Parenting pause: mental health check-in

Parenting is oftenstressful and exhausting. Bringing up a child brings new level and intensity ofstress into your life. Often you will have to function on little sleep and thereare more things to do when you have children. A certain level of tiredness andthe occasional feeling of being overwhelmed by all the parenting task iscompletely normal. However, when the mental load of parenting becomes all-consuming,and you find it impossible to relax and recharge you need to check up on yourmental wellbeing. Overwhelmed parents can quickly become burned out parentswith negative effects on the children and the family life. About a third ofparents experience some level of parental burnout and most parents believe thatbeing a parent today is much more stressful than it has been in the past.

A mental healthcheck-in can help you to find out whether you are getting closer to parentalburnout and need to take a break. Keep in mind that if your mental batteriesare running low then there is less that you can give to your family andchildren. So, take a moment and check into your current mental state. Here arethe signs and indicators that tell you that you need to take some action:

1.    Are you struggling to sleep at night(even if it is not your baby or child keeping you awake)?

2.    Do you find it difficult toconcentrate and perform normal everyday tasks?

3.    Are you easily irritable and snap atyour child or partner?

4.    Is your current mindset predominantlynegative?

5.    Are you often feeling anxious orexperiencing panic attacks?

6.    Are you feeling emotionally detachedfrom your child and partner?

7.    Do you rely on alcohol, cigarettes orother drugs to relax and calm your mind?

8.    Is your appetite low and do you findit difficult to enjoy your food or are you overeating?

If you stronglyagree on a combination of these questions and in particular questions 5 to 13your mental health requires immediate attention. You need to focus on self-careand self-preservation to avoid parental burnout. Even if you experience severalof the above symptoms for an extended period of time you need to focus muchmore on your own wellbeing. Pareful offers a wide range of advice and actionsto improve and stabilise your mental health and wellbeing. With the rightactions and behaviour you can avoid parental burnout and become the best parentyou can be.

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