A breakdown will occur at some point. Physical health reasons are the most common reason for the breakdown, and the physical health breakdown is usually the result of paying attention to the needs of others more than you pay attention to your own needs. You can stay healthy longer if you follow a few simple guidelines.
LOWER Your Standards
You don't need to be facing surgery to start asking for help. Get help from those around you who are willing, but just don't know what to do. Have your husband cook dinner once a week. Get another Mom to handle the carpool once in a while. Ask a friend to pick up that extra something at the grocery store when it's convenient instead of making the trek yourself.Let the dishes pile up in the sink. Let the toddlers spend a little bit of time watching TV. Let the kids eat cereal for breakfast once in a while. At some point, you have to realize that even Martha Stewart doesn't lead the perfect Martha Stewart life. You don't need to have the children running around the front yard naked and unsupervised for hours at a time, but if you lower your standards just a little bit you can alleviate a great deal of stress and strain from your daily routine.
Make a New To-Do List
The things you do on a daily basis don't all need to get done. Figure out what is on your to-do list that is optional, done too frequently, or altogether wasteful. Replace those items with the things that really are obligatory - mommy nap time, Doctor's and Dental Appointments, a weekly undisturbed bath.
Cancel social obligations that eat too much time up, or are difficult and time consuming to prepare for. You don't have to turn into a hermit, but recognize that not attending an hour long event can free up 3 or more hours from your own schedule. Get rid of regularly scheduled social obligations that are not enjoyable. Your time and energy is too precious if you aren't having fun.
Ronald McDonald is your Friend
There is a reason that McDonald's has sold more than 50 billion cheeseburgers. Fast food isn't healthy. Fast Food is not something you should make part of your daily diet. Fast food IS convenient, speedy, and fun for the kids. You are not condemning your children to a slovenly life of ineptitude by allowing them to eat at a restaurant that provides toys. Let the kids run amok in the playground while you eat.
Enjoy What You Do
Raising children is the most personally rewarding thing that a person can do. Stop to realize how much fun it is that you are having. Stop to realize how absolutely adorable your children are. Stop to realize how amazing your family is. If your day to day drudgery doesn't afford you the ability to truly enjoy the fruits of your labors, it's time to start taking some days off. Lose the cell phone, the blackberry. Forget about e-mail and preparing dinner. Drop everything and take the kids out for a Mommy day. Better yet - take just one of the kids out for a Mommy day and let Dad take over on the home front. Stay out all day long having fun with one child that you can give your undivided attention to - without worrying about all the little things that eat away at you throughout the day.
Analyze Your Priorities
When you really think about what matters to you, most likely you'll find that your energy is not focused in the right direction. Which outfit your child is wearing doesn't so much matter as whether or not your child is clothed. What they eat doesn't so much matter as the fact that they eat. What matters is that your children are healthy and happy. Start from there and work through your daily routines. Nobody provided you with a handbook for your day to day responsibilities. Now that you've been immersed in them for some time, you can re-think your strategy so that it reflects your core values and incorporates your own health and happiness requirements.
Discuss Avoiding The Super Mom Breakdown
