When Self-Reflection Pays Off

I freak out about everything and it seems like I can’t make it through the day without getting overwhelmed.

But it stops now. Life isn’t meant to be super-stressful all the time. It’s meant to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest. I love my kids and I love my husband and although things can pile up at times, I need to be more in control of my feelings.

I decided to write down my triggers, those little things that happen and inevitably make me feel like screaming for some relief. I figure if I know what my triggers are, I’ll be able to work around them and make it to bedtime without being exhausted and at my wits’ end.

My list looks a little like this (please tell me I’m not alone!):

When I’m overly tired

When the kids are too loud

When my husband is relaxing (lol)

When I know I’m going to bed late

When I have a big deadline at work

When my bank account is low or I get hit with an overdraft fee or something stupid

When I have a plan for the whole day and by 8:30 a.m., it’s all messed up.

For the most part, I think I can handle these.

When I’m overly tired – Take my butt to bed

When the kids are too loud – Calmly tell them to quiet down, leave the area if I need to

When my husband is relaxing (lol) – Take time to relax myself

When I know I’m going to bed late – Take my butt to bed

When I have a big deadline at work – Take a mental health day if it’s getting too stressful

When my bank account is low or I get hit with an overdraft fee or something stupid - Set up automatic bill pay and monitor my bank account daily.

When I have a plan for the whole day and by 8:30 a.m., it’s all messed up. - Quit trying to plan the whole day because things inevitably change. I just gotta learn to go with the flow.

Crazy how long it’s taken me to get to this point. But I’ll tell you what, therapy is incredibly helpful in this regard. It’s helping me see why I react the way I react (I suffer from a classic case of “Gotta control everything all the time”) and giving me ways to adjust my behavior in order to get the end result I want. I’m loving it.

Tara Pringle Jefferson is a freelance writer and blogger living in Ohio with her husband and two children. Visit her blog, www.theyoungmommylife.com, to read more of her observations about life, motherhood and love.