We live in a culture that promotes striving, grinding, and achieving.  We often measure our worth based on how hard we push ourselves to grow and accomplish in a day, season, or year.  When faced with a choice of whether to take on a new challenge, we feel pressured to dive in.  The consequence of choosing an alternative is guilt, shame, or feelings of being a failure.

While we know that there are important benefits to pushing ourselves to face challenges and accomplish goals, the problem arises when we feel there is no other option. We default into constantly striving for more.

How well is this really working for you? 

If we believe the cultural message that choosing not to strive is the equivalent of failing, then we trap ourselves in endless pursuit.  We never feel satisfied.  We must constantly seek the next goal to push our growth edge. 

It’s exhausting.

This style of living also has health consequences.  We put our bodies and minds into a state of constant stress as we adjust to each transition.  We may suffer from disrupted sleep, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, anxiety, irritability, mental overwhelm.

Perhaps the real challenge is to allow yourself to choose a path of ease. 

During a hiking trip I took with a friend a few years ago, we encountered a point along the trail where we had to make a choice.  We could follow the other hikers who were scrambling up a tight crevice and continuing to the highest point of the mountain or we could turn down the gentler trail and hike along the lowlands.  We stood there a while assessing the scene.  Some people came back down the trail with beaming faces, talking about the incredible views from the top.  Others were shaking and in tears with fear of the tight space, physical demands, and incredible heights.  Internally, we wrestled with our own inner drives to face the challenge and, quite literally, get to the top of the hill despite joint pain and fatigue.  The default decision was to push ourselves to climb that hill.  Then we turned toward each other with hesitation and almost simultaneously said, “Can we just not?”  We chose the path of ease.  We resisted the idea that we would have a lesser experience if we chose to skip the summit.

This experience taught me a helpful lesson about what growth really means to me.  Despite my cultural indoctrination that prizes achievement, I have recognized that the bravest choice is sometimes doing less, backing off.  We can find our feelings of satisfaction and worth by gently taking care of ourselves.  We can listen to messages from our bodies that signal it’s time for a break to protect our health.  We can look at our calendars and accept that saying no to another commitment would protect our time.  We can choose the option that may not build a resume but instead builds our sense of wellness.

We must learn to find our worth beyond our accomplishments if we’re ever to feel satisfied in our lives.  We can nurture a new culture that values compassionate self-care and balance.  You are worthy because you are, not because of what you do.

Consider the choices you’re facing right now.  How would striving serve you?  How would choosing a path of ease serve you?  Is there an opportunity right now to be brave enough to resist the drive to strive?

Written by Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. for Lakefront Psychology Blog. If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, wellness, perinatal mood, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling a consultation for an appointment with Dr. Smith, please email ssmith@lakefrontpsychology.com or use the contact form. 

The post Make the Brave Choice to Resist the Drive to Strive appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

A client recently shared that listening to podcasts always results in more anxiety for her because she feels there’s so much to learn and so much to do “right.” The burden to cultivate humans who survive their adolescence, care about themselves, others, their planet, nutrition, exercise, science, the arts, and the dog’s bathroom needs  at the same time I’m cooking dinner after soccer practice and before piano lessons is…heavy.  Parenting can become so stressful and exhausting it feels like a job with no benefits.

Moms often ask us for practical tips on how to feel less anxious and more happy in parenting. And we have many!  However, a review of these coping skills is not a directive to add all of them to your to-do list. Once, after a session of coping skill review, a client walked out promising facetiously: “I’m going to do all the things!” 

Herein lies the problem, of course. We can’t set the bar at doing all the things! Expecting ourselves to do all the things is a set up for failure.  We will quickly find ourselves overwhelmed and unable to sustain so many changes at once.  We then assume that WE are the failures rather than THE PLAN being a failure from the start. 

Let’s set our intentions at trying to do one or two new things each week.  Start with the steps that seem easiest to work into your busy schedule with the greatest potential reward.  We want to choose steps that feel both important and achievable.  The goal is to gradually build a package of strategies that replenishes your energy and helps you cope with uncomfortable feelings.  You can try different strategies each week as you piece together a plan that works for you.  

When you figure out your personalized collection of strategies that work, you’ll feel more emotionally stable and energized so you can actually enjoy your kids too. Parenting can be a job with perks for all of you!

Begin by selecting 2-3 strategies from the following menus. Each week examine what worked best and decide if you want to switch strategies or add a new one.

Strategies to Set Yourself Up For Success: 

• Be open to the idea that you can improve the moment and, in doing so, can improve your day and your general well-being. Once you’re open, ask yourself, “How can I feel better in the next 10 minutes?…the next hour?” 
• Police your social media exposure. Clients often admit that after they’ve scrolled through facebook or instagram they find themselves feeling “frantic,” “anxious,” or “less than” as they inevitably compare their personal lives to others’ highlight reels
  • Remove apps from your home screen
  • Turn off notifications
  • Snooze people who increase your distress
• Consider how your exposure to the news affects your fears, hope, irritability. For example, if you know you are anti-war and you collect clothes for relocated war victims, then maybe give yourself permission to stop reading or listening to the horrible details of war. If you can’t sleep tonight, that doesn’t help the war victims.  The same is true no matter what stressful news you’re consuming.  Take action in ways that feel meaningful then set limits on absorbing more content.
• Assert yourself and your needs at home and work.  Let the people who are closest to you know that you need to prioritize taking care of yourself and what they can do to support this. Where possible, speak your mind. Research shows that lack of assertiveness is correlated with low mood.
• Say no to obligations and people who drain you. Your energy, time and attention are limited resources that you must spend wisely. In order to have what you need for yourself and your family, you must set limits elsewhere.
• Go to therapy. Sometimes we need a professional to help us sort through our feelings and take steps toward healing. 
• Carefully consider your circle of control and actively shed worries that lie outside of it. Apply rock solid boundaries where possible. If someone’s issue is not in your square, let go and leave it to them. 
• Adopt a present-tense focus over dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Catch yourself shining your brain spotlight on thoughts like: “I wouldn’t feel this way if 5 years ago I had…” or “If she can’t do it now how will she ever move out of the house?” Rein in that light. Refocus. Stay present.

Strategies to Replenish Your Energy & Boost Your Mood

• Practice Daily Gratitude https://lakefrontpsychology.com/2019/09/20/boosting-joy-with-gratitude-practical-steps-to-build-a-meaningful-practice/
• If you have a partner, schedule time to connect or possibly have sex.
• Move your body.
• Sleep.
• Meditate.
• Get outside into nature.
• Watch a funny movie or show.
• Connect with a friend.
• Name your feeling and practice holding space for it. Just allow the feeling to be present and notice how it feels in your body, heart, and mind for a few breaths.
• Read a book (for adult audiences!).
• Revive a hobby or activity you’ve always loved.
• Celebrate your daily successes. Make a ta-da list rather than a to-do list. Note all of your successes each day, including when you choose NOT to do something that would be draining.
• Create a calm or inspiring space for yourself in your home.
• Speak to yourself like you would to someone you deeply loved and respected.

Strategies to Enjoy Time With Your Kids

• Teach your kids about something you love.  Share your passions and interests with them in ways they can participate. Show them how to cook your favorite meal, point out your local trees during a hike, listen to your favorite musical artist together or share your love of your favorite sports team.  The options are endless.
• Do things you genuinely enjoy doing with your kids rather than what you think parents should be doing or what others are doing. Stop worrying about enrichment or instagram worth moments. Watch shows you both enjoy, cheer on your football team, walk the dog, play cards, flip through magazines, sing. 
• Spend 10-15 minutes doing something your kid really loves to do. Let them teach you all about it knowing you have a time limit. Do not instruct or direct. Simply absorb. And then be proud of yourself for joining their world! 
• Record your kids doing activities they enjoy, then watch the videos together.
• Teach kids how to help you with household chores. They learn to appreciate the work of running a household and eventually reduce your daily burden.
• Share gratitudes with your kids.
• Laugh. What were you doing the last time you laughed together? Do more of that. 

We hope you find satisfaction in choosing your own adventure with these strategies. Focusing on “some of the things,” rather than “all of the things” is a gift you can give yourself and your family.

Co-written by Carrie King, Ph.D., Clinical Child Psychologist and Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. King’s work, you can visit her website https://drcarrieking.com/

The post Self-Care Strategies to Reduce Anxiety & Increase Enjoyment in Parenting appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

So many of us feel like we simply have no time and no energy left for ourselves.  Our days feel full of endless responsibilities and chores.  We grind through the to do list each day, often multitasking to maximize efficiency.  Then we crash in the evening from sheer exhaustion only to wake up and begin the process all over again the next day.  This endless cycle inevitably leads to burnout.  We feel irritable, depleted, hopeless, and trapped.  We’re dying for a vacation from our lives.

But this pattern doesn’t have to be our daily norm.  We can create a new way to move through our days.  We can repurpose our time in a way that helps us feel more relaxed, replenished, and happy.

You may be surprised to hear that research has shown the typical American has more leisure time than fifty years ago.  This may sound unbelievable because it doesn’t feel the least bit relaxing.  There are a few reasons why we don’t feel like we have much downtime time.  One reason is the constant interruption from our technology.  Our phone notifications drag us out of moments meant to be relaxing.  We get work emails or alerts about stressful news or photos of an acquaintance’s tropical vacation pulling our attention away from dinner with the family or a walk with a friend.  And these distractions tend to fill us with guilt about what we “should” be doing and jealousy about what we wish we were doing.  It’s hard to ever feel fully present in a moment of leisure.

A second reason we don’t feel we have much downtime time is because it often comes in small moments scattered throughout the day rather than in one big chunk of an hour or two.  Brigid Schulte coined the term “time confetti” to describe these brief snippets of downtime which we tend to fill with stressful multitasking.  Think about the 8 minutes you have between meetings, the 10 minutes in the car pickup line, the 12 minutes before dinner needs to get started, etc.  We tend to fill these small segments of downtime with what we think is a “productive activity.”  We answer emails, make a phone call to schedule an appointment, respond to an invitation, research an item we’re shopping for, follow up on a favor from a friend, and on and on.  And before you know it, the time is gone without leaving us the least bit relaxed.  We never take a break! 

The good news is there are clear steps we can take to reclaim our leisure time so that we feel more relaxed and rejuvenated during the day. 

• Track your time confetti.  Start noticing those moments of unscheduled time during the day when you could be more intentional about taking a meaningful break.  See if you find regular opportunities to shift your attention from taking care of business or taking care of others toward taking care of you.
• Reduce interruptions from your devices.  Turn off notifications from your phone and computer.  You want to be more intentional about when you check in with work, friends, emails, etc. Utilize the do not disturb or focus setting on your phone.  Put your devices in a designated place off your person when you want to be really present.
• Set realistic expectations for the day.  Identify the tasks you want to prioritize so that you feel you were productive without overextending yourself.  You don’t need to do it all in one day. Plan your days with space to rest built in.
• Block your time.  Give yourself set times for specific activities you can do once or twice per day, like checking emails or responding to texts.  You do not need to be constantly available and responsive.  Reserve a block of time for activities that bring you relaxation or pleasure.
• Be intentional about how you spend your time confetti.  The key to feeling more relaxed and fulfilled throughout the day is to have a plan for what will help you feel restored.  Have a list of options on hand so you’re not wasting time debating what to do.  Think about what you find calming to your nervous system or uplifting to your spirit.  Here are some ideas to get you started.

With regular practice, we can create a daily pace that includes restorative rest. We can redefine a “good day” as one that includes calm and joy rather than a day filled with busyness. This may require a shift in values if you’re used to judging your worth based on productivity. But you will begin to find that when you prioritize taking care of yourself throughout the day, you’ll feel so much better and have more to offer others.

Written by Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. for Lakefront Psychology Blog. If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, wellness, perinatal mood, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling a consultation for an appointment with Dr. Smith, please email ssmith@lakefrontpsychology.com or use the contact form. 

The post Reclaiming Your Time to Restore Your Energy & Relax appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

“I love my kids, but I just need a break.”  This is the refrain I hear from dedicated, loving parents over and over again this past year.  It’s often said with a hint of shame for feeling so frustrated and fed up with the constant demands of parenting.  We live in a society that says we should love our kids unconditionally, and if we’re frustrated or annoyed by them, then we’re bad parents.  Yet it’s amazing how much parents can simultaneously love their children wholeheartedly while also desperately needing a break from the role of parenting. 

Parents are experiencing high levels of stress these days with inadequate resources to cope with it, according to a review by the American Psychological Association. The previous blog post in this series highlights some of the many reasons parents are grappling with sustained stress over the past 18 months. 

Stages of burnout

Psychologists have identified three stages of burnout.  First there is the sense of overwhelming exhaustion.  Exhaustion comes in many forms.  Parents of younger children tend to describe the physical fatigue resulting from endless caretaking and lack of sleep.  Parents of older children describe the emotional fatigue of managing the conflicts and worries of the adolescent world. 

The next phase is characterized by a drive to disengage.  Parents want to distance themselves from their kids to preserve their energy, often fantasizing about escape.  They feel so overwhelmed and incapable of meeting the needs of the family that parents find themselves emotionally protecting themselves. 

This leads to the final stage which is a lack of fulfillment.  Parents no longer find joy in parenting.  They go through the motions of keeping the family going while feeling empty inside.  They often describe feeling distressed, shame, and guilt about not being the engaged, enthusiastic parents they wish to be. 

No matter which stage of parental burnout you may be experiencing right now, it’s possible to take steps to manage the stress and exhaustion of parenting.  Each effort we make to care for ourselves will benefit the family system.

Strategies to Manage Burnout

Acknowledge the Suffering.  Managing a painful situation always begins by honoring the experience.  We must first own the fact that we are in a burnout state and recognize the full range of consequences we’re experiencing.  We need to identify the feelings of frustration, overwhelm, exhaustion, hopelessness.  Naming the feeling helps us find compassion for ourselves.  Take time to sit with these feelings when they arise rather than judging or denying them.  This may result in tears or a sense of heaviness.  Know that this is not permanent.  Emotions pass more quickly when we allow them to flow through us rather than avoiding, minimizing, or denying them.  Be gentle with yourself.  The link below has more on sitting with difficult feelings.

Reach Out for Support.  Loneliness and shame only increase the suffering of burnout.  It’s important to talk with people about your experience and ask for help when possible.  Don’t wait until you’re already at your wit’s end.  Try to connect with a network of understanding, compassionate friends to lift one another up and navigate the challenges together. Ask for practical help to share the burdens of parenting.  This may mean coordinating carpools and childcare swapping in ways that still feel safe with COVID-19 risks.  Often parents can help one another out in ways that benefit each family. 

Many people struggle to feel safe enough to ask friends or family for help, particularly those who have felt abandoned or let down in the past.  It can feel vulnerable to ask for help.  This is when it may be wise to seek professional help from a licensed therapist who can personalize a plan for you to manage your stress and process your feelings.

Take Micro Breaks.  Parents must prioritize creating time for meaningful breaks from the labor of parenting.  While your fantasy of a month-long beach vacation may not be realistic, this does not mean you should continue plowing through your days with no respite.  Every job requires breaks because it improves our performance.  This often means doing less of the many responsibilities and chores of parenting in order to offer more to yourself.  Imagine creating a steady practice of arranging your daily life to include time reserved to replenish yourself.

What this looks like will be different for each of us.  Think about how you renew your energy.  This could look like taking a walk outside, reading a few chapters of a book, catching up with a friend, working up a sweat, mediating, baking, dancing to fun music.  The options are endless, and your choice may vary from day to day.  The point is that we cannot pour from an empty cup.  And parents must refill their emotional, mental, and physical cups on a regular basis.  Trust that children benefit from the modeling of parents who practice good self-care.

Repair Your Relationships.  Burnout often results in parents either lashing out at the people we love or neglecting our relationships from sheer exhaustion.  Be compassionate and forgiving with yourself when this happens.  It does not mean you’re a bad person or a bad parent or a bad spouse.  You’re simply responding from a place of depletion and helplessness.  Beating yourself up for these mistakes is not only harmful to your well-being but also prevents the opportunity for repair. 

Know that the work of repairing these relationships is meaningful.  It makes relationships stronger, closer.  Take responsibility for your actions that feel inconsistent with your values.  You may need to apologize for something you said or how you raised your voice.  Maybe you overinflated a small moment and threw a big fit.  Own it.  Then make amends.  Do the work of reconnecting and finding common ground again.  Focus on being fully present with your loved ones without distractions, even for just 10 minutes each day.  This effort will build a sense of connection and safety.

Let Go of Perfectionist Goals.  Much of parental stress comes from all the “shoulds” in our minds…all the messages from our culture and media about how parents should act and feel.  We hold ourselves up to unrealistic standards to be perfectly nurturing, present, encouraging, and positive.  In the end, our inner critic tells us we always come up short.  We feel like failures.  And this only compounds burnout. 

Reframing how we speak to ourselves in our minds can help us have more compassion for ourselves so we can more effectively utilize the resources we still have.  One way to do this involves swapping out the “should” in our minds.  Rather than saying “I should be playing with my kids more,” while feeling exhausted and wracked with guilt, try swapping out the language and saying, “It would be great to have more energy to play with my kids.”  This language allows us to acknowledge our current situation without shame so we can focus our attention on our good intentions. 

Allow yourself to let go of expectations that involve meeting others’ approval or keeping up appearances. You don’t need to parent the way anyone else does. You don’t need to do it all, all the time.  You can make choices that prioritize your wellness as a way of caring deeply for your family.  This often means cutting back and saying no.  This means giving yourself grace to be messy and authentic.  Eventually, it means loving our imperfect selves.  And this is a beautiful message for children to learn.

Find Meaning Through Gratitude.  In the daily grind of life, we can lose track of what we most love about being a parent.  We often ruminate on the tough moments, playing out in our minds how things went sideways over and over again.  We beat ourselves up and feel even more exhausted and disappointed.  But we can refocus our minds.  We can make a conscious effort to spend time thinking about the highlights in each day.  Notice the moments when your children are kind, funny, sweet, helpful.  Notice what you love about them.  Notice the moments when you are connecting with them, reminding them they are loved, safe, and understood.  Notice when you have fun.  Notice the moments when others are there to support you.  Notice when you make a choice to take care of yourself.

Finding one moment a day that fills your heart with gratitude will help reconnect you with the joy of parenting again.  The more we recognize and spend energy on what is going well in our families, the better we feel about ourselves and our lives. 

Written by Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. for Lakefront Psychology Blog. If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, wellness, perinatal mood, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling a consultation for an appointment with Dr. Smith, please email ssmith@lakefrontpsychology.com or use the contact form. 

The post Strategies to Manage Parental Burnout – Part 2 appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

You’re not imagining it.  Parental burnout is worse than ever these days.  It’s that feeling like you just can’t keep it all together, let alone get one step ahead of the chaos.  It’s that sense that you’re juggling a set of plates while walking a tightrope as someone keeps lobbing water balloons at you.  And it may explain why you utterly exhausted and you find yourself snapping at the slightest annoyance.

Parents were teetering on the edge of burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic radically altered our worlds.  Prior to the pandemic stressors, parents already were often pushing themselves to anticipate and meet every need of their children and families. There was a cultural pressure to give kids every opportunity available, to cook healthy meals around the clock, to keep homes in top shape, to constantly engage and teach your children. Parents were already drowning from the expectation to be perfect.  And many families were already struggling with lack of resources, children with special needs, and other stressors that lowered th1eir threshold for coping with additional stress.

Then the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdown changed everything.  Parents were expected to suddenly navigate both the pandemic altered work demands while also becoming teachers and technical support for kids in online school.  Parents hustled to figure out childcare all while carrying the worries that every cough or sniffle was a sign of crisis.  The chronic stress left parents on the edge of losing their cool at any moment.

There was hope of reprieve from this exhaustion once vaccines became available and the country opened up its doors.  These days kids have largely returned to the classrooms, youth sports resumed, and families have moved into full gear again.  Yet there wasn’t even a moment to process the initial effects of all the initial pandemic stress before the Delta variant layered new worries.  Parents worry about their kids becoming sick or quarantined, schools closing again, managing social events, and the toll this all takes on their children’s emotional wellbeing. 

Parents everywhere are struggling to find a breath of space to take care of themselves.  The American Psychological Association has recognized the growing need to understand and address parental burnout.  The demands on parents continue to pile up as the resources to support them diminish.  This is resulting in serious emotional, physical, and social consequences. 

Signs of Burnout

The signs and symptoms of burnout heavily overlap with depression.  The difference is that the symptoms of burnout typically disappear when you get a prolonged break from your stressor.  Burnout was traditionally understood as a risk for people in high stress jobs such as like healthcare workers, teachers, lawyers, or business owners.  When people experiencing occupational burnout were able to get an extended vacation from work or dramatically alter work stressors, the symptoms of burnout would naturally resolve.  But burnout is being recognized as a chronic concern among parents, a job that never gets a real vacation.  Parents never get to fully unburden themselves from the responsibilities of parenting.

Consequences of Burnout

Parental burnout has consequences for the individual and the entire family.  Burnout has strong associations with stress related health problems.  Our bodies were not built to be in a state of chronic stress.  We find ourselves struggling with body aches, sleeplessness, and stomach distress.  And many parents feel too busy to find time for doctor’s visits let alone trips to the gym.  Over time, this can lead to heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, sexual dysfunction, and substance abuse. 

The mental struggle to juggle it all often leads to poor focus and performance at work.  As many parents still work from home, the work stress and family stress often overlap and exacerbate one another.  Parents never get a break from either role.  They end up feeling like failures in all aspects of their lives. 

Relationships suffer when we are burned out.  We are simply too stressed and exhausted to be good partners.  We have no resources left to be attentive, affectionate, appreciative.  This results in more conflict and arguments in families.  Couples may become distant and disconnected.  They treat one another like business partners rather than friends and intimate companions.  Everyone feels lonely.

This all affects the children as well.  Children feel the tension of the household and may respond by becoming emotionally volatile and acting out more.  When parents are overwhelmed, they have few resources to deal with these additional parenting challenges. They become irritable and prone to yelling at their children or disciplining in ways they wouldn’t consider when rested and calm.  Children must recover from these regrettable incidents.  But parents too find themselves wracked with guilt, staying up late replaying the episodes so they wake with less rest and greater stress. 

A Path Forward

If you recognize yourself or your partner as struggling with parental burnout, you’re not alone and you’re not a failure.  Recognizing the impact of parental burnout is an essential first step in making the changes required to rebalance your stresses and resources. In Part 2 of this blog series, we will identify steps you can begin taking to manage your burnout and create a lifestyle that allows you to replenish your energy regularly. 

It is important to note that burnout can also lead to depression or anxiety disorders. If you feel like you’ve lost capacity for joy, experience daily anxiety that interferes with your functioning, or have a sense of hopelessness, it’s important to seek professional help from a licensed therapist or physician.  Treating depression and anxiety early improves the outcome and reduces the suffering. 

Written by Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. for Lakefront Psychology Blog. If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, wellness, perinatal mood, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling a consultation for an appointment with Dr. Smith, please email ssmith@lakefrontpsychology.com or use the contact form. 

The post Parental Burnout May Be at the Root of Your Struggles Right Now – Part 1 appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

Many people have excitedly awaited the COVID-19 vaccine as a step toward feeling protected and safer to return to a life that looks a bit more “normal.”  The idea of getting vaccinated to prevent serious illness and death from this virus holds great promise as a relief from so much stress and worry of the past year.  Yet many people are experiencing a new kind of stress after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Once vaccinated and beyond the 2-week window of efficacy, the journey begins for each of us to re-establish normal living.  After a year of living with COVID-19 restrictions, there are many new decisions to be made.  Initially, we may feel great excitement and hope as we plan get-togethers with the people we’ve missed and imagine resuming activities and events that had been out of reach for a year.  But as these possibilities become a reality, we are once again grappling to decide which behaviors feel safe now.  Can we have dinner with friends unmasked?  Should I go to the store during peak times?  Is it safe for my kids to play at the park unmasked?  We second guess ourselves and feel guilt after a social event.  Was that a safe party to attend?  Did we put ourselves or others at risk by going to that event? Are people judging me as too risky, too paranoid, too introverted?

Unexpected Stress

There is a great deal of unexpected stress that comes with transitioning our lives from pandemic lockdown fear to vaccine hope.  Psychologist describe stress as anything that requires us to make adjustment in our daily lives.  We readily identify stressful triggers that are difficult events like a diagnosis of a medical illness, job loss, relationship conflict, or financial strain.  However, stressful triggers can also be positive events like a promotion, going on vacation, moving to a new home, or financial gains.  Any event that requires us to shift out of our routines and make adjustments in how we think or feel about our world will naturally create a stress response in the body and mind. 

The COVID-19 vaccine is one of these good stressors that causes us to make new adjustments.  We must rethink how we live our lives.  We must negotiate new decisions about our social obligations, work demands, and family events.  This puts us out of what had become our familiar zone. Activities that used to be familiar now feel like a strain or awkward. We simply didn’t have much practice with social skills and activities outside the home.  It feels like more effort to sustain casual conversations or make small talk.  We may be feeling greater pressure to attend social events and resume busy family and work schedules.  We must again navigate tricky conversations with family, friends, and neighbors as we discuss what everyone feels safe doing. 

COVID-19 stay-at-home orders had some unforeseen benefits that we may be reluctant to give up.  Work expectations may be changing and we may have mixed feelings about transitioning back to in person interactions.  This takes an transition requires effort, even though it used to be familiar. Many people who never had travel or social anxiety in the past have found new discomfort when faced with a trip or social event.  And those who are familiar with travel and social anxiety are often feeling greater intensity of these challenges after a year of avoiding them. 

We may also be surprised by feelings of disappointment and sadness when our life with the COVID-19 vaccine still differs in important ways from our pre-pandemic life.  Attending events with masks, social distancing, and smaller numbers may still feel frustrating.  We may be craving the comfort of not worrying about airborne infections as we intermingle with friends and strangers.  So the COVID-19 safe graduation ceremony, funeral, or exercise class may feel close to what we miss from our old lives while still missing some essential element.  And we are left feeling dissatisfied and somehow more unfulfilled.

This stress has a significant effect on our bodies and minds.  Exhaustion is a common first sign of this stress.  We are taxing our minds as we debate all of these new decisions and revive our social skills.  Sleep may be disturbed.  Muscle tension resulting pain and headaches are more common.  Many people describe increased irritability and mood swings.  Our concentration and memory may be suffering.  Children, who are also experiencing this stress, may display more acting out behaviors and emotional outbursts.  If you are experiencing these discomforts, you are not alone. Understanding and coping with this stress is key to moving through this transition with a bit less distress.

Stress Coping Strategies

Recognize your own signs of stress.  It’s important that each of us take the time to check in with how we’re feeling regularly to remain aware of when we’re feeling increased stress.  We each will have our own red flags.  Observe your body and behavior to recognize whether you’re someone who feels stress as a racing heartbeat, backache, insomnia, over-eating, restlessness, jaw clenching, irritability, or any of the many other ways our bodies experience stress.  Know what your signs are so you can monitor how they change throughout the day or week.  This will allow you to more effectively intervene with your stress while it’s at a manageable level rather than waiting until you hit overwhelm.  The articles below provide some useful guidance for coping with stress.

Set aside time for rest.  We may feel so excited to fill our schedules with activities that we’ve been missing that we end up feeling over-extended and exhausted.  Plan ahead for more rest than you think you’ll need.  Give yourself a day of quiet to recover after social events.  Go to bed early.  Create a bedtime routine that is soothing and consistent.  Schedule brief breaks in your day of quiet and stillness.  Your body will better recover from stress when you have plenty of rest throughout your days rather than waiting to crash into bed late at night.

Prioritize your social engagements and activities.  You don’t need to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way.  Start slowly as you focus on the people and activities you’ve missed most during this past year.  Resist the urge to fulfill every social obligation that comes your way.  You are still permitted to have boundaries and say no.  Even when you’re not concerned about health risks or COVID-19 infections, it’s okay to choose to opt out of activities that will drain you.  Many people observed that one of the unexpected benefits of quarantining has been a release from social obligations and constant busyness.  We can learn from this experience to protect a balance in our daily lives.

Create a plan that you can stick to for awhile.  During a time when you’re feeling calm and clear headed, sit down and write out what type of activities feel safe for you and your family based on good science and reliable resources.  It’ll be a useful guide for the moments when you’re feeling anxious or pressured.  You won’t need to constantly question or debate your decisions when you run each one past your plan. Only revise the plan during moments when you again feel calm and are adjusting your plan based on new information from a source you trust. 

Practice grace and patience. It’s helpful to set low expectations as you slowly figure out what feels safe for now. It’s okay to change your mind as you take in new information or try things out. You don’t need to jump into the deep end right away. Envision gradually stepping into a new chapter of your daily life, so you can adjust slowly and pause when you need to. It’s important to offer this same grace and understanding to the people in our lives who are adjusting as well. No one has it all figured out and we’re all learning as we go. We do not need to waste energy judging others or fearing judgement. We can allow one another to work through this new phase in our own ways and at our own paces.

Now that we recognize that even wonderful opportunities, like the health benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine, can create stress for our bodies and minds, we can learn to effectively cope with these changes.  With compassionate self-care it is possible to manage this unexpected stress of life with the COVID-19 vaccine while still gently opening up your social world and creating a new normal. 

Written by Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. for Lakefront Psychology Blog.  If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, wellness, perinatal mood, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling a consultation for an appointment with Dr. Smith, please email ssmith@lakefrontpsychology.com.

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If you find yourself drowning is a sea of responsibilities, feeling weighed down by constant exhaustion and overwhelming busyness, you are not alone.  Many Americans are reporting a drop in energy as stress levels rise.  We are juggling multiple roles and demands for our energy.  The fact is that your energy (including physical, emotional, and mental reserve) is a finite resource that must be renewed regularly.  We have to honor what it means to be human with these real limitations.  Continuing to push ourselves beyond our capacity is a recipe for stress exhaustion.

You can recognize stress exhaustion by the following symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Body aches
• Upset stomach
• Irritability
• Crying spells
• Difficulty concentrating
• Forgetfulness
• Racing thoughts
• Low motivation

If you are experiencing three or more of the symptoms above, it’s time to take some steps to regain your energy and avoid the harmful consequences of stress exhaustion.

Honestly Assess Your Energetic Drains

Begin by identifying all the factors in your life that require energy.  This will include daily energetic drains (like household chores) as well as the less frequent drains (like medical issues).  Once you have your list of factors, assess what percentage of your energy seems to go to each lately.  Creating a pie chart or list is a helpful way to do this.  Knowing your energetic demands can only add up to 100%, be honest with yourself about how much of your energy goes towards work, kids, parents, partner, friends, exercise, hobbies, volunteer projects, household chores, running errands, etc.

• Kids – 40%
• Work – 30%
• Partner – 10%
• Chores – 10%
• Volunteering – 5%
• Parents – 5%

Match Your Energy to Your Values

Most people get about half way through their list of energetic drains and realize they already used up 100% of their energy resources.  How in the world can you create more energy for exercise, hobbies, or friends when 100% of your energy is already allocated to work, kids, partner, etc.?  Take an honest look at your pie chart and see if it matches your values.  Is this how you want to prioritize your energy?  Does this feel satisfying?

If your energy isn’t lining up well with your values, then it’s time to consider creating change.  How would you like this pie chart to look?  Can you outsource some of your responsibilities or ask for help so the burden is less?  Where can you ease up on your energetic expense in order to create space for something more important?  Maybe this month you cut back on volunteering so you can help out your parents, go to the gym, or have lunch with a good friend.  Every choice you make to spend your energy requires a sacrifice of energy elsewhere.  So be thoughtful about what matters most to you. And give yourself permission to view these choices as temporary, so you can adjust how you spend your energy over time.

Practice Self-Compassion with Your Energy

We often feel uncomfortable challenging how we spend our energy because we hold unrealistic expectations for ourselves.  Many of us feel burdened by the “shoulds” in our heads.  We should be rock stars as employees, partners, parents, friends, etc.  We believe we need to always be excelling and fully invested in each part of our lives, fulfilling everyone’s expectations all while staying fit and happy.  And if we’re not perfect in all areas, then we harshly judge ourselves as total failures.  These perfectionistic standards may come from our childhoods or our communities.  And they cause us such unnecessary suffering.  It is an act of self-compassion to acknowledge these unhelpful burdens we place on ourselves and try to accept that we simply cannot do it all at once perfectly.  Once again, we must respect that we are human and our energy resources are finite.

Allow yourself to choose just three things each day to really focus your energy on.  Imagine your energetic pie will shift from day to day.  Some days you may go all in with work, family, and partner.  While other days you’re all in with exercise, friends, and hobbies.  Imagine shifting priorities from day to day so that over the course of the month you feel like you’ve given your energy to each aspect of life you find valuable.  And give yourself permission to let the other things drop down on your list that day without guilt or anxiety.  Your focus is to spend energy in a compassionate way that reflects your values.  You can still keep up with chores and errands, but you allow them smaller slivers of the pie on different days, just 5-10%.

Renew Your Energy

Continuing to expend energy without renewing it is a fast track to stress exhaustion.  Consider what you personally find renewing: getting a good night’s sleep, reading a book, catching up with old friends, binge watching shows on your couch, going for a walk, meditating, etc.  Try to cultivate as many strategies as possible to renew your energetic reserves and prioritize creating the time and space for this in your daily life, yes…daily life.

Many people struggle to give themselves permission to rest and recover, viewing it as self-indulgent or selfish.  Yet nurturing yourself is how you create even more energy for personal wellness and caretaking.  It’s like the old saying: You can’t pour from an empty cup.  Refilling yourself isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Focus Your Energy

Mental exhaustion is often related to relying heavily on multitasking.  You respond to texts while watching the kids or work through your daily agenda while walking the dog.  Multitasking is an inefficient use of energy.  It requires our brains to constantly shift attention and focus.  We not only waste mental resources in this process, we also tend to feel like we’re failing in each role.  Without adequate focused attention on each task, we easily become confused or forgetful.  This is because our minds work better when focused on one thing at a time.  We can be more relaxed when we let ourselves get into the zone rather than juggling multiple demands and interruptions.

To focus your energy, it’s helpful to create space between tasks.  Imagine allowing yourself a brief mental break between each task or role you have.  You might take a deep breath and just tell yourself that you’re letting that last task go so you can focus on the next one.  Maybe you stretch, meditate, visualize putting your responsibility onto a shelf to get a break from it.  This allows you to more fully focus on the next task at hand without wasting energy still ruminating on the last one.  This takes practice and intention.  Be compassionate with yourself as you gradually develop the ability to focus for just a few minutes on one thing at a time.  It’s often helpful to focus on being fully present in your body to stay in the moment.  Tune into your senses while letting go of distractions.

Support a Culture of Energetic Conservation

Chances are that other people in your life are struggling with this feeling of exhaustion at times.  Creating a network of support can help each person be accountable and more compassionate with themselves.  Encourage your friends and family members to renew their energetic reserves.  Support them when they set new limit that focuses their energy.  And be honest about why you chose to skip an event or task when you needed a rest.  The more we support one another to take care of our energetic priorities, the faster we create a healthier culture around the limits of our energy resources.  Be gentle with yourself and all the demands in your life as you offer the same gentleness to others.

Written by Suzanne J. Smith, Ph.D. for Lakefront Psychology Blog.  If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, wellness, perinatal mood, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling an appointment at Lakefront Psychology, LLC for a psychotherapy consultation, please call 216-870-9816.

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November 1^st marks the beginning of the holiday season for many.  And holiday seasons are stressful.  Routines are different, expectations are high, calendars fill up quickly, and sleep is often cut short.  We tend to get so consumed with making everyone happy and fulfilling each obligation that we end up feeling frazzled and depleted.  It’s easy to lose sight of what’s most joyful and meaningful to you.  Perhaps this holiday season it’s time to make a few shifts within yourself to focus your energy where it’s most meaningful.

Take inventory of your emotional response to the holidays.  Do you find yourself feeling excited and full of energy?  Or are you feeling dread and weighed down by stress?  Maybe you have a mix of feelings depending on the day or the event at hand.  We all respond differently to the holidays depending on what we expect of ourselves and how things have gone in the past.  Many of us spend so much energy focused on anticipating everyone else’s moods and needs that we give little attention to our own moods and needs.  Allow yourself to notice and be aware of the feelings that surface during the holidays so you can respond with greater sensitivity to yourself.  When we make choices that are consistent with our authentic selves, we feel more calm and present.

Prioritize the events and traditions that matter most.  Choose the parts of the holiday season that have the most meaning for you and create time for them that is non-negotiable.  Then you can make certain these things are given adequate time and energy before your family calendar fills up with events of all kinds.  If you love baking with your kids, then reserve a day for this activity now.  If volunteering at a soup kitchen is really meaningful to you, then add this to your calendar first.  Be honest with yourself about what matters most to you rather than what fulfills obligations or expectations.  Allow yourself to go all out on the holiday traditions you really love and bask in the pure joy of it.

Allow yourself to cut corners and set boundaries.  Once you’ve prioritized what matters most to you during the holiday season, you more easily recognize those things that matter less.  Give yourself permission to take time and energy away from these less meaningful tasks.  This may mean saying no to the tiresome work party or labor-intensive cookie exchange.  It may mean buying pre-made treats for the class party or appetizers for the potluck.  Maybe you let yourself take a year off from sending holiday cards or decorating the house.  And view these decisions to cut back as gifts to yourself as you better allocate that energy on the things you most care about.  Imagine you are pruning a rose bush, cutting off the parts that suck your energy so the blooms that matter most will flourish.

Focus your energy on deepening relationships during social gatherings.  While it may seem obvious that we are socializing during social gatherings, the quality of social interaction often feels pretty superficial.  Many people describe walking away from a holiday gathering feeling surprisingly drained, lonely, or disappointed.  Often, we spend our energy on tending to everyone’s needs, running around hosting and making sure everyone has food and drink.  Or we get caught up in old patterns interacting with people, seeking approval or validation which leaves us feeling a familiar sense of tension.  This is exhausting.

Instead try focusing on just one or two people to have deeper conversations with and discover how this feels more fulfilling and energizing.  You can choose someone you just met or someone you know fairly well.  Ask more personal questions than the typical superficial checking in and really listen to the answers.  See if you can learn more about their history, their opinions, their passions.  Share about yourself on a deeper level too.  We rarely have opportunities to share our inner thoughts and feelings or to tell stories about our lives.  A focused conversation where you begin to connect more intimately will give you both a more meaningful experience.

Set aside time to rest and reflect.  We often get so caught up in the busyness of the holidays that we rarely have the opportunity to sit still and enjoy the moment.  This involves allowing yourself both physical rest as well as mental rest.  You need a break from the mental work of planning, list making, scheduling, and organizing.  Give yourself permission to take regular breaks from these physical and mental tasks so you can focus on being present in the experience.  It can be helpful to focus the busy mind on physical sensations, like the sights, smells, and sounds all around you.  Allow yourself to sit and absorb it all, even for just a couple minutes at a time.

These small changes in how you approach the holidays can help you feel radically more relaxed and joyful.  It’s a daily practice to resist the urge of responding to each and every request for your time and energy.  Having support helps.  Consider asking a friend or family member to try making these changes with you so that you can encourage one another.  Give each other a high five when you see the other person following through on these changes.  And praise each other for setting new boundaries or refocusing when either of you get off track.  Be gentle and compassionate with yourself.  This kind of change is rooted in loving and honoring yourself.  You too deserve to enjoy the holiday season in a meaningful way!

Written by Suzanne Smith, Ph.D. for the Lakefront Psychology Blog.  If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, postpartum issues, wellness, relationships, or parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below.  If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with Dr. Smith, please contact Lakefront Psychology at 216-870-9816.

The post Creating a More Relaxed & Meaningful Holiday Season from Within appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

Have you been feeling uneasy, drifting, lost? Maybe your life doesn’t seem to have a clear purpose or direction right now. We often feel unbalanced or off kilter during times of major transition such as adjusting to parenthood, job changes, a new home, health issues, or loss. But sometimes our lives may seem relatively steady on the surface yet we still find ourselves gradually feeling out of sorts.

The concept of being grounded refers to a feeling of being stable, at ease, and consciously present. When we feel grounded, we are able to accept and let go of the momentary tough moments throughout the day and are not easily influenced by others’ ideas or feelings. You feel more at peace with your authentic self.

It’s normal to feel more or less grounded during different times in our lives. Recognizing when we are not grounded is a useful practice to help us correct course and continue growing.

Signs You May Not Be Grounded

• Feeling uneasy or lost
• Difficulty finishing projects
• Lack of passion or pleasure for things you used to enjoy
• Strong need to fix yourself or things in your life
• Questioning things more than usual
• Less connected to the people you love
• Engaging in constant distractions to avoid the quiet of your own thoughts

If these symptoms sound familiar, it may be time to look beneath the surface. It’s uncomfortable to sit in this place of unease. We naturally want to escape the discomfort with distractions. We pour our time and energy into one thing or another, whether it’s work, volunteering, or exercise. But all these attempts to fill this empty space with external activities will eventually fall short. And even then we tend to beat ourselves up for failing to solve our discomfort when it was really never going to work in the first place.

The only way to begin feeling grounded again is to look within to deeply understand where this feeling is coming from and tend to your inner needs.

Meditation for Feeling Grounded

Begin by tuning in. Create an opportunity to sit quietly, free from distractions, and observe your own thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. Breathing deeply, imagine your scanning your mind, heart, and body in a very neutral, curious way. Just notice your experience in the moment. The goal of this exercise is to increase your awareness of your inner world. Try taking the position of a curious observer without any judgement or attachment to what you experience. You’ll likely notice critical self-talk bubbling up at times. See if you can soften into these uncomfortable spaces and accept your own tendencies to evaluate and judge. Then give yourself permission to take a break from this tendency in order to understand yourself more compassionately. When we are kind and compassionate with ourselves, we can allow ourselves to be more vulnerable and authentic.

Explore your longings. Ask yourself what you want or need right now. When we take time to really listen to our inner longings, we often find direction for what we need. Maybe we need mental stimulation, physical activity, social connections, or peace. Maybe there’s a facet of ourselves that hasn’t had a chance to shine lately. You might miss playing the guitar or caretaking. Be open to whatever longing surfaces without judgement or logic about how to fulfill it. The idea is just to increase your awareness of what you want or need in this moment. Being accurate and honest about what we’re longing for allows us to stop seeking fulfillment in the wrong places.

Identify what you’re ready to let go of right now. We often carry burdens that get in the way of fulfilling our longings. Notice the walls you create for yourself. Explore the pain and suffering you carry. Perhaps you’re full of self-doubt, fear, anger, or old notions of who you should or shouldn’t be. Ask yourself how well these are working for you right now. Are they protecting you or limiting you? Imagine how you would feel to begin letting go of just one thing that’s weighing you down. How would it feel? Can you release just a piece of this burden?

Root yourself. Imagine energetic roots extending downward from your body into the earth. This is a creative exercise that can produce a comforting sensation throughout the nervous system. You might envision strong tree roots moving down through the layers of earth, sand, clay, and rock. Go as deep and as wide as you need right now. And just notice how this image feels in your body, heart, and mind.  Be aware of how a strongly rooted self feels able to withstand changes in the wind without crumpling or drifting off.  Enjoy a sense of steadiness.  And see if you can carry this feeling throughout moments in your day, recalling this image regularly to remain grounded.

This exercise is a helpful part of any wellness practice.  If you find that you want to delve more into this inner work or if you continue to feel unease and anxiety in your life, it would be a good opportunity to seek professional guidance.  Psychotherapists can be helpful guides to finding your own authenticity and health.

Written by Suzanne Smith, Ph.D. for the Lakefront Psychology Blog. If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, postpartum issues, wellness, relationships, and parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with Dr. Smith, please contact Lakefront Psychology at 216-870-9816.

The post Signs You May Not Be Grounded & a Meditation to Feel Grounded Again appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.

The pressures on moms these days are greater than ever. Moms are expected to give all of themselves to their families all of the time. There are powerful messages in our culture telling moms just what they should do to be successful. They are expected to breastfeed for a year; choose organic foods and fabrics; plan, prepare, and clean up three healthy meals and three nutritious snacks per day; keep your child intellectually, emotionally, and physically stimulated around the clock; be positive; guide their social development; create exciting crafts and science projects with your children; and always, always be emotionally available and present.

This is an impossible expectation in the best of situations, when a woman is healthy and well resourced with financial means, education, and social support. And for most moms, the expectations don’t end there. They have other responsibilities beyond mothering that require attention, time, and energy. They may have to manage chronic health conditions in themselves, their children, their partners, or their parents. They juggle friendships, jobs, and volunteer work not to mention endless household chores. There is little left for the self.

Moms are often left feeling utterly depleted. And when this state of exhaustion goes on without recovery, moms experience burnout.  See if any of these symptoms sound familiar.

Symptoms of Mom Burnout

Fatigue
Irritability
Sleep problems
Yelling
Lack of pleasure
Zoning out
Headaches & body aches
Unhealthy coping behaviors
Lack of motivation

As the saying goes, you cannot pour from an empty cup. No one benefits when moms give so much of themselves that they have nothing left. It’s important to challenge these unrealistic expectations and create a practice of quality self-care.

Steps to Recover from Mom Burnout

1.Identify what zaps your energy. Understanding why you’re so exhausted all the time is the first step to making healthier changes. Think about all the activities in your day that require an output of energy. Make certain to include the physical demands, mental load, and emotional work of managing everyone and everything all the time. Think about the energy it takes to wrestle toddlers into carseats, navigate the grocery store with kids, remember gifts for upcoming birthdays, plan for school year challenges, juggle schedules, etc.  Sometimes it’s validating to create a list of all you think about and do in a day to recognize why you feel so worn out.

2. Begin letting go of burdens. After you see the list of all the energetic drains, see if you can identify just one responsibility you might give up today. Perhaps there’s a duty you could delegate to someone else. Or maybe there are social pressures you could let go of. Start with something that feels relatively easy to take off your to-do list and notice how you feel without that responsibility. Remember that you can let go of a mental task or emotional demand as well. Try saying no to requests for your time and energy that feel like burdens. And maybe you could let go of worrying about whether someone else is upset when you set a boundary.

3. Renew your energy. Identify what helps you feel renewed and refreshed. Maybe you crave physical activity or time in nature. Maybe you need alone time to recharge. Maybe you have a favorite hobby or passion that has taken the backseat to mothering for awhile. Figure out what helps you get energy back in again and make it a priority to build that into your life. This is not optional. It cannot be the last thing on the list each day. Carve out dedicated space for your self-care and teach the people in your life to respect this. It is a wonderful way to teach your children about wellness and balance.

4. Focus on what really matters. So often we burden ourselves with expectations that don’t accurately represent our values. We may find ourselves swept up by social pressures to maintain a public image, pushing ourselves, our kids, our homes to always appear perfect. It can feel overwhelming and unfulfilling. Take a moment to reflect on what values matter most to you and your family. How do you really measure your success as a mother, wife, friend, daughter, person? When you focus on what really gives you a sense of meaning, it can become easier to release yourself from the excessive expectations.

5. Create a supportive culture. Surround yourself with people who value and support you, including your mission to have a balanced life. Distance yourself from people who seem to drain you all the time or reinforce negative messages about yourself and what you should be doing. As you become more comfortable pacing yourself by balancing the energy in with the energy out, you will find that you enjoy the company of authentic friends more. Your example of balance can help shift the culture of the people you are closest to.  Cheer on friends who take care of themselves too.

If you find yourself struggling to recover from burnout, it may be helpful to seek professional guidance.  We often get messages early in life about sacrifice, motherhood, and pushing ourselves to the limit.  Many women struggle with feeling like failures if they need to take a break to honor their own limits.  And a skilled therapist can help you unpack these unhelpful old messages in order to choose the ones that best serve you and your life now.

Written by Suzanne Smith, Ph.D. for the Lakefront Psychology Blog. If you are interested in more original articles about mental health, postpartum issues, wellness, relationships, and parenting, please subscribe to the blog using the button below. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with Dr. Smith, please contact Lakefront Psychology at 216-870-9816.

The post Understanding Mom Burnout & Steps to Recover appeared first on Lakefront Psychology.