Psychological Well-Being: Relishing Motherhood

Psychological Well-Being: Relishing Motherhood 

 

Becoming a mother is a unique , self- sacrificing,life transition  phenomenon and exceptional journey of plethora of emotions that women undergoes through during pregnancy. Amidst balancing between joyful thoughts of creation at one end and overwhelming thoughts of fear, worry and stress at another end, she needs nurturance, support and care.

 

Being a mother for the first time brings a lot of apprehensions regarding health, safety and future parenting but the most ignored area is taking due care for one's psychological well-being. Caring for psychological well-being is equally important as caring for one’s physical health.

 

After becoming mother for the first time, your body experiences a lot of physical, biological, hormonal and psychological changes. Focusing explicitly on psychological changes, one can  get depressed, sometime as severe as post-partum depression which needs a professional help of seeking guidance of a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist or both  but mood swings, frequent irritation, feeling lethargic and anger outbursts are common signs that one undergoes sometimes.

 

Here are  few general tips to strengthen your psychological well being and bloom into a happy self to relish the joys of motherhood.

 

Reconnecting  To One’s Inner Self:

 

You can only share, what you  have in plenty so, a sense of inner contentment, joy and peace of mind is required after undergoing huge biological change. You should try to practice daily yoga sessions, mindful meditation and deep breathing relaxation exercises to rejuvenate oneself. Do self-reflection  in finding meaning and purpose in your creation (childbirth), exploring this thought  would enhance your inner self  to plan and take appropriate actions for future. Finding meaning  and purpose leads to inner joy.

 

Self-Healing and Positivity Process: 

 

During pregnancy, your body has handled traumas such as physical pain, surgical procedures, worrisome thoughts, medicines and many more. So after child birth, take out time  for indulging into self healing procedures and learning to practice positive attitude. You can spend time in indulging into your favorite hobbies such as singing, dancing using instrumental music as therapy and consider going on a vacation to your favorite destinations. Never stop  learning new arts or skills, it enhances your inner growth. Always introspect for self-improvement and keep refining your own talents. Relish cooking, paintings , writing anything that is a source for inner joy. Be optimistic in your approach while handling relationships, family chores and works. A positive  thought  always have a soothing effect on what one desires to accomplish, enables to  think and plan better than usual.

 

Laughter Therapy:

 

Charlie Chaplin had stated ‘A day without laughter is a day wasted’, so starting your day with a sweet smile on can do miracles to your health. Start your day with using positive affirmations, smile and then practicing laughing aloud. You can clap, sing a song, listen to and share a joke, give a compliment to yourself, think of pleasurable memories and again have a hearty laugh. You can do this with the help of your partner too. This is a kind of relaxation which would rejuvenate you throughout the day. You can indulge it into 5 minutes of every day regularly practicing laughter therapy both morning and evening time. Remember, what soap  is to the body, laughter is to the soul.(Yiddish Proverb)  

 

Sleep Hygiene:

 

Practicing few ways to enhance quality of sleep  can reflect in your overall functioning and well being. Always try to have a fixed time for  sleep, it can become little difficult with the newborn baby but since the beginning try to develop your baby's sleep pattern in sync with your own. Try to make sure that your sleeping room is relatively noise free, try not to keep television, music systems and other gaming gadgets in your room. Too much of light can be a source of irritation and can initiate difficulty in sleeping. Use dim lights and proper ventilated room for sleeping. Switched off your mobile phones. No eating and talking on bed throughout the day. The bed should be used only for sleeping. Avoid excessive intake of caffeine/ alcohol or even water just before bedtime. Initiate a 30-minute walk prior to sleeping. You can take a shower for good sleep. Wear comfort clothing. Target to get minimum of 7-8 hours of  continuous sleep daily.

 

Healthy Routine and Healthy Diet: 

 

Maintaining a schedule for the day enforces you to be self-disciplined, which in turn has several benefits, like having your body clock in rhythm, keep you free from unnecessary worries or anxiety, keep you calm and focused, enhances your self- confidence and strengthen your self- esteem. Take time for self-care, indulge into routine exercises, have healthy conversations. Plan and prioritize your work and other engagement ahead as part of daily routine. A healthy routine includes a healthy diet. As the saying goes, ‘a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body.’ Therefore, taking  a balanced diet with necessary nutrition value including not skipping meals,  keeping the body well hydrated, avoid intake of alcohol, caffeine etc., is a key to maintain high metabolism for body to function and thus maintaining well being. 

 

Gifting Yourself A Gratitude Dairy:

 

Accepting, wholeheartedly, what good things  you receive with gratitude may provide you with inner stamina, contentment for keep moving ahead even in difficult times. Shun the habit of cribbing over petty issues and avoid frequent complaining  behavior.  Practicing gratitude is like watering your soul which would in turn help to maintain a harmonious balance between insatiable desires and need and purposes. You can create your own gratitude dairy to write in every day, one reasons for being truly grateful for the day. This would help you to maintain a good equilibrium between your inner-self and outer-self.

 

To conclude, investing time and energy into learning the above ways may strengthen you to handle daily stressors of life, recover you from work load, let your day be fruitful and enhances your  motivation to fully  relish your journey of motherhood while maintaining psychological well-being.

 

By: Bhavna Mukund

Clinical Psychologist