I tightly gripped the steering wheel.
We were stuck in traffic and my girls’ cocurricular class with our homeschool association was starting in less than 10 minutes.
My mind reeled.
I began to hear voices of naysayers:
- “She had one place to be this week and she’s late.”
- “Typical homeschoolers… can’t get anywhere on time.”
- “Even though you homeschool, you should be teaching your children how to be prompt.”
Those voices aren’t of people I know. They are manifestations of my own insecurities… and I hate them.
We got to our meeting and it appeared like the majority of the families were stuck in that same traffic jam. We ended up having to wait for about five minutes before they called my girls’ classes to line up.
I left the building feeling drained.
This is THE most exhausting part of motherhood. Here are some strategies to overcome it. #parenting #momtips #momhelp Click To Tweet
It wasn’t until I had some quiet time at home that I identified the single most exhausting part of motherhood… mental overload.
In the couple of hours leading up to this incident, about a dozen things were going through my brain:
- Should I put in the laundry now or when I get back?
- I have to remember to stop at the grocery store after I pick the girls up from class.
- Make sure to RSVP to my church’s leadership training meeting.
- I should stop at the post office before the week is up.
- Are my girls’ Kung Fu uniforms clean?
- Did they do their chores?
- Are their knapsacks completely packed for the day?
On and on the mental dialogue went. By the time I was stuck in traffic, I felt like a ticking time bomb ready to go off.
Fortunately, I kept my cool despite my girls giving me painful reminders of what time it was (and how late we were going to be).
Can you identify with this?
Are you familiar with mental overload?
Is your brain running nonstop?
Do you give power to your insecurities by allowing them to whisper nonsense to you?
Here’s how to keep mental overload to a minimum.
GET ENOUGH SLEEP.
When we’re well rested, we’re often calmer and our minds are clearer.
HAVE A PLANNER / PLANNING SYSTEM
I don’t know where I would be without my daily & weekly planning sheets. They keep me organized and on task!
Every mom should have a planner and use it! I find whenever I neglect my planner, that’s when I get overwhelmed and scattered.
MAKE A HABIT OF JOURNALING
Journaling is a wonderful way to release thoughts and emotions. It is one of the most calming habits.
Try journaling regularly and see if it helps to calm your mental overwhelm.
MAKE TIME FOR SELF-CARE
So many moms sacrifice their self-care time because they may feel they don’t have time for it, or that their families need them too much.
But you need to take care of yourself in order to take better care of your family.
Here are some suggestions for how to make time for yourself even if it feels like you have no time! There are plenty of ideas for 5 minute, 15 minute, 30 minute, and 1 hour+ activities to recharge your mama batteries!
SPEND TIME IN PRAYER & MEDITATION
Prayer and meditation are fabulous ways to calm the mind. Through prayer, we release all our burdens to God and through meditation, our mind and body becomes still.
STOP THE NEGATIVE VOICES
The last approach to relieve mental overwhelm is to stop the negative voices. If you become aware that you’re speaking negative words to yourself tell those voices to STOP!
Immediately start speaking positive messages to yourself. Encourage yourself by saying things like:
- I’m doing a great job.
- My children are wonderful.
- I’m living a pretty awesome life.
- I’m a fantastic mom.
You can also encourage yourself by recalling all the positive things that happened in your day. Don’t allow negativity to get a foothold!
Mental overload is the most exhausting part of motherhood. However, by regularly practicing these strategies, you’ll see a huge improvement. I’m confident you’ll be happier, positive, and more energetic in no time!
SHARE WITH OTHERS
Seriously the is perfect timing as I truly had was having mental overload with getting the kids ready for school this morning after the long weekend here. Even though I had all set up, still something so silly as their hair brush going missing this morning delayed us, which in turn caused me to have a moment here. So appreciate you sharing what works for you and will definitely take your advice to heart now. Thanks and wishing you a great (and much less exhausting) week ahead xoxo <3
I’m delighted to hear this is timely for you Janine! Those schedule changes after long weekends can be really hard hey?! I hope these tips help you lessen some of the overwhelm.
I have to agree wholeheartedly Jennifer. It really is that mental energy that drains us. I’m always overthinking everything and it isn’t good at all. With your tips I’ll be able to do a lot better this year. I also need to take it easy and stop doing things at the last minute since I’m great at procrastinating.
I’m a big overthinker – so naturally, this was something I have been really working on! I hope these tips help you. AnnMarie. <3
AH, yes yes yes! I LIVE in the land of mental overload! It IS so exhausting. There are a few tips here I really need to work on doing better. Thank you for this, Jennifer! Shared on my page. :)
I’m delighted this resonated with you Chris and I really hope these tips help lessen the mental overload!
Thanks for sharing friend! I appreciate it.
It’s really true and it doesn’t affect my husband the way it does me. I suppose that’s by design , and not a good one. I am SO hard on myself too – when I don’t do everything perfectly. And of course I don’t! I’m trying to do too much!
Oooh, you raise a great point because my husband’s not this way either. He takes everything so lightly and in stride. Mars and Venus — hey.
I feel the same way. I feel when I tell my husband I just “need a break” he has no idea what I mean! I just want to NOT be responsible for keeping another human being alive for a few hours. I don’t even need to go out and do something “Fun”. Just some time alone to clean the bathroom by myself would be fantastic!
Yes! I agree – I feel great if I can tidy the house without kids underfoot. LOL
Thanks for sharing Julie!