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Today I’m sharing some easy stress busters to cope with overwhelm when you WAH (work at home.)
If you are anything like me, you keep scrolling through all the doom and gloom breaking news headlines unable to stop.
You know you need to put your phone down but just can’t, right?
With so much information coming in all the time, and less time to process it all, it’s easy to get stressed out.
Not to mention social isolation that lets you spend way to much time in your own head, right?
These 13+ Stress busters are a great way to cope, put your phone down and relive some stress!
Why Moms Need Stress Busters to Cope with Overwhelm
Raise your hand if you are a mom who doom scrolls after everyone else has gone to sleep at night.
Instead of sleeping, when the house is quite you pull out your phone and read all the horrible breaking news stories.
And to be fair, if you are anything like me, you do this because there’s a lot of information you feel like you need to know right now.
Moms today need to make decisions about things that we never imagined we’d be faced with.
We need to keep our children safe from things we have no control over.
We are helping our parents and grandparents navigate today’s digital world and trying to keep them safe too.
And we also need to care for our marriages, relationships and ourselves.
Its exhausting!
I bet all you want to do is wrap your family in bubble until the world feels safe again.
But the reality is we can’t do that.
Manage Stress Working at Home
As stressful as working from home might feel some days, one of the benefits is that it’s a whole lot easier to manage stress in your own home then in an office.
When you take a step back and think about it, working from home is like a winning lottery ticket.
Sure, you might have to share your space with your family.
And yes, Zoom calls with kids and dogs can be embarrassing.
But working from home means you can prioritize managing your stress without having to ask permission or having nosy colleagues keep tabs.
Working from home means you can take a 10-15 minute quiet break in the middle of the day without anyone knowing.
Not to mention when you work at home you can wear yoga pants or comfy sweat pants everyday!
When you start to feel overwhelmed and stressed out by everything give one of these stress busters a try!
Stress Busters to Cope with Overwhelm when you WAH
1. Go for a Walk
I know going for a walk or exercising to reduce stress isn’t earth shattering.
But it really works.
One of my favorite stress busters as a work at home mom is to open the front door, step outside put some good music in my ears and walk.
When I find myself feeling anxious or overwhelmed by the choices I need to make, I turn off the alerts on my phone and walk around outside for a few minutes.
If my young daughter needs supervision I just pace back and forth to the mailbox or walk around the house a couple times.
I give her sidewalk chalk, bubbles or take her with me on a longer walk.
The fresh air, movement and quiet moments are great for regaining control and managing stress.
2. Get Lost in a Good Book
Instead of doom scrolling try getting lost in a good book.
Every time you find yourself in a fog reading bad news online, switch to a light and fun book.
Pick a book that makes it easy for your brain to tune out all the crazy in the world.
I keep a beach read downloaded on my phone so I can dive into someone else’s world for a few minutes when I need to escape at night.
Need some book ideas? Check out this great list of beach reads and listens
If you’re working from home with kids and can’t quietly read for 10-15 minutes, stop scrolling, put down your phone and read to them.
3. Write Out Your Feelings
Get your feelings out of your head and on to paper.
Type a letter to yourself, make some notes about your feelings on a sticky note, journal in a pretty notebook, talk it out to the voice recorder on your phone.
Read what you wrote or don’t!
Let go of the national news issues weighing you down – you can’t control them.
Pick something you can control and take one step to make it better like the pile of laundry or dishes in the sink.
I really like this stress buster because it helps to refocus on what you can control.
It’s a great reminder not to get weighed down by other people’s situations.
4. Sing at the Top of Your Lungs
Open up Pandora, Spotify or ask Alexa to play top hits from the 80’s and sing along as loud as you can.
While you belt out the tune let all the stress go.
Don’t worry if the neighbors can hear you – they’ll survive for a song or two.
Add some dance moves and get the added benefit of exercise.
Got kids at home with you? Put on some Disney tunes and Let it Go!
5. Take a Bath
One of the best things about working from home is you can decide when to bath. But that also means it’s easy to skip a few too many times.
What’s stopping you from taking 10-15 minutes and soaking in a hot bath at lunch or before bed?
If you’ve got kids at home tell them mommy is going to time out. Then park them in front of the TV for a few extra minutes.
Light a candle and tune the world out.
A big perk of taking a bath is that you can’t take your phone with you.
Give yourself some well-deserved mom time in the tub.
Wash away the overwhelm.
6. Take a Drive
When the news of the world has you nerves maxed out bust stress by changing the scenery!
Pack a back of snacks and load your crazy crew into the car and go for a drive.
Allow the change of scenery help you change your mood.
Hands free driving means you are required to put your phone down. No scrolling though the doom and gloom of current events down while driving!
Listen to a family friendly road trip podcast to help keep your kids entertained.
7. Pick up the Floors
I have friends who clean to manage stress.
Honesty, I never understood it. Until recently.
I’m not recommending you clean your whole house.
Just pick up the floors and vacuum. You can’t doom scroll while vacuuming!
I’ve discovered that when the floors are clear of toys, books and clutter I’m a much calmer mom.
Something about the order of clean floors and one less chore on the list is calming.
Give it a try and bribe your kids with M&M’s to help you with this stress buster!
8. Make a Cup of Tea
A cup of warm tea has been used for centuries to calm the soul.
Why not give it a try yourself?
Not a fan of hot tea? I totally understand.
I make minty green tea.
If you add just a little sugar, close your eyes and imagine really hard you might be able to convince yourself its mint ice cream.
Just kidding but did you laugh? Laugher is a stress buster too.
If you don’t like hot tea give a microwave mug of hot coco a try.
Chocolate is supposed to be a mood booster so why not hot chocolate?
Don’t forget to make and extra mugs for your kid!
9. Connect with Old Friends
Finding time to chat on the phone is tough when you are already overwhelmed by everything.
The great news about the digital world is that it only takes a second to send a text or email.
Who’s been on your mind?
Send them a quick note that just says, “thinking about you.”
You already have your phone in your hand so use it for good.
Cheer up someone else’s day!
10. Count Your Blessings
Some days are just hard.
When the going gets tough its hard to remember all the good things.
Take a look around your home and at your family.
Find three things to be grateful for.
Now find three more.
Ask your children what they are grateful for. I be their answers will make you laugh!
11. Pet an Animal
Animals give out unconditional love.
All they ask is that you don’t stop petting them!
If you don’t have a pet of your own take a drive to a kitten adoption site.
Play with those sweet kittens for a few minutes and let their purrs mute out all the ugly in the world.
Not to mention, squirmy kittens re really hard to play with if you’ve got your phone in your hand.
12. Bake a Cake
Now’s the time to pull out that box of Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix you’ve got hidden away in the back of the pantry!
Dump and stir. And stir and stir some more.
Keep stirring until you feel some of the overwhelm leaving your body.
Frost and decorate the cake with your kids and let them eat a HUGE piece.
Or make cup cakes and share them with a neighbor.
This stress buster is a win-win for the whole family!
13. Order Take Out for Dinner
This stress buster is a little different.
I’m giving you permission to scroll on your phone for this one!
Google the top restaurants in your city for a cuisine you don’t eat often.
Spend a little time reading the reviews and order a couple of the dishes reviews consistently liked.
When your dinner arrives sample the food and really think about the flavors and textures.
Distract yourself from your stress triggers by focusing on what to order and analyzing the food itself.
You won’t have conquered any of the world’s problems but you will have had a fun dinner and no dishes to clean!
14. Talk to a Professional
If you are experiencing more than mom burnout you might need help to manage your anxiety and overwhelm.
Headline Stress Disorder is a real thing.
With anxiety provoking news headlines constantly scrolling past your eyes its understandable that you are having a really hard time managing stress.
The weight of the world’s problems are a really heavy burden to carry.
My friend Tammy, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, wrote a great article about managing anxiety no matter where you are. www.womenmanagingstress.com/5-ways-to-stop-feeling-anxious-no-matter-where-you-are
I encourage you to check it out if you are still looking for more stress busters.
Conclusion
Current events often feel surreal and it’s easy to let them weigh you down.
It’s no wonder you feel like giant stress ball mom!
But every day doesn’t have to feel so bad.
Try these stress busters to help you manage your overwhelm (and have more fun with your kids!)
- Go for a walk
- Get lost in a good book
- Write out your feelings
- Sing at the top of your lungs
- Take a bath
- Take a drive
- Pick up the floors
- Make a cup of tea
- Connect with old friends
- Count your blessings
- Pet an animal
- Bake a cake
- Order take out for dinner
- talk to a professional
If you need more working at home with kids stress relief ideas check out my article 9 Sure Fire Ways to Survive Working at Home with Kids or When Mama Needs a Behavior Chart Too.
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Hello and welcome, I love helping working from home moms master mom life, generate income for their families and stay connected with the outside world all from the comfort of home! Learn more about me 
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