There are so many emotions that arise while saying farewell to 2015. Having my first year of motherhood under my belt feels incredible while having so many sweet milestones behind us tugs at my heart. One thing is for sure, it was a year that came with a huge learning curve and many (many) new kinds of joys and struggles. Juggling work, a baby, marriage, friends and family is a lot and I was no exception to the stress level a multi-tasking mom takes on. While getting my ducks in a row for the New Year, Aetna asked me about my stress levels. At first it seemed like a frivolous question but it turns out that stress has damaging effects on health and reducing stress can boost wellbeing.
Before answering the question a flurry of stressful moments throughout the year popped into my head. Most of them were times that I put immense amounts of expectations and pressure on my role as a mother and as a businesswoman. I’ve always been a believer in setting goals and visions, which I still believe are important to have, but having grace for myself and remembering that there are no “perfect” days is something I’m not always good at. There were times this past year where I felt like I was floundering in chaos and fighting to organize all the moving parts in my life and some days I crawled into bed feeling defeated and frustrated. Motherhood is all about rolling with the punches, but I’ve discovered that when the balance of work, baby and home gets thrown off (Elin catches a cold or a deadline at work gets moved up) and I’m forced to prioritize in that moment I can’t help but get a little worked up. And there are weeks where it seems like there’s always something disrupting the order. 
I’ve noticed the first thing that gets pushed to the back burner when things get hectic and busy is myself. I get so caught up in making sure everyone/everything else is taken care of—schedules, childcare, deadlines, grocery shopping, naps, laundry, keeping the house tidy (a battle in itself)—I ignore my basic needs like remembering to drink enough water throughout the day, eating healthy (not just what’s in front of me like sugar) or taking the time to enjoy a solid breakfast and often times wind up with a bad mood or a migraine, adding to the stress levels. The worst part about stressful days is that I end up feeling like I’ve missed out on something because I wasn’t enjoying the moment, which drives me mad. I feel incredibly fortunate for all the good in my life, so it seems crazy to let anything weigh me down. Stress is a vicious cycle that I’ve become conscious of and am putting at the top of my list to focus on in 2016.
How do you deal with stress in your life?
Photography by Arna Bee.
This post was sponsored by Aetna, who believes health is about the body and the mind. Stress can affect emotional and physical health, and reducing stress can boost wellbeing. As part of their #Mindful30 challenge, the views and opinions expressed in my posts on the topic of mindfulness are my own, not Aetna’s. To learn more about mindfulness, visit aetnamindfulness.com.
