Stress Less: Even in the Middle of a Pandemic
Being a parent is really hard- being a parent during a pandemic is even harder.
This is something we have never experienced before. (If you couldn’t tell from the thousands of commercials about these “unprecedented times”) Everything is different, even the most mundane life tasks now have a sprinkle of extra difficulty added to them. If life were a video game, we are definitely operating on hard mode.
With all of these changes, it is really hard to not be extra stressed. As a parent though, you aren’t just managing your stress, but your family’s stress as well. How do we manage this? While life will never be stress-free, there are a few things you can do to reduce and manage stress, for you and your family.
Be Easy On Yourself
It is not reasonable to expect the same amount of productivity from yourself or your children. Your brain and body are not used to this type of sustained heightened stress levels so it is okay to not be able to do all the things you have been able to in the past so be kind to yourself. Of course, there are definitely people who handle the stress better, there are people who would say that this time has really turned their life around. If that is not you, that is okay. You do not have to be productive to be worthy.
Learning to better cope with stress will help make you and your family more resilient.
“Stress can manifest in physical symptoms such as:
Feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration
Changes in appetite, energy, desires, and interests
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes
Worsening of chronic health problems
Worsening of mental health conditions
Increased use of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances”
Information copied from the CDCs website.
Being able to identify stress and the emotions you are experiencing because of it for you and your children is a great place to start, check out our post on emotional intelligence to learn more.
Reducing Stress Tips
Stop Doom Scrolling- It is really easy to get caught up in the constant 24/7 news cycle. While it is good to be informed, it can be stressful to constantly hear what’s going on- especially in the middle of a pandemic. Limit your time on social media and news sites. You can set a timer before getting on any of these platforms or use your phone settings to help let you know when it’s time to stop. You can also move your app to another spot on your phone to prevent those unconscious clicks on your Facebook or news app or even delete the app where you can’t quickly check without logging in.
Take care of yourself- Try to make sure to take some time for yourself, even if that means hiding in the closet to sneak some old Halloween candy. If you can manage to get some time, being able to do things you enjoy like taking a bath, knitting or yoga can make a world of a difference in your mood. If you are less stressed, that influences your whole family as well, especially if you are stuck together in the house.
Having closing time chores- Are you ever truly done with chores? Probably not. Any other job you do your closing tasks and clock out right? Do the same at home, have a list of tasks you need to do in order to function the next day. At whatever time you need, maybe after the kids are in bed, do your closing chores and clock out.
Do stress-reducing activities with your kids- You can definitely do these yourself, but getting the whole family involved can help them reduce some stress as well.
Excercise- This could include going for a walk or hike, ride your bikes together, or playing a game together.
Have a movie night- pop some popcorn and make a blanket fort and watch your alls favorite move! Even if you’ve already seen that movie a million times.
Yoga- Yoga is a great way to reduce stress and help with any soreness from being hunched over a computer all day. If your children are older you both can do yoga with Adriene or if you have younger kiddos cosmic kids yoga is a great resource.
Meditation and Breathing- this is a great thing for kiddos and adults to learn. Just simply counting to ten when breathing can really help calm you down. Calm and Headspace are great apps you can use and youtube has great resources as well such as new horizon meditation and sleep stories. Sleep stories are also a great way to get you and your kids to sleep.
Connect-Meet with your family and friends as much as possible, check out this article for some great online game resources. Other games everyone can play together are Among Us, Minecraft and pictionary.
While you probably won’t be able to be truly stress free, hopefully, you can be a little less stressed with some help with these activities. Remember to be kind to yourself!
Therapy is honestly one of the best things to deal with stress. It is easy to access now with online programs such as Betterhelp, Cerebral, and Talkspace. Remember that taking care of yourself is so incredibly important, the age-old scenario of putting your oxygen mask on first before your child is so very true.
