Stress is not Feminine!

Are you over-working yourself?

The thing about being a mother, is, you have to do it all. Everything. All the time. Your job starts at 7 or 8 every morning and ends at 8 or 9pm, every day, weekdays, weekends, and holidays, and you are on call 24/7. I acquired a sinus infection a few days ago and it occurred to me that I was working too hard.

When I had mastitis when my son was just 10 days old, my midwife told me that the main culprit of getting it was doing too much and putting strain on your body. Since mastitis is just an infection of the breast, could it be that mastitis, along with sinus infections, are caused by stress? Yes. According to LiveStrong, "chronic stress can make an individual susceptible to several infections, including those of the sinuses"

Let me tell you, I totally didn't feel very feminine! In fact, I didn't want to do much at all. Our bodies are very smart... when we need to rest and choose not to, our bodies will make us rest. Every time I deal with something like this, I have been exerting too much on my body. Usually caused by a number of things, like lack of sleep, trying to move, trying to throw a big party, etc.

Having this infection reminds me yet again that I am over-doing it. I have the right to take it easy and slow down a bit! Just because I am a woman, doesn't mean that I have to hurt myself in the process.

Meditating helps relieve some of the stress, but the best thing to do, is to avoid it completely. Know your limits! If your child needs you, and dinner needs to be done, if you're feeling overwhelmed, take it easy!!! Grab a handful of almonds and some fruit and call it a mini-snack (for whoever needs dinner, you, kids, hubby, etc) while you sit with the little one and breathe! Being a Mom is hard enough without the added problems of stress-creating sickness.

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It is OK to relax when you need to, and occasionally skip the dishes to opt for more sleep. It is OK to read a book instead of scrubbing the baseboards. It is OK to feel feminine instead of sick!