12 Essential things WAHMS should know AND do

As busy work at home women, we often put the needs, health and happiness of our families, loved ones and others before our own well being.   Running around taking the kids places, making meals, doing the washing, cleaning, running a successful business and being a good wife with all her duties takes a toll on our wellbeing, both physical and emotional.

I remember being shocked and disgusted when the airlines told its passengers to put the breathing mask on themselves before their children, to me they were saying look after us first before we tended to our children.  I needed to have it explained to me before I could understand, that if we couldn’t breath we couldn’t look after our children and they would die, but if we were ok we had all the energy to help our children.  Wow what a revelation for me!

The same principle applies to our family in similar situations, if we are running on empty emotionally or physically then we can’t give to the special people in our lives we want to give to most.  We forget that others need us and we need to be playing at full capacity so we can be there for them, so looking after ourselves and all our needs first is the best way to look after the people dearest to us.

12 Essentials for a happier WAHM life

1. Give up the fags for good.

Smoking is harmful for the lungs, throat and mouth, but it also affects our heart and blood pressure.  If you haven’t done this already, stopping smoking is an essential part of good health, it will probably be the hardest thing you ever do, so don’t be ashamed to ask for help from the Doctor, hypnotherapist, chemist or any other mean available to you, but boy when you’ve done it you will you be proud of you for doing it!

2. Manage your stress

Take notice of your body, what it is doing and what it is saying to you, skin disorders, acne, sores and dry skin can be a dead give away, as are the colour of your eyes, if the whites aren’t white then something is going on in your body.  Cravings of sugar, coffee or chocolate is a good indication your going through stressful times, as is headaches, weight loss and gain from digestive problems, lack of libido, depression or sleeping problems.

3. Spend more time each day laughing.

Laughing is wonderful for your heart as well as your general well being.  It elevates your mood and makes you feel wonderful, it is essential we all laugh everyday, so seek out funny videos and have a laugh, you will feel so much better.

4. Eat a balanced diet

Provides yourself with all the essential vitamins, micronutrients and minerals we require to fuel our bodies for maximum benefits, it includes lots of leafy green and various other vegetables, protein, calcium rich foods and eliminates processed sugar laden foods.

5. Take time out for you

Make you a priority in your life. Make keeping you happy the most important thing you do, then you can share your happiness with those you love. If you are miserable, that is all you will share and that isn’t what your love ones want to see you as.  Including activities that is good for your mental and emotional health such as Meditation, Yoga, women’s circles or take a singing class.

6. Stay social

Connecting with family, girlfriends & and friends regularly will keep your mood elevated, it will give you something to look forward to and reasons to laugh. We are naturally social beings and staying connected fills our heart.  So take time to make new friendships, join a club, take up a new interest or volunteer to a cause that you are passionate about and you will meet new people with similar interests.

7. Make rekindling your love relationship with your partner a priority.

Often after years of a hectic lifestyle, including the responsibility of work, looking after the home, our children and also our parents as they age, makes us tired at the end of the day and unfortunately this reduces the desire to make prioritising special romantic time in our love relationship a reality.  Our lack of energy combined with the habit of  being comfortable creates a lazy attitude for excitement and passion in this area.  We don’t make spending quality time talking, touching or romancing our partners important like we did in the beginning of our relationships.  Putting in extra effort can to rekindle the love and affection we initially felt when we fell in love well worth the effort.

8. Schedule regular health checks

From 40 onwards our health needs to become more of a priority to us as the body starts to show us signs of aging, our minds still feel like teenagers, even better, but the body just isn’t the same, and we might need reading glasses our blood pressure, thyroid, and cholesterol needs to be checked.  We need to be vigilant having our routine pap smears and mammogram, especially when there is family history of things going wrong.

9. Move your body and stay active.

Regular exercise is really important for our heart and bone health, as we age we slow down and may not be running the marathons we did earlier in our lives, but by keeping ourselves active and moving by doing simple things like walking the dog or riding a bike, lifting weights or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, taking dance classes can improve our well-being.

10. Use your brain

Learn a new skill, take a class in something you love doing, learn a language or do some brain training to expand your brain function or neuroplasticity, it will help improve your memory, problem solving ability and your brain processing speed.

11. Tap into your creativity

Have fun in your happy zone making something using your problem solving and thinking skills, you will be expressing your emotions and feelings through your art reducing stress and anxiety, the satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment is a great feeling. So have fun, create something exceptional and let it all out.

12. Get a good nights sleep

•               Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time in the morning.
•               Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature when you go to bed.
•               Don’t eat a meal prior to bedtime, your evening meal should be 4 hours prior to bedtime.
•               Beds are for sleeping, don’t watch TV, read, listen to music or play on computers in bed.

Each of us have different needs and desires but these 12 reminders will put us in good stead to fill our own buckets and live a happier healthier life while we still do all the things we need to for our families and home.