Dealing With Parental Overstimulation: The 2 Key Techniques

 

Source - CC0 License

There are times when we just feel like our nerves are incredibly frayed. Having kids can be incredibly humbling, but it can also make us feel like we've taken on one task too many. Some kids can be forces of nature, and this means that we can struggle to unwind if they're pushing our buttons or they're not sleeping as much as they should and when they are awake, they are a whirling dervish that is a combination of Jack Black, Jim Carrey, and Sonic the Hedgehog rolled into one! So when we feel like this, what can we do to reduce that overstimulation and feelings of being frazzled?

Incorporate Well-being Into Your Life

If you are feeling overwhelmed and you're already doing what you can to relax, the solution is very simple: increase your well-being practices. Lots of people can go down the legalized medicinal route and buy Delta 8 products, but this isn't for everybody. If you are feeling like you're overstimulated or you are a bit worn out, you need to find the right relaxation tactics for you. 

We also need to remember that these things don't work overnight; we have to practice them. If you feel like it takes a long time to calm down long after your children have been battling with you at bedtime rather than going straight to sleep, find something that you can do within a quick 10-minute time slot. There are tools like heart rate coherence breathing, which very simply is about breathing in and out through your nose for 5.5 seconds, as well as learning to reduce your reactions to stress by stimulating the vagus nerve, which you can do through a number of different practices.

Find Quiet

This is very difficult to achieve when you have noisy children, but while you might not be able to seek quiet right away, there are little solutions that may be necessary at that moment. Earplugs may very well be the best solution for you at that time because it can reduce the noise levels. Of course, it's also essential to set a routine that involves quiet time. 

If there are siblings involved, one of the rules of quiet time is to be by themselves. Lots of parents don't like the idea of leaving children by themselves for a long period of time, but it's important to be age-appropriate here, especially if kids are more likely to argue. If your kids can go to their room or around the back garden for 20 minutes of quiet time, this can give you the opportunity to regain some sense of sanity.

When we struggle to find time to unwind, it's easy to feel overstimulated and frazzled. In addition to these, we should work at reducing overwhelming stimuli where possible, for example, by reducing our screen time and creating environments with fewer sensations, while also setting boundaries. By implementing some of these strategies, we can manage the impact of overstimulation on our daily lives as parents.