Single Parenting Stress 

Parenting is not an easy task. Single parenting can be even more challenging. While juggling multiple roles along with other matters such as custody, complex relationship, co-parenting schedule, and financial arrangements. These are the common reasons that most single parents face in daily life.

The journey of single parenting often begins with an emotional process of divorce. Divorcing alone can trigger unsettling and uncomfortable feelings. Overthinking and overloaded with emotions like grief, loneliness, depression, guilt, frustration, anxiety, anger, devastation, and more. 

While processing the sadness of accepting the ending of a significant relationship, single parents are also fighting over how to raise children in a new form of relationship. All these uncertainties can compound stress further,  impact the risk of burnout, and generate even more issues in life. 

Signs Might be Parental Anxiety!

Anxiety is real! Even if you can’t see it. 

In fact, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S, affecting 40 million adults every year. And yet, only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.

Anxiety can be a sudden breathing issue or sweating excessively, but it also does not need to be always clear and obvious. In most cases, anxiety is not something that someone can get over in a snap or can be fixed instantly. It takes time to restore balance.

These are a few possible signs that you may be experiencing parental anxiety. This information intends to help you identify what it feels like, allowing you to seek professional guidance, advice, treatment, or diagnosis when needed.  

1. Feelings of restlessness due to insomnia or sleep deprivation.
2. Over-sleeping or excessive checking out mentally, such as daydreaming.
3. Feeling on edge, worried, and having difficulty staying focused.
4. Tiredness and fatigue.
5. Physical aching such as headaches, muscle aches, and stomach aches.
6. Forgetting and lack of concentration.
7. Overthinking or overtalking.
8. Small habits like hair twirling, picking on the skin, chewing/biting lips, or teeth grinding.
9. Spending too much time on the phone.
10. Feeling isolated, avoid eye contact or face-to-face communication.

Cope with Single Parenting Stress

The wellness journey can be helpful for single parents who are coping with feelings of stress and anxiety. If you are the center of the support system for your family, making an effort to look after yourself, selecting healthy lifestyle choices, and practicing self-care to look after your mental and physical health is essential. 

Start your wellness journey, and build your ideal daily routine. When you find yourself facing some challenges in parenting. You can put your mindset in a more peaceful state and handle the pressure gracefully.

A few helpful tactics you might want to practice include:

Mindful living

Mindful living helps us focus on the present moment instead of hanging out in the past. It is a mindset of believing the past has no control over you since it no longer exists, while the best way to manage the future is to be present, which is the only space where we have full control over our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Living life with gratitude and staying optimistic are powerful ways to get through some critical moments.

Healthy food choice

Coping with anxiety often requires making a lifestyle change, and changes in diet can be one of them. Healthy food choices may affect your general mood or sense of well-being. No diet changes can cure anxiety, but select healthy ingredients and eat balanced meals throughout the day. 

Stay conscious of your food choices, and implement a diet plan to help you stay calm; Eating a breakfast that includes some protein can make you feel fuller and keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day. Carbohydrates can increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, giving a calming effect. Therefore eating complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, quinoa, whole-grain bread, and whole-grain cereals can benefit your overall well-being. Last, paying attention to food sensitivities causes unpleasant physical reactions that may lead to mood swings or anxiety.

Stay conscious of your beverage choices; Drinking plenty of water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated can benefit mood control. Limit or avoid alcohol and caffeine because they may interfere with sleep or make you feel edgy and nervous.

Yoga

A 90-minute yoga practice with yourself can improve mental and physical strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga is a form of exercise that includes stretching, breathing, relaxation, and meditation. It has proven to positively affect people with mental health conditions, such as reducing anxiety. Practice yoga 2 to 3 times a week. 

Meditation

5 to 20 minutes of meditation in the morning or before sleep can make you feel more relaxed. Begin your day with a calm and focused mind that can set the right tone for the rest of the day.  

Practicing mindfulness can release emotions that may have been causing stress. Use 10 minutes of meditation to center yourself; you will be in a better place when challenges and opportunities arrive.

Breathing Excercise

When there is a time of disagreement in the marriage or facing challenges, breathing is an easy way to calm my body and reduce anger. The slow and deep breathing shifts my focus away from the “drama,” allowing me to recenter again. 

One of the breathing exercises I practice regularly is sitting in a quiet and comfortable place, closing my eyes and shoulder relax. Slowly breathe in through the nose, breathe out through the mouth. Repeat this process at least 10 times or until the feeling of anxiety decreases. 

Take a walk

Research has shown that walking releases brain chemicals called endorphins that stimulate relaxation and improve our mood. Walking does not have to be done at a fast pace to have stress-relieving benefits. Finding a park, breathing fresh air, and feeling the positive energy around you can make you feel better.

CBD

A friend recommended CBD while I was going through severe anxiety and suggested it could be an effective organic remedy to reduce my stress. Since then, I have tried many CBD products, such as hemp, CBD gummies, CBD softgels, and CBD tinctures. Nano is the most effective option that works the best for me; nano CBD has significantly improved my sleeping quality after suffering from long-term sleep deprivation and disruption.

Before trying CBD, I often felt tired throughout the day and could not think clearly. CBD products have brought my focus back during the day and quality sleep at night; I take a CBD gummy before yoga practice to center my focus. It also prepares my muscles for the next 90 minutes of practice; I prefer an earthy aroma CBD tincture to start morning meditation. Nano CBD softgels with melatonin are the go-to natural remedy that helps me sleep better and longer. 

Related Article: Incorporate CBD into my daily routine