Back to School is always a stressful time of year. This year we’ve added to the stress of new schedules and back to school shopping, by starting the year off in the middle of a global pandemic – simultaneously juggling working, being a parent, and now playing teacher.
The overwhelm surrounding back-to-school this year can feel insurmountable but knowing that it’s normal to feel this way (We get it – we’re parents, too!) is a good way to begin to manage your stress.
Here are some of our favorite practices and products for keeping your cool amid the uncertainty of the moment:
Don’t Neglect your Self Care Practice.
It’s easy to forgo self-care when you have a to-do list a million miles long. Take a few moments for yourself, before you run yourself ragged. As a parent, we know these moments have to be stolen between a million other things and a three-hour massage probably isn’t in the cards.
Take a few breaths, carve out five minutes to journal or meditate, make a ritual of applying your EarSeeds, hide the good chocolate away in a shoebox in your closet. A sustainable self-care practice is about creating small moments that make you feel healthy and supported.
Try out Some Natural Stress Relievers.
Regular exercise has been proven to reduce anxiety and enhance mood! Don’t want to get sweaty? Our anxiety kit covers a variety of auricular points including the Tranquilizer Point. This point has a powerful sedating effect and can help in calming anxiety – No RX required. This is the point I press when life is pulling me in ten directions at the same time. It helps me take a deep breath and reset.
Be Kind to Yourself
Us parents are juggling so many responsibilities and now we are having to think about education in a completely new way. There will be mistakes made, but we are doing our best. The kids are going to be fine. You don’t have to do it all perfectly. Set yourself up with realistic goals, and keep in mind that you’re going to have good and bad days. Allow yourself the space to learn from the bad days and the chance to celebrate when you’re rocking the good days.
Their stress = Our stress
They say a parent is only as happy as their least happy child, and I’d say the same is often true for stress. When my kids’ anxiety spikes, all my other obligations get set aside and my #1 focus is on helping them, which immediately spikes my own anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle and nobody wins.
Right now kids are facing daunting changes in their lives, with questions and expectations about their school year changing by the minute. So many struggled with remote learning last year and are now being thrust back into it, and it’s so, so rough.
Just this morning I woke up to this text from a friend:
And the answer is YES!!! YES, Yes and more YES. They are great for kids and really can help calm their nerves, and improve their focus and energy, making the return to school less overwhelming, for them and for you.
Wishing you a safe, joyful and positive back-to-school season.
