Anxiety happens - let’s use that energy, and not spend too much time fretting.
When we are parenting in an anxious time, whether it be anxiety due to our personal problems, our kids problems, our work problems, problems in the community or even world problems we can become debilitated by stress and worry.
Sometimes we soothe ourselves with sugar, or booze, or the internet, or over-talking, or over-sleepings. And don't get me wrong, little doses of all of the above are excellent and can be a form of self-care, but let's diversify our portfolio, shall we?
When faced with a scary unknown I try to add a few new thoughts into my head, "I can't control the outcome of my mammogram, or if there is lice on my child's head, or if my new boss likes me, or if the school district lines will change or what happens on election day, but TODAY I can go to bed with a neat closet. Today I CAN wipe down those counters. Today I CAN put healthy food into my body.
I like to go back to basics. Food, sleep, play, work. I don't try to STOP surfing the internet, I just make a 25 minute space to work on something productive. I don't try to STOP eating some chocolate, I just get out the carrots also. I don't try to STOP worrying so I can sleep, I just add in a bath, a screen shut down time, a meditation.
In times of anxiety we need to lean on each other, take baby steps, and keep wiping down the counters, because hey - a clean counter can't make things worse!