Working Parent Stress

Working parent

Working parents spend a lot of time juggling between their personal life and business life. While we all know how stressful this can be, what we may not consider is how that stress can have real health consequences.

  • How often are you constantly trying to catch up?
  • Do you worry that you will burn out?
  • Do you suffer from at least one stress-related health problem since becoming a working parent?
  • Do you have problems with anxiety and depression?

Once the health effects of stress are felt, everything gets that much harder to manage.

Work stress

Do you find that whether or not you have flexible working hours, can work from home, or work part-time, or have on-site child care, that it’s still not enough to keep stress at bay?

Even though we wish for more help with our kids or housework or better part-time options, it’s important to remember that most jobs are made for people who have no care-giving responsibilities. By taking on all those responsibilities, it can have a detrimental effect on our health.

Of course, it must be understood that not everyone is profoundly stressed. Some people balance things really well. It just seems that we all have too much to do and this can create all sorts of problems. When there’s lack of time we don’t often factor in time to care of ourselves.

Since you’ve become a working parent, have you experienced any of these health problems?

  • Unhealthy weight gain/loss
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Sleep disorders
  • Migraines
  • Mood swings
  • Lack of time/enthusiasm to excercise
  • Anger
  • Back and neck problems/pain
  • Getting sick more often

Guilt can be a contributing factor to parenting stress too. Does this sound familiar?

“I feel like I don’t measure up in every aspect of my life. If I get caught late at work, I miss precious ‘me’ time with my kids. When I work from home, I can’t give undivided attention”

You basically feel like you’re not doing a good job of anything. The house is always untidy, there’s a never ending pile of laundry. When the kids get ill………the guilt, tension and strain can be overwhelming.

So what would make it better? And how can you let go of the stress and find more fulfillment and joy in your life as a working parent?

Understand that your health is so important. If you are unable to function, then you’re not going to be in the best position to look after those you love, or be able to perform to your optimal level at work. Caring for yourself is the selfless thing to do. Be kind to yourself, reward yourself regularly.

  • Set aside half an hour a day to read by yourself
  • Having a coffee or lunch with a friend every week
  • Book a massage

Having something to look forward to helps to focus the attention away from stress.

If you are still struggling to deal with your stress, then you should contact your GP or an alternative therapy such as Solution Focused Hypnotherapy. Stress is an extremely common condition and you can be helped to deal with all the different levels of stress that can be encountered.

Understanding stress and how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help

Stress is a response to specific external circumstances. Having a moderate amount of stress can be good because it can be motivating. If you see or experience danger you are driven to deal with the situation.

Anxiety, however is persistent and sometimes we are unaware that we are anxious until we start experiencing health problems. It’s a feeling of worry, unease or nervousness about something with an uncertain outcome.

In the ‘primitive’ part of the brain, the Amygdala alerts us to possible danger and manages our flight, fight or freeze response. We’ve evolved with this system as it works on instincts and habits that keep us safe from predators and to find food and survive. We automatically respond to threat using these responses rather than making rational decisions using our pre-frontal cortex or ‘intelligent’ part of our brain.

The system works well when protecting us from predators but unfortunately in modern life the primitive brain can perceive threats everywhere as it misinterprets our negative thoughts. It cannot tell the difference between imagination and reality.

With every negative thought a person experiences, it goes into what we could term as our metaphorical ‘stress bucket’. As the level increases then you struggle to cope with the everyday triggers faced by being a working parent.

Calmness

This is where Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help. By emptying the stress bucket, we allow the brain a greater degree for flexibility in being able to think positively, be motivated, and remain calm and in control.

A key part of the therapy is the safe use of a trance state, which is a natural way to aid in the reduction of stress, so that after several sessions, a client can start to feel better placed to cope with life.

Some clients have also found that it helps to improve their thinking ability, productivity and confidence – both in and out of the workplace.

As a working parent you know you can’t keep living this way. Not having the time to do anything differently is not an option as this will only lead to continued suffering. You can’t remain in survival mode all the time. Help change your reality with practical solutions and make your working parent journey a more enjoyable one.

To book an initial consultation please contact me through my website or

Email: info@carolineevanshypnotherapy.co.uk

Tel: 07765 692 072