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How to Balance Parenting Responsibilities and Mental Health
Learn to strike a balance between doing your best and feeling your best — plus we discuss how virtual therapy services can help
Easy parenting days are sometimes few and far between. No matter who you are, there are going to be days when you feel overwhelmed taking care of your kids, yourself, and your other responsibilities. While it is normal to feel overwhelmed, sometimes these feelings stick around much longer than we’d like. When these feelings start to interfere with your daily responsibilities, it is important that you remember to take care of yourself.
Today, we’re going to be exploring some strategies that will help you balance being a parent and your mental health. Whether you choose online therapy options as a solution or begin practicing a self care regimen, we hope that you can find a useful strategy to help you feel your best.
What are Some of the Unique Mental Health Challenges Parents Face?
Parenting while you’re not feeling your best is difficult, luckily there are several solutions like virtual therapy services
Being a parent is hard! But it doesn’t have to feel impossible.
Parents face daily challenges whether they are struggling with mental health or not. That’s why when these challenges arise when you’re feeling down, your daily tasks may seem impossible to complete. Parenting is essentially a juggling act of responsibilities including pick up/drop off at school or sports, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and in some cases remote learning education.
It can be difficult, almost impossible, to balance all of these responsibilities when you’re struggling with your mental health. Often, parents dealing with mental health issues will experience these symptoms:
- Low energy
- Lack of sleep or insomnia
- Difficulty concentrating
- Loneliness
- Irritability
- Negative thought patterns
- Overall low feeling
Experiencing these symptoms as a parent can be especially difficult when you need to devote time and love to your children and complete a whole host of tasks every day. Luckily, there are strategies to get you back to feeling your best, like virtual therapy services you can try.
What are Some Strategies to Help Parents Struggling with their Mental Health?
Find out how parents are using strategies like virtual therapy services and self-care practices to get their mental health back on track
Find a strategy that helps you feel your best.
Dealing with your mental health as a parent can feel confusing. But, there are a lot of ways to get help and start feeling better. Let’s take a look at a few of the ways that you can cut through the fog and start feeling your best.
Let Go of The Stigma
This is the most challenging, and most important step. Too many parents, and people in general, are afraid to talk about how they are feeling or seek help for mental health issues. The stigma surrounding mental health services is dangerous and prevents many parents from getting the help they need. Though it is impossible to eliminate the stigma and assumptions surrounding mental health services, it is important for parents to seek help when they need it without additional shameful feelings.
Try a Virtual Therapy Service
Parenting is a 24/7, 7 days a week job, which means that your time to take care of yourself is limited. For busy parents looking for talk therapy, a virtual therapy service is a great idea to help you get your thoughts and feelings off your chest. By talking to a therapist, you can step outside yourself for a moment and take a more objective look at your life.
When you choose virtual therapy, you can attend a session from the comfort of your home. That means you don’t have to schedule time to drive to an office and wait in a waiting room. Though it’s not for everyone, virtual therapy sessions have helped a lot of busy parents slow down and analyze their thoughts.
Make Connections with Other Parents
Sometimes being a parent who is struggling with mental illness is isolating. It is easy—but incorrect—to imagine that every other parent is taking care of their responsibilities effortlessly. To help normalize your feelings, it is a good idea to talk to other parents about your experiences. More often than not, you will find that a lot of other parents are experiencing the same challenges. While you don’t need to share in depth information about your mental health, it is beneficial to connect with other parents and discuss the trials and tribulations that come with raising a child.
Take Care of Yourself When You’re Feeling Down or Upset
When you have so many responsibilities, it is easy to neglect taking care of yourself. There is always going to be another task to complete, but it’s hard to do everything well without taking a moment to stop and breathe. Self care does not necessarily mean going to the spa—though that’s not a bad idea—it more often means taking a break for a moment to assess your feelings and relax. You can take a walk, spend a few extra minutes getting ready in the morning, or take some time to meditate. These are all options to introduce self-care into your routine to prevent exhaustion and burnout.
Now that we’ve gone over a few strategies for keeping your mental health in check as a parent, it is time to find what works for you. Some parents may benefit from virtual therapy services, while others may find self care strategies to reduce stress and encourage a positive mood. No two parents are exactly alike, so find something that works and run with it!
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