Tips For Your Anxious Mommy Heart

Tips For Your Anxious Mommy Heart

Do You Feel Like an Anxious Mommy?

Motherhood does something to us. It’s like living with your heart outside of your body. Being responsible for a little child can make you feel anxious as a mother. If you’re feeling anxious, here are simple ideas to help your heart become more peaceful while raising your kids. (Read: How to Recognize if Your Child Has Anxiety.)

What Does Being Anxious Do to Our Parenting?

 

We’re anxious, and as parents, it can be hard to enjoy the little moments with our children. Instead of focusing on the here and now, we are constantly worried about what could happen or what will happen in the future. But you don’t have to like being anxious to steal your joy as a mom.

Steals Our Joy 

Having an anxious mommy heart steals our joy right out from under us. It can become difficult to see the little moments with our children and really enjoy them.

Anxiety can also make it difficult to stay present while raising our children because we are constantly thinking about what could happen or what might happen.

It Keeps us in a Rut

Being an anxious mom can also keep us in a rut. Have you ever felt like you were in a mommy rut? It can be hard to get out of once we are in.

Steals Our Time from our Family and Kids 

It also steals time from my family and our children. When we are not present with their children, that time is lost.

I have spent too much time being anxious as a mom. Worrying about what can happen, the future, and my children’s health.

Disclosure: I want to add that I am not a doctor. And I do know that anxiety is a genuine mental illness. If you have anxiety that you need help with, it is important to get the help that you need. 

Tips to Help with Our Anxious Mommy Hearts

Give it to God/in Prayer

The first thing you can do to help calm your anxious mommy heart is give it to God and pray. God did not give us a spirit of fear or anxiety. He tells us that he gives us a spirit of peacefulness.

Peace that surpasses all understanding can only come from God. If you’re struggling with an anxious mommy heart, then it is important to first go to God because he cares.

Spend Time Alone 

I find myself feeling anxious the most when I have no alone time and neglect self-care. Try setting time apart for just you, such as in the morning or evening. This way, you get a longer time and don’t feel pulled in many different directions. It’s important to take care of yourself before you can fill other people’s cups.

Put it all into Perspective

Sometimes, it’s easy to feel anxious when our thoughts run away. Also sometimes, the things we are anxious about need to be put into perspective.

Sometimes, when my thoughts run away and I start to feel anxious, I take those thoughts captive, give them to God, and try to put everything in perspective.

I start counting my blessings and telling God what I am thankful for. This helps tremendously to calm my heart when I’m feeling anxious.

Take it One Day at a Time

If you’re going through a rough patch, the most important thing you can do is take it one day at a time.

Don’t worry about what tomorrow may bring. Focus on today with your children and what you can do to create a peaceful place for yourself and your family.

Write it all Down 

Do you journal? Sometimes, it helps to write everything that we are feeling. First of all, it helps us put everything in perspective, as I was talking about earlier.

And then it’s a form of telling somebody, and when you say things out loud or put it in writing, I can help you feel calmer.

Talk it Out 

If you are not a big into journaling, or you can talk it out with somebody, you can. If you have a close friend who understands, a family member, or even a therapist, all these people can help you talk out what is bothering you so you can get a handle on your anxious mommy hearts.

Focus Only on What You Can Control

I find myself telling my children all the time that they can only control them. They can’t control other people. The same is true for you. You cannot control your children; you cannot control your husband or anybody else.

The only thing you can do is focus on yourself and control yourself. You are responsible for your actions, things, and responses to situations. One of my favorite quotes is that, in the end, only you can give your children a happy mom who loves life. Isn’t that the truth? Only we can control ourselves.

Lastly, don’t be Afraid to Seek Medical Help if You Need it 

The last thing is don’t be afraid or ashamed and do seek medical help when you need it. Sometimes, some things are beyond our control. I believe that doctors were created by God and given talent by God to help us.

So, if you feel like you need to speak to a doctor or therapist, by all means, get that help so you can be there for your family. (Read: Understanding Emotional Invalidation.)