Hello! 

How are you? 

How’s your heart? 

How are you holding up? 

I want to know how you feel today, momma. 

A lot of things have changed in the last few months and whether you admit it or not, I know, you too feel sad or anxious too every now and then and that’s just normal. COVID-19 forced us to change the way we live and adapting to the new normal right away isn’t easy at all.

As moms, we try our best to be the ray of sunshine for our little one. 

We try hard to be the source of the family’s happiness and positivity.

We try to stay calm, strong, and remain smiling despite what’s happening around us.

Moms are great pretenders so really, are you okay?

I’m asking you this because I also thought I was okay until I realized the past few months that I wasn’t. I get easily sad, frustrated and I even cry at times. I felt like I was being held in a cage because of the quarantine and I thought it was not right to feel this way considering some people are even called to fight COVID-19 as front liners. 

I tried to ignore how I feel because I thought it wasn’t valid. Again, I thought my sadness due to my inability to go out and do normal stuff is nothing compared to what other people feel. I know my situation is far better compared to what others are experiencing so there’s really no reason to be sad. Right?

But, that wasn’t helping. Me ignoring my sadness and anxiety was just causing me troubles.

I realized there’s no point in ignoring my blues. 

I need to acknowledge my feeling so I can work on it and so I did. 

Thankfully, I am feeling so much better now so I want to share a few tips with you momma. 

Below are a few tips on how you can shoo away the blues these days:

1. 1. Look at the Bright Side – This sounds so simple but it’s something that we tend to neglect every now and then. Whether you believe it or not, there’s always a bright side you just have to look for it. You are alive, you are healthy, you have food on the table, you have a roof over your head, you have a smiling baby beside you, you are capable of fighting whatever trouble comes your way! You don’t need to be the richest, the most famous, the most beautiful person to feel blessed. Always be grateful to whatever you have and stop looking for what you don’t have.
   2. Talk to your Husband or your Friend – Don’t keep all the sadness in your heart. Talking to someone though they can’t give you a solution that helps a lot.   When I was feeling blue, I told my husband about it. Sabi ko, “Feeling ko nakakulong ako, nakaka suffocate”. Sabi niya, “Punta kang Alfa Mart sa labas” 🤣 He listened, talked to me, and gave me extra me-time sa bahay. Me time that I use to sleep, browse social media, or talk to friends via chat.
   3. Get Enough Sleep – The lack of sleep can cause stress so make sure you get enough sleep. So what can you do if you are having a hard time sleeping due to anxiety? Diffuse some lavender essential oil, take a warm bath before you sleep and maybe ask for a nice massage from your hubby? 🙂 Do whatever it takes to get enough sleep.
   4. Keep yourself Busy – Focus on work, on taking care of your little one, or maybe start a hobby? I, for instance, started taking care of plants, and surprisingly, it helped me a lot to feel better. 
   5. Listen to music – It has been a while since the last time I listened to music but, I started listening again and it was surprisingly relaxing. 
   6. Disconnect to Connect – Social media can be really toxic. You see a lot of negative news, comments, and photos that may not be good for you. So, if you feel like checking your Facebook or IG feed is just making you feel worse, uninstall your app and take a rest for a day or two. I do this every now and then and it’s really refreshing. I also unfollow toxic people on social media just because I don’t think it’s not healthy for me to see their hatred post on my feed. 
   7. Get Connected with Family and Friends – Although social media can be a source of stress at times, let’s be real here, it’s also a great way to connect with friends and family through video chats. My little girl calls her grandparents every day to stay connected. I, on the other hand, chat with my friends daily and even video chat with them every now and then. It’s a great way to fill connected despite the distance. 
   8. Be Involved – Be involved in a group or a movement to keep yourself busy. If you are a mom who doesn’t have a lot of mom friends, connect with other moms! Join a Facebook group of mommies who are willing to support one another. You can join our Moms Support Moms PH Group too if you want. It’s a great community of moms
   9. Start an Online Business – Join the trend and sell online! It will keep you busy and productive, you won’t have the time to think about getting stuck at home.
   10. Go out WHEN NECESSARY – Our mental health is important. I don’t encourage anyone to go outside recklessly and just stroll on the mall for no reason. But, if you feel like you’re about to explode due to the feeling of suffocation, maybe it won’t hurt if you do the next grocery run for the month. I did that when I started feeling really bad. I did the grocery which is by the way, very therapeutic to moms. 😅 Anyway, you just have to be really careful. Wear a face mask, a face shield, always apply alcohol on your hands, follow social distancing, take a bath when you arrive home and sanitize the groceries. You know the drill.
   11. Play with your Little One – This is the perfect time to bond and focus on your little one. I mentioned earlier that we are the source of their happiness but really, they are the source of our happiness too! It’s amazing how much inspiration we can get from them.
   12. Meditate and Pray – ĺ think this is very important. Prayers do wonder so I hope you take a few minutes a day to reflect, meditate and reflect. I know it’s hard to get a few minutes of peace a day when you are a mom but do it. Take a few minutes a day when your little one is sleeping. 

I know it isn’t easy. Some people might even accuse you of being shallow for feeling bad about getting stuck at home but you feel how you feel and your feelings are real (Guess what movie I got this line from). So, ignore what other people have to say. Do what makes you happy responsibly. As long as you are not helping spread the virus, then it’s okay. Let’s hope and pray that the situation gets better so that we can all go back to the normal way of living. In the meantime, let’s deal with the situation now but don’t neglect your mental health.

How about you, momma? What do you do to shoo away the blues and stay sane these days? Share some tips in the comments below. Thanks for reading! <3