stress and avoiding burnout may take time now, but it also makes you a better mom
With more energy and a better mood, the household will run better
We are the foundations of our family
If mom feels good, the family feels better
How to escape mental stress as a mom
Escaping mental stress as a mom isn’t that much different than other people
We just tend to struggle with taking action
I always start with an evaluation
What is causing so much stress and is it required?
If your child is sick, there isn’t anything you can do about it.
All you can do is build a system that keeps you functioning while you find the illness together
Some things you can do:
- Create a friend support system
- Electronic free time
- Spend a half hour before the kids wake or after they go to bed taking some you time
- Use paper plates to lower dishes
Focus on adding things and systems that lower your mental load and workload
Your baby needs you at 100%, so taking time to release stress is vital
Most of the time, however, we have a mix of stresses that are important and ones that aren’t
If you are stressed because there is too much to do, start going through your to-do list and shorten it
Choose one thing a week to cut out
And add some time for you
It is better to spend 10 minutes of self-care every day now than it is to struggle with burnout.