How Do You Cope?
Human beings are exposed to multiple stressors every day, and coping can be a challenge. When you're a mom, you can easily face ten times the stressors that others experience; not to mention the worry, fear, and guilt that comes with raising children.
As crucial as it is for moms to address the stress, finding time isn’t alway easy. This is where having a consistent, go-to, list of coping strategies can be very helpful.
In 2012, Franklin et. al released a study explaining how “coping strategies are essential to minimize the impact of stress and determine the degree of resilience or susceptibility.”
So the real question is, how do you cope with stress?
Active coping mechanisms can be very helpful, and are best understood as a conscious attempt to reduce the stressor with a full awareness of the cause. This allows you to take every aspect of the situation into consideration and progressively make changes.
Some active coping strategies can include:
Breath work--taking time away from the direct stressor.
Asking for help--remind yourself that you don’t have to be a superhero (even though you are a super mom!).
Shift your perspective--think about the situation from a different viewpoint.
Emotional regulation--check in on how you’re feeling and validate your experience.
Adjust expectations--often our bar is too high, which can lead to unnecessary stress.
These are just a few strategies you can use any time to help lower your stress. Try to create a list of coping mechanisms that resonate with you, and use them whenever you need them. Oftentimes stress can sneak up on you, so having a list of tools ready (no thinking involved) can be extremely helpful!
Why does stress sneak up on you?
Well, stress can be cumulative. When small stressors continue to arise and build on each other, it can eventually lead to a massive amount of overwhelm, or even burnout.
Want to learn more? Check out this blog post on burnout and how to be proactive about stress to improve your mental, emotional, and physical health!
References
Tamara B. Franklin, Bechara J. Saab, Isabelle M. Mansuy. Neural Mechanisms of Stress Resilience and Vulnerability. Neuron, Volume 75, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 747-761, ISSN 0896-6273, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2012.08.016. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627312007532)Stressors: Coping skills and strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2021, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/6392-stress-coping-with-lifes-stressors