Stressed Out?

I think, no, I KNOW, that I am going through some kind of stress. I find that the smallest
things irritate and upset me, am easily fatigued, have insomnia, have an acid stomach, often feel that I am not in control of things, and worse, have been diagnosed with hypertension.

I know I need to learn to relax more, not let the small things bother me, but these are easier said than done.

Has motherhood done that to me? :-( Looking after 2 very young children is hard work. I knew it was going to be a lot of work before I had the children, but didn't realize, quite naively, that it was going to take quite the emotional and physical toil.

I cannot neglect my responsibilities as mother and wife just so I can avoid the situation that causes the stress. How I wished that was possible though! :-)

So how do I help myself? According to a stress management tip, since I cannot avoid the stressful situation, I can change my response to the stress. I should learn to pick my battles.

This morning, when I entered the children's bedroom, clothes were strewn all over the floor. The night before I spent quite a bit of time, folding the freshly washed laundry. And today same said clothes were all over the floor! :-( This was not the first time, yet my response was predictably the same. Yelled at the kids and spanked one for good measure.

That reaction was not the best, I know. It did not help the state of my blood pressure that early in the morning.

This coming weekend, I am going off on a weekend retreat in the mountains with 3 other ladies. I am really looking forward to this time, to being away from the family, and the demands of wife and mother. I have been thinking about going away some where for some quiet and relaxation for quite some time now and when the opportunity for a weekend retreat was presented to me, it was like a god send.

I have also decided to listen to less talk radio especially in the afternoons. I love listening to talk radio but at times, the topics being discussed can get me all worked up! :-) So now I am listening to a lot more christian radio and its more uplifting music and encouraging topics.

I know that I need to exercise. When it comes to exercising, I am the laziest person around. Exercise is supposed to be good for the pent up energies and tense muscles. Yeah, like I didn't know that! :-) I have an exercise bicycle in my room and its handle bars have become a place to hang clothes and hand bag.

Ok, will report more on my progress on stress management in coming entries to this blog.