Prioritizing self-care
Self-care can give you the strength and confidence to help your child with ADHD be successful.
Parenting is hard and stressful. Parenting a child with ADHD is significantly harder and more stressful. We didn’t sign up for this. We often feel like it’s our fault. And some days we don’t like ourselves–or our child–very much.
Taking time every day for self-care is important to managing stress. You might think, “How can I possibly do that? There aren’t enough hours in the day already. It just feels selfish when my child has so many challenges.”
It can be hard to move past the guilt and embrace that caring for ourselves IS caring for our child with ADHD. The stress makes it harder to show up when our child is exhibiting negative ADHD behaviors. Their behaviors reinforce our stress, and the cycle continues.
Practicing self-care can put you in a better position to manage your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It helps you grow stronger and more confident to help our child be successful.
The goal is to prioritize time each day–just 5 minutes can make a difference–to do something that gives you joy or helps you feel grounded.
If you’re pressed for time, choose quick and easy self-care activities like having a cup of tea, calling a friend, playing a song, or getting some fresh air. What’s something you’d enjoy?
If you have more time, then try longer, relaxing activities like taking bubble bath, watching a movie, or spending time with friends. What are some of your go-to’s?
When you find yourself in the moment of responding to your child’s challenging behaviors, saying a short mantra can help redirect the negative thoughts. “I can keep calm.” “I can lead by example.” “My child has ADHD and isn’t trying to be bad.” Statements like these can have positive, centering effects.
Your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings all affect one another. Feelings are automatic and can be difficult to change on the spot. It can be easier to use self-care to target our behaviors and thoughts.
And when you feel good, you’re more likely to see problems as solvable and to have more confidence in your abilities as a parent or caregiver.
SOMETHING TO TRY: What’s one thing you can do for yourself today?
