4 Ways to Beat Mom Overwhelm

Let’s just start off with the fact that mom overwhelm is a thing.

I remember in the early days of being a first time mom I actually had a friend ask me why I was so unhappy as a mom. I simply stared back at her, mouth agape with glassy eyes and the nag of a tension headache starting at my temples. It took all my restraint to hold back tears of anger.

I already felt like an awful mother because my tiny little person would not stop crying and nothing I did helped, nothing! But now others could not only see I was overwhelmed, but they were judging me for it.

This moment is one of those moments that stick in my head and have made a home in my heart. I keep this moment forever alive so that I can offer other moms support. I want you to know it’s completely normal to have mom overwhelm. We’re not robots after all. Doing one of the toughest jobs on the planet is meaningful and rewarding, but can also be overwhelming to say the least.

You can easily avoid mom overwhelm by taking these 4 steps:

Take a Step Back

When you start feeling mom overwhelm take a moment to step back and assess the situation. Sometimes as moms we’re trying to do too much all at once. I’ve been guilty of this a time or two or millions.

You don’t have to do everything all at once.

I know sometimes it feels like if you don’t do it all every single day you’re never going to catch up or maybe you already feel behind. Either way it’s okay to take a step back and stop what you’re doing. It will still be there in an hour or a day or a week. And I know it might drive you crazy, you’re not alone in that, but your sanity in this moment is so much more important.

Care For Yourself

As moms we tend to put ourselves last a lot. With everything we have going on everyday it’s a miracle we get dressed at all. Yoga pants count as getting dressed! Too often we ignore what we need because we’re too focused on our kids, our spouse and our family life that we don’t care for ourselves.

When you’re feeling mom overwhelm make sure you been taking time to care for yourself and if you’re not then start today. The best thing you can do is take care of yourself everyday. I know it seems selfish and trust me I used to feel guilty and that’s how I ended up overweight, unhealthy and unhappy after my first daughter.

Eat healthy, workout, get dressed, do your hair and sleep whenever you can.

If the thought of adding more to your plate makes you cringe (believe me taking care of myself was the last thing on my mind when I was a new mom) take small steps. Start with one thing at a time. Just make sure you start taking care of yourself! If you need some ideas on how to

Take a Mom Moment

Think about how many times lately you’ve had the pleasure of going to the bathroom alone or not had someone take half your food while you’re eating it. Those moments are few and far between.

Sometimes all you need to avoid mom overwhelm is a moment alone. You can’t be “on” all the time. It’s exhausting and if you’re not taking a moment here or there to be alone you’re just constantly depleting yourself. And you can’t be your best if you’re run down, exhausted and depleted.

When I’m feeling mom overwhelm I’ll take a “mom timeout”. I simply take 5 minutes to myself, usually in my closet. I breathe and try to recenter myself. I focus on me for a few minutes and it works like a charm. Even if you can’t get alone take a moment to block out the noise and craziness and just breathe for a few minutes.

Do Something for You

You’re always doing something for someone else at pretty much every second of every day. I know it can seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day and let’s be completely honest there aren’t, but we have to make due with what we can.

Set aside a pocket of time each day to do something you truly enjoy and don’t feel guilty about taking the time for yourself. For example, start the laundry during nap time and sit down to read a book for 30 minutes or bake something delicious or watch the latest episode of your favorite TV show. Check out this awesome idea of positive journaling for mom stress relief!

Let yourself enjoy something that has nothing to do with cleaning, kids or housework. It will help to nourish your soul for a few minutes so you’re able to jump right back into being supermom.

Mom overwhelm can easily happen, and it does more often than I care to admit, but taking steps to prevent it or help it not be as bad will do wonders as you navigate through this crazy journey we call motherhood. It will help you be a better mom who is more readily able to enjoy the journey.

What tactics do you use to beat mom overwhelm? Comment below and let me know your best ideas!