I can think of almost no other role in this life that requires as much emotional resilience as being a mom. Being a resilient mom means to be able to withstand or recover quickly from stress and challenges, and our roles as mothers give us plenty of opportunities every day to practice this skill.
From enduring a whiny toddler hanging on your legs all day, to discovering upsetting texts on your teenager’s cell phone, to trying to meet a work deadline while also managing all of the moving parts of family life, to having a child scream at you that they hate you at the end of a long day…. Sometimes motherhood feels like a never-ending exercise in patience, grit, and self control.
One thing I know for sure is that the more we become emotionally resilient moms, the easier it will be to handle all of the ups and downs of motherhood. And the good news is, emotional resilience is something that we can develop more of and get better at over time.
Today’s guest is Dr. Jen Riday, a mom of 6 with a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies. She’s the host of the Vibrant Happy Women Podcast and her mission is to help busy moms get off the hamster wheel and find balance so they can be their best selves and love their lives again. Due to her mix of academic expertise and personal experience mothering a large family, Jen is uniquely qualified to teach practical tools that bridge the gap between research and “real life,” and I know my conversation with her today will give you a few practical ideas for how you can become a resilient mom in this important way.
-3 Takeaways on how to become a more resilient mom
- Practice holding space for yourself. This may sound like a bit of a nebulous concept, but I love the simple way that Jen defined it. She said it’s “giving myself space to understand what I think and what I feel.” We can hold space for ourselves by not overfilling our schedules, by creating a personal retreat within our homes, or developing a meaningful journaling or meditation practice that just gives us the chance to metabolize our experiences and learn from them. I love that Jen pointed out that holding space for yourself is true self-care.
- Feel it to heal it. The best way to process emotions is to “stick with them,” as Jen said, or in other words, stay in your body and notice them, name them, envision them, and breathe them in without judgement or overthinking. If you would like to dive more into this concept, I’d love to remind you about the episode I did with my counselor a few months ago called “How to Heal your Relationship with Food this Year.
- Create healthy boundaries. This is essential if you want to protect your ability to stay resilient–you have to know what you need emotionally and how to guard it, as well as know what is not your stuff to handle. Boundaries are what you will do to protect your needs, not what you expect others to do because as Jen said “I am responsible for MY thoughts, feelings and actions and NOT responsible for the thoughts, feelings and actions of another person.”
>>>Did you relate to these tips on how to become a more resilient mom? What would you add to her takeaways? Tell us in the comments below!
–Show Notes-
- Jen Riday Website
- Jen Riday Instagram
- Jen Riday Facebook
- Vibrant Happen Women Podcast
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- David Hawkins
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-Related Episodes-
Did you enjoy this episode about becoming a more emotionally resilient mom? If so, you might love…
164: 3 WAYS TO HEAL YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD THIS YEAR // NATALIE SHAY
030: HOW TO COACH YOUR CHILDREN THROUGH THEIR BIG EMOTIONS // GEORGIA ANDERSON OF KNOWHOWMOM.COM
129: RETHINKING MEDITATION AS A BUSY MOM // DR. LEAH WEISS
-Additional Resources from 3 in 30 Podcast-
- Order your copy of the Flecks of Gold Journal, a three-year journal to help you gather the golden moments within your motherhood!
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