Showing all posts tagged mental health

In Mental Health

Suffering From Stress? Recognise The Signs

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
Suffering From Stress? Recognise The Signs

Modern life seems to be designed to stress us out. Work, family, finances, health, politics, the list is endless.  If you’re suffering from stress recognising the signs is essential.

Our stress response is a natural reaction to various situations.  In evolutionary terms, it has kept up alive by activating our ‘fight or flight’ response, readying our body for action by increasing our heart rate and raising our blood pressure. 

People deal with stress in different ways.  Sometimes we don’t even realise we’re struggling.  Too much stress, for too long, can wreak havoc on our mental and physical health, which is why it’s important to recognize the signs and act early.

You Can’t Get Through The Day Without Something

Some people don’t feel their day has started until they’ve had their hit of coffee, or like to wind down after a week at work with a drink or two. That’s fairly common, but if you’re finding yourself relying on recreational drugs, food or alcohol to get you through each day, then you need to address the situation before it really gets out of hand. 

Help is available if you’re looking to do an alcohol detox or curb your unhealthy eating habits.  Make an appointment with your GP and they will be able to refer you for specialist treatment. 

Suffering From Stress: Mood & Behavioural Changes

One of the first things you’ll likely notice is a change in your emotions.  Sometimes you might brush these off or put them down to having a bad day/week. If you find yourself making excuses for your emotions or moods quite often, then this is a sign of stress. It can manifest in a number of ways: 

  • Feeling overwhelmed all the time
  • Moody, angry and easily agitated
  • Tearfulness
  • Low self-esteem
  • Little interest in your usual hobbies
  • Avoiding contact with others
  • Lack of interest in sex
  • Constantly worrying about things
  • Forgetfulness
  • Being overly pessimistic (unless you’re a natural “glass half empty” person)

Physical Symptoms Of Stress

The mind and body are inextricably linked and because of this, stress can have a huge effect on your overall health.  

  • Insomnia
  • Weight gain 
  • Low energy
  • Frequent colds or bugs
  • Aching muscles
  • Digestive issues – constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion
  • Chest pain
  • Shaking 
  • Headaches
  • Depression
  • High blood pressure (leading to serious heart problems)
  • Obesity 
  • Skin conditions (acne, psoriasis, eczema)

How To Get Help When Suffering From Stress

Depending on why you’re stressed, there are a number of ways to reduce and deal with the amount of stress in your life.  In all circumstances, a good standard of self-care and quality time to yourself and maintaining a balanced diet and exercise plan,  can work wonders, and make you more resilient to everyday stressful events.  

However, if you’re suffering for a number of the symptoms above, feeling helpless and can’t see a way out of the situation, you need to visit your GP in the first instance, they will be able to help refer you to any necessary therapy or help groups while also helping treat any of the physical symptoms you are experiencing. 

You can also visit the NHS website for information on dealing with stress.

In Parenting

Parent Self-Care & Why It’s Important

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
Parent Self-Care & Why It’s Important

It goes without saying that parents are expected to their absolute best for their children and often put their needs first. When was the last time you took the time to do something just for you? Parent self-care is important and helps you with the rollercoaster that is parenting.

Let’s have a look at more details as to why self-care is important and some of the things you can do to look after yourself: 

Why is Self-Care Important? 

Taking care of yourself when you’re a  parent is of paramount importance because you have a huge responsibility with bringing up your children. The different stages that are involved with parenting bring different stresses and it’s all learning curve. This means looking after yourself is important. 

It’s no secret that being a parent can be hard at times. Children are on their own path and each child is different. That’s one of the beautiful things about children. A lot of parents say that parenting is completely different from how they imagined it would be. Each stage of parenting brings different challenges, learning and stresses, so looking after yourself is key.

Top Tips for Parent Self-Care

Here a few ideas on how you can provide yourself with some parent self-care: 

  • Nurture yourself – You should try and schedule some time for yourself into your family diary. Even if it’s half an hour a week to read a book, a child-free coffee with some old friends or going for a morning/evening run a few times a week, it will help you to feel replenished and full of energy that your children are going to benefit from. 

  • Make time for each other – Now that you have children it can be far too easy to forget about spending time together as ‘just you’. It’s more important than ever to take the time to still be a couple. Yes, you have duties as parents and these are going to be your top priority, however, spending time together even if it’s just one date night a month will help to keep your relationship strong and happy. 

  • Pamper – Most parents will know and be very familiar with the fact that after having children your self-care routine can change dramatically. Someone who once used to go to the hairdressers on a strict routine and got up each morning to do their makeup may now find that they are makeup-free, have their hair in a scrunchie and haven’t been to the hairdressers in longer than they care to admit. Not only is having a pamper a nice treat for yourself, but it can help you to feel more positive, revitalised and full of confident energy. 

  • Your health- This is again something that parents tend to push to one side once they have children. If their kids become poorly or something just isn’t right they will jump into action and get them the help and treatment that they need, however, when it comes to them it’s a very different story. Your health IS important as a parent though, at the end of the day your children need you to be in tip-top condition. Using things such as a Simple Online Doctor can help take the pressure away and save you time if you ever do need medical assistance. 
  • Nutrition- This is yet another area that parents excel at when it comes to their children and then slip when it comes to themselves. Parents are brilliant at ensuring their kids eat a well-balanced diet and have regular meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner with added healthy snacks and plenty of water but when it comes to them, they will more often than not skip meals, eat quick-grab foods and have fast food late at night. A great way to tackle this is to plan to sit down meals at certain times with the kids. The kids will love it and you’ll be getting the right food that you need to give you the energy to parent. 
  • Get outside – If you have young children getting out and about a few times a week can be beneficial for both them and you, it will help to stop you from going stir crazy at home. Plus you get some fresh air. Have a look at some groups you can attend together, things like baby sensory classes and jungle gyms are brilliant and you can often meet other parents and life long friends. 

  • Encourage chores – Even if it’s as simple as putting their shoes in the cupboard your children will start to understand that everyone in the house should be pitching in. This way you can work as a family team and leave more free time. 

This is just a short guide for why parent self-care is important, do you have any methods of self-care that you do as a parent that you could share in the comments below? 

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