This is a guest post from Emilie OโNeal.
The brain of a mom never stops.
In addition to the rumored โmom brainโ that haunts us postpartum, from the second that little stick turns pink we start planning, coordinating, scheduling, dreaming and worrying. Oh god, the WORRYING.
For some of us this mental chatter becomes a serious diagnosis that needs to be addressed by professionals. But even for those of us without those concerns, mom-thoughts can still quickly spiral into a heavy burden to carry.
It has always been a struggle for me to put down this weight, even before my little guy appeared and the stakes were this high. With the help of the most patient husband a woman could have, an accidental love affair with yoga and a TON of practice I have started to slowly let thoughts go, one by one, and I am beginning to clear and maintain an open space for myself in my own head.
Itโs not a perfect space, but itโs an important one that belongs to me and that I try to fill with healing energy and happy, calm vibes. This space allows me to be present and enjoy these early years with my little boy without sinking too much into the exhaustion of it all.
Hereโs how I clear that mental mom-clutter.
7 Ways to Clear Mental Mom-Clutter
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1. Meditate
Listen, I get it. I am SOOOO not the โitโs all cool, just live and let live, peace, manโ kind of person. Total skeptic here.
Before this year, meditation has always gone something like this for meโsit down, have to pee, get up to pee, find something that needs cleaning, clean it up, sit down again, make mental to-do list, accidentally fall asleep, jump up and try to figure out how long Iโve been sleeping, feel guilty for a five minute nap, get up and start dinner.
However, using some cheesy guided meditations I found on Youtube, I notice things feel different afterwards. For some reason, sometimes even hours later, the solutions become clear, the decisions get made.
You donโt have to buy into it at first. Just DO it. Start with guided visualizations and some headphones. If you donโt like one, skip to another. They are easy to find, so thereโs no excuse.
2. Take a moment to fully embrace a nagging thought.
Itโs go-go-go around here. Thereโs barely time to take a private poop, so you have to get creative to do this, but itโs critical.
The full thought can be an out loud monologue to yourself in the shower or it can be a phone call to someone you know will just listen. The key is to totally experience the thought without trying to push it away.
Think it. Go through the whole emotion of it. Let your body physically respond to it through crying, laughing, dancing, screaming. Take a minute to breathe. Then, file itโdo you need to address it later? Is there action you need to take? Or does it need let go forever?
Put it where it belongs, then move on. Letting a thought keep reappearing throughout the day without taking the time to handle it is what makes it heavy.
3. Go outside.
Thereโs nothing like a little outdoor time to get some PERSPECTIVE. Yes, perspective, that little feeling that helps us realize our โfirst world problemsโ are sometimes just not worth stressing over.
My favorite thing to do is to get up highโhike up to the top of a mountain, go to the center of a bridge, climb a treeโand then just look down. Pick a car, a person, a little house and imagine whatโs going on there. Get out of your own head and your own issues and think about what is happening with someone else in the world for a second.
It helps you remember itโs possible things could be much, much worse or it reminds you that sometimes things just ARE and we canโt change them, so we have to let them go.
4. Remember your priority.
What is the most important thing in your daily life? Very often we can simplify our competing thoughts down to one priority.
For instance, right now Iโm a stay at home mom. Unlike my career out of the home, being a homemaker involves so much more self-management to get things done and I easily get overwhelmed by the list of things I think I โshouldโ be doing.
When I start to feel overwhelmed I ask myself this question and inevitably I come back to my son and his happiness. He is the sole reason my husband and I have rearranged our lives in this wayโnot for me to get the wash done or go grocery shopping or clean, but to give him the one-on-one growth experience that we have hand-picked for him.
When things are competing for attention in my head this priority helps me re-focus. Canโt get a walk and the wash done at the same time? Which one benefits him the most? Walk it is.
It doesnโt matter if your priority is a child, either. Just know what your main priority is (your job, your marriage, your family, your dog, your health) and suddenly decisions are easier to make.
5. Find your โtriggerโ friend.
My husband is an amazing man. He is unbelievably supportive of the decisions that I make and he never tries to make them for me. I love this about him.
But you know what? Sometimes, I just want someone else to take the wheel! Inaction can be like quick sand, especially when there isnโt a clear path to take. The more you debate, the harder it is to just pull the trigger and move on to the next leg of the journey. Sometimes, what is needed more than the โrightโ answer, is just any answerโa decision, a first step forward.
Find a friend that is willing to be that decision-maker for you when you are frozen. You know (and your friend should know) that itโs possible the decision will be arbitrary, but in this moment it might just be healthier to hear โyes, do itโ than it is to linger any longer. Find that person who is brave enough to give you an answer when you truly need it. Once you get past the moment, you will find it easier to reclaim the wheel and steer straight again.
6. Protect yourself from information overload.
We are so lucky to live in a time when information is readily available, especially when it comes to parenting issues. Unfortunately, that blessing can also be a curse when you are predisposed to worrying. Every article morphs into signs of a serious illness; every blog opinion becomes an uncompromising rule rather than a helpful suggestion.
Thatโs why limits must be set. Start by determining what your own bias is about the information you are seeking. How do you already feel about X? Then, set limits: Read 2 articles on each side of the debate or take 30 minutes to research while the baby naps.
For issues that science canโt weigh in and experience is key, go ahead and post on a forum, but be specific. Only request exactly what kind of feedback you are looking for (i.e. โAnyone experience X? What was it like for you?โ or โRecommendations for X?โ). Then STOP. Meditate on it for a day or so. Chances are within 24 hours you will have a gut feeling, and you should follow it.
7. Start developing patience.
I find that Iโm most susceptible to mental anxiety when I feel pressured to get too many things accomplished in a short period of time. The funny thing is, when I step back and look at where the timeline came from, many times I realize that Iโve created it myself!
Sure, it would be nice to have the porch decorated for spring before our cookout, and yes, eventually we want to have a down payment for our new house, but who said that both of those things needed to happen now? Or ever?
Hereโs where all of these strategies come back full circle. We are living in just one moment in time. If we keep sacrificing this momentโs serenity in hopes that the next moment we will find even more, then we never actually experience that peace at all.
Things take time. We wake up one morning and years have passed, and the porch still got decorated and the money still got saved, or it didnโt and weโre okay with that. But time has this incredible ability to move really slowly until weโve completely missed it all.
A lot can happen in an hour, a day, a week, a year. Remembering that fact helps me to have patience in the moment. Think back to a day ago, a week ago, a year agoโlook at some pictures, talk to an older relative. Youโll seeโthe world still moves without us forcibly turning it.
Health experts are always telling us to take care of ourselves, and that includes making some mental space in our cluttered minds. With these tips, hopefully you can put down some of that thought-weight and get a little elbow room for the calm, happy and healing energy thatโs waiting to fill you up.
Do you struggle with mental mom-clutter? Which of these strategies do you find most helpful?
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About the author: Emilie O’Neal is a new mommy in Central Pennsylvania with a beefy little rugrat, Sully, who is currently her full time focus. When she’s not reveling in goddess-like child-bearing and domesticity, she’s teaching High School English, where her students most definitely do not find her quite as funny as she finds herself.
image via f9photos/Dollar Photo Club
7 responses to “7 Ways to Clear Mental Mom-Clutter”
I don’t meditate regularly, but I did do a 30-day meditation experiment and I noticed I was so much clearer. It took a while to really turn my brain off, but I think it needs the break every now and again. Especially for us moms of little kids, when we’re interrupted and switching gears every 10 seconds.
I totally agree with dealing with a nagging thought already. If it’s big enough to nag, then sometimes it’s better to just deal with it or even address it in your thoughts. Write down the solution or put it on your to-do list to clear it from your mind. Hence why my to-do list is a must ! ๐
#6 is my greatest burden and stress trigger!! I allow too much stimulation to enter my brain and therefore catapult me into an overwhelming anxiety attack. I have to still work on finding boundaries around what I need to do, and pace myself! It’s so hard. These are awesome tips, Emilie.
Those are all great tips. I feel like going outside really helps me and if I can squeeze in a short walk too, that is even better!
Great tips! Information overload can be very stressful. We really must watch out for that.
I love to get outside. Even a ten minute walk around the block totally rejuvenates me.
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