THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE FOR MUMS

Putting yourself first is not the habit of most mothers, but here's why it's time to pour some love back into yourself.

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Being a mum is possibly the most exciting time of your life, yet it's not without its challenges. If it's your first time, you might have certain expectations of how you're going to manage everything but this isn't always the reality. Particularly these days with social media, the standards expected of mums often do more harm than good. It's so important to prioritise yourself when you can and practice self-care.

WHAT IS SELF-CARE?

Self-care is somewhat of an overused phrase online, to the degree that it can be difficult to remember what it's all about. There's even pressure from influencers to make lots of time for self-care, to have the perfect morning routine and to never slip up.

So first and foremost, let's acknowledge that constantly chasing the perfect self-care protocol might actually be stressful and get in the way of what matters most - taking care of yourself. Self-care isn’t always morning runs, Pilates class and journalling. Sometimes it’s eating a whole tub of ice-cream and watching your favourite movie for the hundredth time.

With that being said, the fundamentals of self-care centre around carving out time to do things that will help you to rest and recharge. The majority of these are practices that act as building blocks for your happiness and resilience. When we put off opportunities to check in with ourselves, stress and overwhelm can take hold. By taking care of yourself regularly, you'll be better able to handle whatever life brings your way!

FINDING THE TIME

Finding time for anything is a huge challenge for most mums. With a jam-packed schedule, full of everything from caring for your little ones and running the household, to maintaining a work life and social connections - it's a lot! Self-care often gets bumped down the list of priorities, or disregarded completely because it seems that there simply isn’t time for it.