The blessing of motherhood comes with a whole lot of responsibility, sometimes making it hard to slow down. I do not know about you mommy, but even during the national lockdown, I do not remember fully unplugging and resting. Now our lives are slowly going back to normal and we are working on our routines again. There is just a lot to be done. Moreover, I am an advocate for moms not allowing motherhood to box them; I encourage them to pursue their dreams and reignite their passions while they raise their kids. Let’s be honest though; it can get hard. So if you’ve been feeling extremely exhausted for days or weeks on end, you might be suffering from burnout. In this blog post, I will look at 5 signs of mommy burnout that you can look out for and ways that you can combat it.
What is Mommy Burnout?
According to Dr. Sheryl G. Ziegler, mommy burnout is a combination of emotional and physical exhaustion, frustration, chronic fatigue and not feeling like you’re competent as a mom. In my interpretation, it is feeling drained and like you are getting to the end of your rope. I honestly believe that we can combat mommy burnout if we know what it looks like. Here are the 5 signs of mommy burnout and what you can do about them if you are suffering from mommy burnout.
You struggle sleeping
Have you ever suffered from sleepless nights because you had a lot of lingering tasks that need to be completed? I have! Burnout can change your sleeping patterns which contribute a lot to exhaustion. The problem with lack of sleep or lack of good sleep is that you wake up tired.
It is not easy to sleep when your mind is cluttered. Doing a brain dump of things that need to be done in a journal helps clear your mind. I have found regular exercise effective when it comes to helping with sleep.
Always feeling exhausted
If you find that you need to drink coffee and or energy drinks more than usual just to give yourself that energy to go to the day more and then it’s a sign that you are exhausted.
Exhaustion is an indication that you have been neglecting your basic needs like eating healthily, keeping hydrated, and engaging in holistic self-care. I know it might sound like it’s very simplistic but you need to take care of yourself in this way or you will not be productive and you won’t be able to maintain the standard of excellence in everything that you do.
Being short-tempered
Burnout can affect your mood. So if you find that you are more irritable and snapping at everyone and being less kind and to sign can be a suffering for mommy burnout.
When this happens, it is important to pull back and not overcommit to a whole lot of things because it’s easy to say yes yes yes and yes, when at that time you just need time to relax and time to gather yourself so you can take time alone to rejuvenate and regain your strength.
Reduced productivity
It is easy to feel demotivated and less creative when you are burnt out. You can even find that it takes longer to complete certain tasks that you did at a snap of a finger.
Make it a habit to include activities that you enjoy in your daily routine to help you look forward to the day. Add things that you enjoy, things that rejuvenate you. Call it a reward if you have to mommy (I do).
Feeling helpless
In motherhood, you can feel like you’re not good enough like you’re not doing enough. The mind can make you think that you are failing in your role as a mom. This is when you have to give yourself grace and become kinder to yourself.
When you feel like negative thoughts are weighing you down, you can use positive affirmations, write down your thoughts and your feelings and why you feel that way in a journal. Do not discard asking for help. When we do not ask for help we are sending a message that we can handle it.
Motherhood can be challenging but I want to tell you that experiencing burnout is not a shame. These are the 5 signs of mommy burnout and how I believe that we can combat them. Do let me know in the comments what your tips on combating mommy burnout are.
