How to Work Self-Care in as a Homeschooling Mom

We’re finishing up our second week of homeschooling ever and some of the overwhelm is starting to set in. Between taking care of the house, working, keeping up with meal times, taking showers, and prepping for schoolwork, and spending quality non-school time with our kiddos, there’s a lot of our plates moms! Don’t get me wrong, I am LOVING homeschooling so far, but today I want to share about keeping up with mental health and self-care. I know that self-care practices are what will keep me from getting overwhelmed during these busy times. I hope this post is helpful for all the moms out there whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, working mom, homeschooling mom, maybe even a working and homeschooling mom because you’re a superhero. Whatever kind of mom you are, don’t let your self-care suffer!

What is Mental Strength?

Let’s talk about what mental strength is and then we’ll talk about some self-care ideas that will help you increase the mental capacity you need to keep going. It’s easy to see how physical strength and exercise can develop and give us some much-needed energy every day but mental strength is a bit more of a mystery. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

⁣Mental strength is the ability to regulate emotions, manage your thoughts, and behave in a positive manner even when your circumstances aren’t the best. These come more naturally to some people but everyone is capable of improving these qualities. Devote time and energy to self-improvement activities and you will see improved mental strength. As a mom, it is easy to let these emotions and thoughts get out of control, especially when we’re constantly giving our energy to other people.

⁣How your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings intertwine is the basis of your mental strength

There are ways to make these connections work for you and not against you! Here are a couple of general things to keep in mind.

⁣Identify your negative or irrational thoughts and replace them with realistic thoughts. Your self-worth is often times in these thoughts! Replace your “bad mom” and “unorganized homeschooler” thoughts with more realistic thoughts like “mom who is doing the best she can” and “mom who cares more about learning than the organization of the homeschool room”
Behave in a positive way even if the situation is less than awesome. This isn’t easy to do but we’ll work on it! It’s difficult to act positively when you’re in a frustrating situation, especially when it comes to your kids. They know JUUUUST how to push our buttons sometimes. It is important to give yourself the time and space you need to be able to come to every situation with a clear and positive mind so that you feel like you can handle any situation.
Control your emotions so they don’t end up controlling you. This is something I talk to my daughter about sometimes, in different words of course. Things like, taking a deep breath before answering a question or counting to 5 when she feels frustrated, are ways for her to control her emotions before she acts on them. As an adult, we can use these same tactics. Put your emotions into perspective before you act on them. Having a journal may help you get your emotions out in a health way too. We all get frustrated and giving yourself a healthy way to release the frustrations in a very positive thing.

⁣We can balance some of our emotions that come up with rational thinking. For example, when you notice yourself having big emotions about something, stop for a minute and think about why you’re feeling that way. Sometimes rational thoughts about the topic will help you calm your emotions and allow you to move on!

Self-Care

Let’s talk about self-care! I don’t mean manicures and long hot showers, although those are nice. I’m talking about rest, meditation, time with family, screen-free time, and many many more things that can help your mind and body refresh. Self-care and mental strength have a direct correlation. Increased self-care means increased mental strength, and that will lead to a more relaxed and positive experience for you.

⁣When we think about self-care we often just think of the surface level pampering kind when there are so many other ways to practice self-care and so many areas it is needed. Think about some of these areas and ways to practice self-care:

Different Forms of Self-Care

⁣physical self-care: getting enough sleep, massages, stretching/yoga, deep breaths
mental self-care: tech-free time, nature walks, affirmations, schedule breaks
emotional self-care: journal, therapy, set necessary boundaries, meaningful conversations with those you love and trust
social rest and self-care: spend time with people who inspire you, spend less time with people who deplete you
sensory self-care: turn down bright lights, aromatherapy (turn on that diffuser with your favorite essential oils), add times of silence to your day, social media breaks

⁣There are a lot of ideas here that you can use to practice self-care in different ways. I challenge you to choose one activity from each category to practice in the next week and see how you feel.

⁣What area(s) do you feel like you might be getting burnt out in and need some extra rest and self-care?

Self-Care + Mental Strength = Confidence and Happiness

⁣With increased mental strength comes more control over thoughts and emotions that seem uncontrollable. We can interpret and understand ourselves better and in the end, gain confidence and happiness.

⁣What are your thoughts on mental strength? Do you feel like you have room for improvement in this area?

When In Doubt…

With all of this said, if you’re a homeschooling mom or just a momma who is overwhelmed with everything, take a break and do something fun with your kids! Homeschooling will wait a day, you’re not getting behind. The chores can wait a day, you know they’ll be back again tomorrow anyway, am I right?! Take a few hours or a day and do something that isn’t stressful that is just fun because the reality of life is that everyone needs breaks! Or, add some fun crafts or experiments into the mix and make the day a little more fun and relaxed. Check out these posts for a few ideas: