Mom anxiety, with all her fears and restless thoughts, manifested into my motherhood journey very early on.
She started to grow her roots when I had a an emergency c-section after months of planning for a picture perfect water birth at home…
Soon after the tumultuous birth, to navigating breastfeeding, and general life with a newborn, motherhood soon reinforced that out of control feeling.
Adding on top of this uneasiness of the unknown was:
- Internalizing the perfection pressure placed on parents
- Experiencing the intense feeling of unconditional love for just one small human
I got comfortable carrying with me excessive thoughts like:
- Was something bad going to happen?
- Was she okay? ( Checking to see if she was breathing / etc.)
- Was ( insert behavior) normal?
These are just a few things I do to find inner peace for mom anxiety.
Daily Practice
- Start in child’s pose ( arms however feelings comfortable)
- Next take 1-2 minutes taking deep breaths ( long inhale, hold, long exhale out through the mouth)
- Turn on an anxiety affirmation video ( I love using this one by Yoga With Kassandra)
- Stay in child’s pose for as long as you like
TRUST
Whenever anxious thoughts about my daughter’s future pop up, I remind myself to trust her essence ( also known as temperament).
How can I differ between my anxiety and normal parent concern?
Asking myself:
- Is this coming from a place of true understand of who my child’s spirit is?
- Or is it coming from a place of fear / desire to control a situation?
Then Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Author & Physiologist, says all those questions many parents stress over like:
- Can my child do better?
- Should I push more / less?
- Do they need more classes/ less?
become clearer because we are in attunement our child’s spirit.
Nature
This one may seem obvious, yet it’s a true and powerful tool to calm our nervous system and bring us back to a state of awareness.
Just getting outside for a walk around the block eases my mind, helps me to see the bigger picture, and generates feelings of awe.
Recently, I started a goal to myself : do something active only for me ( preferably in nature), at least 3 times a week.
Some things I do throughout the week are:
- Running
- Weight lifting
- Ballet class
This is far from perfect. I work around my husband’s work schedule, and I never am gone for more than 1 hour ( just the season of life with a 8.5 month old)
But since making this commitment to myself, I’ve noticed my mom anxiety levels drastically reduced throughout the week.