Tips For Reducing Stress and Burnout For Working Moms

You're listening to the empowering working moms podcast episode number 56. Hello there friends. Thank you so much for tuning in today. And if you're listening to this podcast and you listen every week, I thank you so much for being here. And if you're new to this podcast, welcome, welcome. I'm thrilled that you're listening.

And if you are listening, I'm guessing that you're like me, you're high achieving, you're type A, but I'm not exhausted. Maybe you are, though, maybe you're struggling with exhaustion and burnout. And you've done everything right, you've checked all the boxes of success, you've gone to a good school, maybe you've gotten your graduate degree, perhaps you're in a high power job, and yet you still find yourself unhappy, but you don't have to feel exhausted anymore. Imagine a life with no more burnout, but you have more confidence, more peace of mind, enjoying the life that you've worked so hard for, because you deserve to and that is possible for you because it has been for my clients and me.

With a little bit of work in 90 days or less you can be out of burnout and enjoying your life again, check out my free masterclass, four steps to overcoming burnout, getting rid of overwhelm, and finally getting your peace of mind back, I will put the link in the show notes.

Today I'm going to talk about something that I know that we all deal with. And that is stress, managing stress. Now stress is really something that we feel, right? And it can be based off circumstances, though the stressful circumstances, lets say don't really dictate how we feel. We get to decide. And when we find ourselves feeling more stressed out than other times, we can take action and take steps to mitigate the stress, to make the stress less powerful, and to really be present and enjoy our lives.

Now, before I get into my tips, I want to talk about how stress can actually be helpful, right? It can be a motivator, it can make you more productive, it can create more focus, it can help one perform under pressure. And for you doctors out there, I know you can relate to this, that a little bit of stress and pressure when you were taking the MCAT or taking any of your boards, it's necessary and helpful and good, right? Because without that you don't have that fight or flight mode going on. For example, I remember I would never really sleep well before big exams, because I would be you know tense. And my fight or flight mode will just take over and help me perform on the exam.

But too much stress and feeling stress can be bad, and it will release stress hormones in your body. And what this can do is disrupt sleep, it can make us feel tired, it can make us susceptible to illnesses, weakening our immune systems. And we get into that sympathetic fight or flight mode, where stress hormones like cortisol are released, our heart beats faster, this suppresses our immune system, it may slow down or speed up our digestion.

And the main problem here is that you may end up feeling depleted, and you're going to be depleted when you're interacting with others. Either at work or in your relationships or with your children. You may not have the patience that you want to have, you may find yourself yelling at your kids more than usual, you'll find yourself not having the energy that you want to devote to what matters. So you may want to be present with your kids, but you're too exhausted and stressed to really do anything. And that's not good, right?

So what can we do when stressful times arise? One thing we can do is to exercise and this is because it boosts endorphins and can boost our mood. And it's a really great way to get that angst out. It can be anything as simple as running up your stairs a few times, maybe for five minutes, taking a walk or a regular workout. If you work out regularly, try not to skip it when you're feeling stressed. I'll tell you something that recently actually, as we speak, I have injured my back very badly. And I definitely cannot exercise until it heals. And I noticed that my mood is not as happy as it usually is because I'm depriving myself of the exercise, but I know that it will pass. So anything you can do to get your body moving is always helpful when you're feeling stress.

Another tip is really focusing on your breath. And it's so interesting because we breathe all the time. We don't even know it. But if we can become conscious of our breath, if we can take long, deep breaths, counting to seven or eight as we inhale, and then seven or eight as we exhale for about 10 breaths. It really will help to center yourself and you will realize that you can get out of your head by focusing on your breath. That's why it's such a powerful tool to really practice mindfulness and notice your breath and it functions as an anchor to get yourself out of the swirling thoughts that can happen when you're feeling stressed or anxious.

Something else that's helpful when you're feeling stressed are in general, just for a boost is to get out in nature. Either go for a walk, get some fresh air, be near water, be it a pond or a lake, whatever, any of those. If you're in front of the ocean, if you can make it or you have access to any body of water that is natural, that is really helpful in just boosting your mood and will help de stress you.

Something else you can do is creating some semblance of time for yourself. And this can be really something small, like savoring your morning cup of coffee. That is what I do. My morning ritual is really important to me, and I just need 10 minutes to enjoy my coffee. And this helps me get my day started off on the right foot. So just any ritual you might be able to do for yourself that's small, that is helpful in destressing. If you've got a little bit more time, you can do all kinds of things like adult coloring books, or a project or sewing or puzzles or any of that. And if time is not easy for you to find, then I would suggest doing a five minute activity that really will help you decompress a little bit, even like the coffee or maybe a tea at night.

Also, you can try to do something longer for yourself, as in, call a friend, hang out with a friend. Or you can enjoy some time alone, be it taking yourself out for a meal, or maybe coming home, let's say a half hour late to just have some breathing time and space for yourself. Because when you restore yourself, you're able to really be more present, be more patient, once you get home, and you will find yourself yelling less or maybe getting into less arguments with your partner. And that's always good.

Something else you can do when you're feeling stressed, you can cry it out. And I have found when I'm really going through a bad or tough tough time, I have certain songs that will help me cry. So I will sit there and I could, let's say cry it out for 10 minutes, five minutes. And it's a really great cathartic release. And it gets out some of the negative emotions, the angst and it's helpful, you could call a friend and cry it out. So often we are conditioned to believe that it's bad to cry, or that we shouldn't cry or that crying makes us look weak that a lot of times people really run away from it. And I believe it's something that we can embrace, at the appropriate time when we can cry in private, or in our car or in your room or with a friend right, as I said, and really just get that release of emotion. And that really is helpful when you're feeling stressed.

Another thing you can do, instead of crying it out, you can dance it out, because dancing is always fun, good music, dancing. It's something you can do with your kids, I do it all the time in the kitchen. And it really does help de stress me and probably my kids too, and it's really a way to get a little bit of exercise as well and boost those endorphins. It's an awesome, fun thing to do. And I highly recommend it when you're stressed or even just in general.

The other thing to keep in mind when you're feeling stressed or things are not going well is the mantra "This too shall pass." And I really keep this in mind and remember this all the time when things seem stressful, or when I'm spinning out about something. Even with this back injury that I'm still nursing, I keep reminding myself that I will heal, it's going to pass, I will get back to my exercise, the pain is going to get better. And this isn't permanent.

And the idea that nothing is permanent, can be so comforting, right? So that's just something to keep in mind when you are suffering or struggling or things seem tough or you have a tough situation. Remember that it will not last forever, it will be transient. And if you have a hard time conceptualizing that, think of a rough time that you've had in the past and how that for example, that situation is probably resolved. And it did not last forever, the problem, right?

Another way to deal with stress is to really be mindful of how you spend your time, and what kind of projects you take on what you say yes to. So learning to say no to things that don't necessarily align with your priorities or that you don't want to do and not taking on more projects because if you're already stressed and struggling, that is not the time to be putting yourself out for other people let's say or giving more time and energy because you're already overextended.

So just be mindful when you are going through a stressful time, really think about how you're spending your time and energy. And as you figure out how you're spending your time and energy, as you're mindful, really think about what your thoughts are surrounding the stressful event. And are they really true? And is it just a story that you might be telling yourself? And what are the ways in which you can control your thoughts or your feelings or the situation? And really focus on that instead of thinking about everything that's not in your control.

And finally, when you're feeling stressed, and it's totally overwhelming, get some help. Outsource things that maybe you normally don't outsource, ask a friend for help or seek professional help, be it with a therapist, a doctor or a life coach. Sometimes we need some external eyes, ears, help with what we're doing just to streamline getting out of that bad place to streamline the process. Instead of trying to claw our way out of a hard time through self help books or yoga and those kinds of things and sometimes they don't work and we really need someone else to help us truly heal from where we are.

And if you want to get started and put work into healing your exhaustion and burnout from the inside out, please get in touch with me I would love to talk to you book a call Prianca Naik MD coaching that as stop me to get started on this powerful work, to be out of exhaustion and truly into a much much better life. In fact, your best life, but if you don't believe me, book a call with me and we will get you a roadmap to be out of burnout. Thank you so much for tuning in and I will talk to you next week.