It's coming up to Christmas. There are loads of things to do. We all feel stressed out now and again, even when Christmas isn't around the corner!
I have always been a busy person. Even before my children came along. I never really liked to sit down and 'do nothing' as I felt it was a waste. Now, I dream of the times I can sit down and 'do nothing'! If only!
I am constantly busy, I work and I have two boys [and a husband] to look after. When I am physically do one thing, I am thinking of the order of priority of my next tasks. This is the life of many mothers out there! There are times when I really think to myself, what am I doing? Why am I always rushing around? I'm always tired and sometimes very cranky. I'm basically stressed.
I generally contain my stress levels quite well, but there is always that one little thing that could send me over the edge (so to speak!). I've never really understood why we are like this, what makes us behaviour and react in certain ways.
After reading some research into the stress of the nation, conducted by Kalms, the herbal stress relief brand, I have now got an understanding of why we, as a nation, are quite stressed.
The research explains that 1 in 5 of us feel stressed more than 6 times per week, with women more likely to feel stress than men. The graphic below explains what all of our stresses and strains are doing to us as a population:
Some of the points mentioned in the diagram are really interesting. I resonate with most of the points, especially about stressing about the state of the house! It makes sense that women are more stressed as we believe we can do it all! We don't have to!
There are obviously real reasons for us stressing ourselves, not only our jobs, but family life, commitments, health etc. I think, especially from a women perspective, we always think we are superwoman. We believe we need to be able to do everything, cook, clean, bring up children, look after the house, work, provide for the home etc etc. This silent admission, means that we put a lot of stress on our health and well being.
I have, slowly, come to realise that I DON'T have to do everything at once. I can leave the dishes for an hour or so, or I don't have to have everything absolutely perfect. A little imperfection is perfection! Don't stress yourself out with unnecessary jobs...just relax a little. And, if we do need something to help us relax and sleep at night, we know Kalms will be a good and safe option.
Disclaimer: I was under no obligation to write this article.
