What to do for a mom who is tired and exhausted: 5 ways to replenish energy

What is happening to me?

The truth is that we all get tired. Sometimes a person is exhausted by a series of troubles and problems that have to be constantly solved. But most often this feeling occurs for no apparent reason. Every day the apathy grows and at a certain moment comes the understanding that something needs to be done. But what? Without understanding the reasons for this condition, any action will resemble fighting with windmills. Therefore, first of all, you need to sit down and understand yourself a little.

What can cause overwhelming fatigue?

1. Lots of problems. Having to constantly solve problems is very exhausting. All a person does is look for a way to salvation. Without noticing it, he is in constant tension. His heart beats faster, the muscles of his back and neck literally stiffen, and adrenaline is intensely released into the blood. If this state lasts too long, the body becomes exhausted and becomes very tired from everything.
2. Lack of rest. Rest is not only a good night's sleep. In addition to restoring physical strength, a person needs emotional release or reboot. Some people find it helpful to relax in a comfortable, quiet environment, while others get rid of stress through extreme sports, noisy company, dancing, etc.
3. Misunderstanding of loved ones. Conflicts in the family, at work, with friends make you feel unnecessary. A person has to defend his opinion, defend himself, while he wants to bathe in love and care.
4. Lie. Long-term concealment of the truth forces one to wear a certain mask. But very soon someone else’s role begins to weigh heavily. You have to constantly control yourself so as not to accidentally blurt out too much.
5. Difficult financial situation. Lack of funds greatly reduces the quality of life. A person cannot realize most of his desires; he is forced to be content with little. Try not to get tired when you worry whether there will be a piece of bread for breakfast tomorrow.
6. Diseases. The state of the body greatly affects a person’s mood and sense of self. Even a simple ARVI can unsettle you for a while. Not to mention more serious diseases for which chronic fatigue is a clear symptom (pathologies of the heart, thyroid gland, etc.). By the way, depression is also a disease.

Causes of fatigue: test for women

The first step to breaking the vicious cycle of fatigue is to identify and understand what exactly is stealing your strength and contributing to the feeling of weakness. Let's try to identify the patterns and rhythms of your fatigue, as well as the features of your lifestyle that may be causing it. Read the following questions and choose the answers that best describe your condition.

1. At what time of day are you most tired? a) late in the morning; b) around noon; c) early evening; d) in the evening.

2. Which of the following statements best describes your sleep-wake patterns? a) I often wake up unrested and soon start thinking about when and where to take a nap. b) I have difficulty falling asleep, and/or I wake up with roosters crowing and cannot fall back to sleep. c) I tend to save time on sleep in order to get more done during the day and evening. d) I feel like I am getting enough sleep and start the day feeling well rested.

3. Which of the following statements best describes your eating habits? a) I usually eat as I please, and my eating pattern is constantly changing. b) I usually skip breakfast, but have lunch and dinner. c) I eat three full meals a day, with lunch or dinner being the largest meal. d) I often eat several times during the day.

4. How would you describe your food preferences? a) I am a fast food fan: I love everything fried, salty and sweet. b) I am a lover of carbohydrates: the basis of my diet is pasta and cereals. c) I prefer food like meat and potatoes - filling meals that fill me up well. d) I eat primarily a plant-based diet with moderate portions of lean protein.

5. How stressed are you in your daily life? a) I'm on the verge of overexertion; I can't help but feel tense and anxious. b) Most of the day I worry about the problems and responsibilities that I have to deal with. c) I am usually calm until something unpleasant happens, then I become more tense. d) I have periods when I am more or less stressed, but I believe that in general I do not lose my composure.

6. How well do you manage stress? a) I don’t manage at all. It is he who controls me; I often feel like I'm under stress. b) With varying success. Sometimes I manage to stay calm under pressure, but other times I drown in stress and feel completely overwhelmed. c) I try to remain optimistic and control what I can and let go of what I can’t control, but sometimes stress takes over. d) I set aside at least 10 minutes a day to relax through meditation, breathing exercises, or other relaxation techniques - regardless of whether I feel tense or not.

7. Which of the following best describes how you exercise? a) At best, I practice sporadically: often doing little more than lifting a fork to my mouth. b) I spend most of the day sitting at my desk, but I try to go for a walk every day. c) I’m a maniac: I squeeze all the juices out of myself with super-intense workouts in the gym. d) I do moderate-intensity exercise regularly and feel that it improves my tone.

8. How do you usually manage your free time? a) I try to do at least one more thing from my list of daily tasks that I never seem to be able to complete. b) I spend a significant part of my so-called downtime trying to get rid of fatigue. c) I often worry about work, finances, family members or other problems, and find it difficult to relax. d) I spend time with friends and family and immerse myself in favorite activities to get a boost of energy.

9. What drink do you usually prefer? a) I am a coffee lover and often drink coffee or strong tea throughout the day. b) I drink a lot of soda - it's sweet and refreshing, and it improves my mood. c) I often count down the hours until I can go out for drinks with friends, but in general I don’t care what to drink. d) During the day I try to drink water or juices diluted with water.

10. Which of the following best describes how you would like to live your life next? a) I just want to regain the feeling that I can get through the day without interruptions and stress. b) I want to stop worrying about whether I have enough energy and whether I will fall behind schedule. c) I want to have better control over my life, mood and energy levels. d) I want to feel like a waterfall - powerful, omnipotent, unstoppable.

What to do?

So, what to do if you are tired of problems and everything that happens? The problem needs to be approached comprehensively. It is equally important to get your physical and emotional state in order. You need to sleep well, eat right, and move more. At the same time, you should learn to distract yourself from joyless thoughts. You need to be able to be positive.

Author's story. “At one time it seemed to me that I was very tired of what was happening. I just wanted to lie there and do nothing. I don’t know how it would have ended if one day a puppy hadn’t come to the house. At first I just fed him, and then I took him in for good. As a result, my troubles increased. I had to walk Luchik (that’s what I named the puppy) every day, feed him, and clean him. It would seem that my troubles have increased. But with him I gained an interest in life. Ray met me from work and wagged his tail cheerfully, kissed my hands, swam with me and slept. We became very attached to each other. And later I met a guy who was also walking his pet, and after a couple of weeks we started dating.

And that's what I want to say. When you are very tired, you especially need love. You just need to let her into your heart. You don't have to have an animal. You can just help someone. Visit a lonely grandmother-neighbor. Feed homeless people or animals at the zoo. Donate some things to an orphanage. Love and kindness towards others is the best healer. If you learn to give it for free, your fatigue will go away as if by hand.”

Research on mom's fatigue and energy

Employee of Sochi State University L.A. Bazaleva created a technique for studying the emotional state of mothers. The survey involved 300 mothers aged 19 to 72 with children. The expert group included 10 people with at least 5 years of experience in counseling parent-child relationships.

An assessment scale and questionnaire was developed that includes 3 phases of emotional burnout in mothers and a number of symptoms that describe each phase.

1. Anxious tension - dissatisfaction with oneself, being trapped in a cage, anxiety. The woman thinks she is a bad mother.

2. Resistance - when a mother tries to protect herself from stress by selectively reacting to the child, almost not being emotionally involved in communication with him, looking for an excuse for herself. I want to escape to a desert island and just be there alone. A week. A month is even better.

3. Exhaustion - she is no longer able to participate or empathize; she withdraws from the child; communication with a child causes a bad mood, unpleasant sensations in the body and worsens chronic diseases.

All these are phases of the mother’s emotional burnout.

According to medical statistics, from 15 to 25% of women in the postpartum period are susceptible to this disease.

This can and should be dealt with. Better yet, don't let it happen. Therefore, rest to replenish the energy of a young mother is not a whim, but a vital necessity.

A repeat survey after 5 months showed that early diagnosis, correction and prevention can prevent maternal “burnout.” And also to maintain emotional balance not only for the mother, but also for the child.

Where to get strength?

When it seems like you have absolutely no energy, it’s time to start organizing your day. To feel physically good, it is useful to listen to the following tips:

1. Go to bed no later than 23:00. The fact is that the body rests best at night. The necessary hormones are produced that are responsible for youth, beauty, and good mood.
2. Sleep at least 8 hours. This is exactly how much time your body needs for you to feel rested and full of energy.
3. Start your day with a little exercise. Just 10 minutes of simple exercises will give you a boost of energy for the whole day. By the way, at the end you can take a contrast shower, this will invigorate you even more.
4. Have a delicious breakfast. People who skip their morning meal feel tired throughout the day. Therefore, to feel full of energy, you need to eat well in the morning.
5. Introduce into your diet foods rich in magnesium and B vitamins (nuts, beans, spinach, seafood, meat, liver). They are the ones responsible for emotional balance. Another option is to take vitamins.
6. Give up bad habits. Try to limit your consumption of coffee and alcoholic beverages. Quit smoking. Such addictions greatly undermine the human psyche.

Free sources of strength for a tired mother in 15 minutes

What to do if mom is tired and has no free time? After all, not everyone has the opportunity to just take and devote a whole hour of time to themselves. What useful and exciting things can a mother do during maternity leave?

There are simple ways to replenish mom's energy on the go.

Dance to the rhythm of the music

N. Yu. Oganesyan in her dissertation “Dance therapy in the rehabilitation of psychotic disorders” showed: patients’ self-esteem increases, anxiety decreases, and ease of communication appears. Dance to your health, move the way your body wants

. Don't look in the mirror, don't think about how it looks from the outside. Let the music merge with the body and the body itself will suggest movements for relaxation..

Skin care

Let it be just a few minutes, but devote it only to yourself. Using soft, leisurely movements, apply a scrub, mask or cream to your face. Feel it with your skin, with your fingertips.

Sing songs

It doesn't matter what musical ability you have. Let your voice ring out and sing your favorite songs.

Visualization

Any meditative practice improves the functioning of the right creative hemisphere. During relaxation, the pattern of brain wave activity changes. This promotes physical and mental relaxation.

Sit comfortably, close your eyes, relax your body and imagine any peaceful picture. It could be the splash of waves and the flickering of the sunset rays on the water. This could be a forest stream - hear its peaceful murmur and the whisper of leaves in the treetops.

Diary of your feelings and experiences

Write in it what worries you, worries you, makes you angry. Allow yourself to express your anger and even hatred on paper. Tear the leaf into shreds if you want.

Don’t deny your feelings, don’t try to push them into a distant corner of your soul and pretend they don’t exist. Give your emotions an eco-friendly outlet - pen to paper.

What to do for an exhausted mother

1. First, admit it. Acknowledging your feelings is the first step to healing.
2. Secondly, allow yourself to rest. Let it be a little bit, but every day. Ideally, plan “five-minute rest periods”, tying them to certain events of the day. For example, when a child falls asleep: first of all, take 5 minutes to relax.
3. Thirdly, live your feelings, enjoy them, immerse yourself in them. This is the most difficult thing, but perhaps the most important thing, without which any source of strength for a tired mother is powerless
   .

You will learn even more ways to restore strength by reading the article “Ways to fill yourself with energy.” Allow yourself to enjoy the sensations as they are, to experience them with your whole body.

LiveJournal

How to bring back the joy of life?

Positive emotions are very important. But how to get them? Don't wait for someone to come and pull you out of your sad thoughts. Get started on your own:

1. Invent a new hobby. Grow flowers, learn to sew, bake beautiful cakes, start embroidering with beads or ribbons.
2. Invite your friends over. A cheerful company will help you switch to a positive mood.
3. Go to an exhibition, a movie, a concert. Don't sit at home within four walls, it's very depressing.
4. Listen to fun music. Sometimes she's the only thing that lifts my spirits.
5. Watch funny shows and movies. Laughter prolongs life. It also helps relieve excess stress.
6. Make a change. Psychologists advise rearranging furniture every six months. If you are tired of everything, then it's time to do it.
7. Change your hairstyle or clothing style. They say that this is the best way for a woman to attract new experiences.

In conclusion, I would like to add that the thoughts “how tired I am” are just thoughts. They only become a problem if you get too hung up on them. So isn't it better to spend this time on something more pleasant and useful?

Irina, Rostov-on-Don

Advice without which any source of strength for a tired mother is useless

The Internet is replete with advice for women on how to find strength as a mother and how to relax. Banal advice “make a mask, go for a manicure” does not work, because what is much more important is not “what to do,” but “how to do it.” Maternity hell or 13 reasons for mom's emotional burnout

We're all in a hurry. We want to do everything quickly. Like Onegin in Pushkin: “And he is in a hurry to live and in a hurry to feel.” But you need to immerse yourself in the sensations, feel them. This is both simplicity and complexity.