How to Look After Your Wellbeing as a Single Parent

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As a single parent, you will know only too well how busy life can be. The constant childcare juggle, keeping up with taking care of the house, and fitting in time to go to work and earn money can leave you feeling exhausted. When you have so much to do, each day can feel like a never-ending to-do list. This means there’s very little time left over to think about yourself.

Mums often find themselves at the bottom of the pile when it comes to taking care of their needs. After all, when there’s so much to do, it can often feel easier to push your own feelings and needs aside and focus on the million things you haven’t yet completed. Ignoring your needs may seem like the best option in the short term. However, in the longer term, trying to push through can have a really negative impact on both your health and wellbeing. Finding ways to look after your wellbeing as a single parent isn’t always easy, but the tips below should help.

Take a Breath

When you’re parenting alone, life can become pretty full-on at times. This can leave you in a constant state of stress, and if this continues over a long period, it is known as chronic stress. Chronic stress can have a negative impact on your physical health, and also feels pretty unpleasant. So, finding ways to reduce your stress levels is essential, even if it feels impossible! 

You may find it helpful to introduce mindfulness to your daily life. Staying in the present moment and stopping your mind from being scattered is a really helpful stress reliever.

Deal With Health Issues

Mums can be experts at worrying about every one of their kids’ coughs and sneezes, while completely ignoring their own health concerns. But trying to push health problems to the back of your mind will only mean that they worsen. Even if you feel that the health issue that you’re experiencing is nothing worth worrying about, it’s still important to get it checked out. Many men seek out ED medication, so you should never be afraid to seek help for your own problems, even if you feel embarrassed doing so. Taking care of your own health is vital to ensure you can take the best care of your kids.

Reach Out for Help

Being a single parent can often mean that you’re constantly pushing yourself to do everything yourself. Sometimes, you may have no other choice, but it’s important to ask for help when you do need it. No one can do everything alone, and trying to do so can have a really negative impact on your mental and physical health. Building a trusted circle of people that you feel you can approach if you need some extra help is essential. 

Even if you don’t depend on everyone for practical help, such as childcare, having people to turn to when you need to vent can be really helpful.

**Collaborative guest post