Parental burnout is a true condition. There are so many parents who experience parental burnout and do nothing about it. Ever wondered why? Because society tells us that raising and taking care of your children is an innate ability and you can’t get tired of that!
In my understanding, you can feel exhausted and tired of anything that you commit to. Parental burnout is something that in spite of being so common is the least of concerns in many households. The lack of awareness about parental burnout can be the reason behind it.
Parenting burnout mostly happens when you begin to put your child’s needs before your own always. ‘Always’ is a problem here, you need to have some time for yourself too.
Read on to find out more about parental burnout!
What Is Parental Burnout?
Parental burnout is when you feel exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically because of all the parenting stress you have been taking. Burnout happens when you feel so exhausted that you almost have no energy to entertain yourself or your child. You have nothing more to give.
Parenting is tough! We all know that.
Every parent and child is different and there are no shortcuts to parenting. Parental burnout happens when you are in constant, chronic stress while parenting your child. Raising a child needs a lot of energy and that can be exhausting.
Parental burnout is normal! It doesn’t make you a bad parent. It’s just an indication that you need rest!
All you need to do is give yourself some time and learn some stress and time management skills. Before you get to that, let’s look at some signs and symptoms of parental burnout.
Also Read: 5 Myths About Burnout You Need To Understand
Signs And Symptoms Of Parental Burnout
Signs of parental burnout can be identified easily. All you have to do is pay attention to your actions, behavior and thoughts. Each person has a different threshold, some people face physical symptoms of burnout and some face emotional symptoms.
Here are some of the most commonly occurring symptoms of parental burnout
You feel exhausted all the time
You doubt yourself, you think you’re not good enough
Feeling of helplessness is constant
You are always in physical pain (headaches, back aches, muscle pain, etc)
No motivation to do anything
Change in appetite
Maladaptive sleep patterns
Detached from others
Anger issues
Irritability and frustration
Substance abuse (some cases)
Feel emotionally numb
There can be other symptoms of parental burnout too depending on your temperament and personality.
Because of the current situation, parental burnout is becoming more and more prevalent. The pandemic has left most parents with parental burnout because the time kids would spend in school are now spending at home.
Parents now have to educate their children, entertain their children and do everything for them without stepping out of the house. That’s why it is very important for all parents to understand what parental burnout is and how you can cope with it.
Also Read: What is Burnout? How to Recognize the Signs and Recover from Work-Related Stress?
Ways To Cope With Parental Burnout
Parental burnout is common and is ruining many lives only because you don’t know how to cope with parental burnout. Before I tell you how you can cope with your burnout, I need to tell you something. Read this very carefully;
You are not a bad parent, you are just exhausted!
Fortunately you can make some changes in your life to turn the table around. Here are some way you can cope with parental burnout;
Talk to your partner about your burnout: letting your feelings and emotions out of your system helps you process them in a healthy way. Don’t be ashamed, speak up if you are struggling
Improve your sleep pattern: get enough sleep, you are on your feet all day and you need proper sleep to restore you energy.
Exercise regularly: when you exercise daily, your body feels fresh and it is flushed with dopamine and serotonin.
Take rest: you don’t always have to be doing something or the other. Take some rest, sit down and relax. It’s perfectly normal for a parent to rest a few times a day.
Create a support network: like you there are many parents who face parental burnout. Reach out to others and share different coping strategies and support each other.
Show some compassion: you need to be kind to yourself. You are doing your best as a parent and all you need is a pat on the back.
Self care: self care is very important. You need to allow yourself to indulge in some self-care so that your burnout symptoms reduce and you can relax.
Also Read: How To Make Time For Self-Care
That’s all for Parental Burnout!
I hope you found this blog helpful. Parental burnout is a rising concern and we all should pay attention to the signs and symptoms of parental burnout so that we can start working on dealing with parental burnout as soon as possible.
Do share this blog with your friends and family because Parental burnout can happen to anyone.
Thanks for reading!
Take care and indulge in Self Care!
The post Parental Burnout: How To Cope With Parental Burnout appeared first on Calm Sage – Your Guide to Mental and Emotional Well-being.