Benefits Of Self-care As A Mom

I can easily be frustrated as a mom, especially when the demands of childcare, homecare, and work or school get hectic. Yes, there are days I just want to pull the covers over my head and go drifting back to sleep in la-la land (thanks to my 5 am alarm clock kids, that rarely happens).

What can I do though to help to ensure that I keep going and still remain true to who I am as a mom and wife? It is called SELF-CARE.

That word kind of sounds selfish! Did I say a word that your mother, grandmother, or even great-grandmother would shake their heads at? Absolutely not!

I know that for me when I am off-balance, my family, work, and relationships get the brunt of it. Therefore I see it as a necessary step in and of itself to create a more peaceful you, that can translate to your family, friends, and co-workers as well.

Self-care is important for every mom in their everyday life. Self-care is not neglecting our responsibilities to our family in the chase of a dreamy vacation in Aruba, relaxing on a beach, and sipping on mimosa (give me a moment…). No, it’s not my reality right now, and maybe it’s not yours too.

What is self-care anyway?

Self-care is making sure that we are mentally, emotionally, and physically ready to take on the challenges of everyday life.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of self-care and why it’s necessary to make it a priority so that not only do you benefit but also your family benefits as well.

Are you a mom in need of self-care? How have you been balancing your self-care needs?

Please feel free to share your own experiences or ask your questions or concerns below. I will be happy to help you!

“Self-care is not neglecting your responsibilities, its taking care of your mental, emotional and physical well-being!”

mental wellbeing

According to the World Health Organization, mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

I know I get it, I am a mom too and sometimes it’s easier said than done right. But the truth of the matter is, what is the worst scenario? Getting frustrated to the point of taking the anger out on your family, or just knowing when it’s time to stop, inhale, exhale, and just breathe!

Our families benefit so much more when we are in a good state of well-being.

Whenever this balance is off, we are not the most supportive. Do you agree?

How can we take care of our mental well-being?

There are so many ways to take care of your mental well-being. This does not involve neglecting your responsibilities or feeling guilty when you have to take that moment to ensure that you are ok.

Last year and even continuing into this year have been challenging for some families with everyone being at home. I felt the increase in stress with our kids at home and maybe some of you have as well.

Therefore I do believe that it is necessary as moms to create an environment that ensures that we are aware of our situations and the need to create balance with our mental state of well-being.

Time To Take a Time-out

Have you ever stopped to look around your house and everything just bothers you?

That is a form of a red flag that says stop what your doing… inhale, exhale, and just breathe!

Taking that 5 or 10 minutes time away to breathe throughout the day can help you to calm down, release some frustrations and bring yourself back into focus before getting to an actual boiling point.

Time alone is important

Good self-care is also finding that time alone to sit and reflect. It is also a time to understand why you’re feeling the way that you do and then finding ways on how to overcome any areas of struggle.

Once again, be reminded that you’re not neglecting your responsibilities, you’re just creating a moment each day to reflect on your well-being and your perception of yourself as a mom.

This can be helpful in any situation. If you have not already done so, try to schedule the time and see how it works for you.

Here are ways that you can try to incorporate that time

For example, I schedule 5 am in the mornings for my mommy time. It’s where I read my Bible, journal, etc. It’s right before the kids get up. I am a morning person, so this works best for me, however, when 9:30 pm comes I am most times in bed. Yours can be late at night, in the morning, having coffee or tea (Mommy Inspired Mugs). The goal is to make the effort to have that time.

Here is something that you can do to reflect on your life goals and passion while in that time

I love to journal and maybe that is not your thing but writing helps me to organize my thoughts and to put my life in perspective. it also helps me to complain less about life and to value the time I spend more with my family and friends.

A Mommy Inspired Gratitude Journal is a great tool that you can use to organize your thoughts. It also helps you to change your focus from the more challenging or mundane things to the more pleasant ones.

Remember your schedule is based on your time. The key is to schedule the time needed to take care of your mental well-being.

For more ideas on how to take moments to breathe and ideas of what you can do for a time-out, read A Mom In Need Of A TIME-OUT. Let me know which ones are your favorites!

Emotional wellbeing

As moms, we are emotional as it comes. I am the most emotional person, especially with my kids. Yes, I have my “soft spot” and it’s completely ok in my world. The positive emotions are great, they help us to cope with everyday milestones. The negative emotions; not so much.

It’s ok however to understand what you’re feeling at the moment and then find ways of overcome those negative emotions.

Is it a perfection issue? Is it a feeling of overwhelm? Is it being exhausted? Is it not feeling good enough? Or is it just the mundane things of life?

Whatever the reason, the goal is to identify the underlying issue and then find strategies on how to overcome them.

If you are looking for ways to overcome read Overcoming the hurdles and struggles of motherhood.

How can we take care of our emotional well-being?

Encourage yourself! I can do this! I can do what it takes to be the best mom for my kids. A Mommy Inspired Gratitude Journal is a great way to change your focus on what you cannot do and to instead focus it on the positive side of life.

Motivate yourself! You can accomplish the things that you thought you could never do or struggled continuously with. Maybe it’s getting the time to do painting or reading a book or doing a class, exercise, etc. Find the strength and the courage to say you know what I can get up and I can keep going no matter what. I am more than capable of doing this.

Inspire yourself! It helps a lot when it comes to our emotional well-being. What inspires you to keep going? Is it your family, career, religion, etc?

For me, it’s my faith in God and my family. Whatever it is that helps to motivate you, keep that at the center and use it to keep going.

Whenever self-doubt, failures, and disappointments rear their “ugly head”, pull out that weapon and use it to fight those inner thoughts.

If you would like inspirational quotes to get you going through your day, read 10 uplifting Mommy-Inspired Quotes!

physical wellbeing

I am not the best when it comes to my physical well-being. I admit, I rather a book I have been dying to read, a television binge break, or even a shopping spree. I may not choose any physical activity as my go-to break time plan but honestly, we do need to take care of ourselves physically too.

How can we take care of our physical well-being?

Exercise

This is how I see physical well-being as a mom. My gym shoes never make it to the actual gym, however, I can use them to take walks with the kids around the neighborhood, or park, etc. I am trying to make an effort to pencil in just the right amount of time I can get to ensure I am taking care of my body.

Making exercise a priority can help to keep ourselves fit and ready for more engagement with our lives. It also benefits our families as well, when we are healthy and energetic as moms.

Exercise also helps to open up the mind and allows oxygen to flow throughout your body giving you a lot more energy for the day-to-day challenges of motherhood.

Diet

I admit I can get so busy that I don’t even remember if I had breakfast today. But I have to make a conscious effort to take care of my nutritional needs as much as I tend to worry and stress over my kid’s nutritional needs. Is that off balance? Helping me to make the right choices in my diet can also help them to make the right choices too.

Therefore, taking care of our physical well-being by providing our bodies with a well-needed daily supply of nutritious foods such as grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables is a must. Don’t forget to include water as well!

Sleep

Incorporating rest into our daily schedule is the body’s way of replenishing, especially when we are not active. I do believe that 7 to 8 hours is a good balance for moms. Sleep helps us to feel more energized and ready for the day ahead.

If you are like me and have early risers (5:30!), then schedule your time around them too and go to bed earlier, so that when they are awake, you are either already up or ready to take on the day as well with them.

The goal is to get enough rest so that you are more alert and productive throughout the day.

Overall I do hope that this blog post will enlighten you on the need for putting self-care as a priority to ensure that you are getting everything you need to be more effective and productive as a mom. You can read my other blog posts that will be helpful for you as well.

• A mom in need of a TIME-OUT
• 10 quick ways to maximize your time at home as a mom
• 10 time management tips while working from home with kids

Did you find the strategies listed in this article helpful? What were some of your favorite tips? How have they worked for you? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know what you think.

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