Release Your Phone - and Release Your Stress!

Put down your phone and release your stress | YummyMummyClub.ca

I can’t be the only one who looks to my phone as an escape. Whether it’s an escape from a toddler tantrum of epic proportions or a preschooler acting out her not-quite-teenage angst, it’s an easy way to temporarily pretend that the situation will resolve itself. Or, at the very least, they’ll become bored of it and move onto something else.

So you’ll have to forgive me if I pick up my phone, log into Pinterest, and mindlessly scroll for a few minutes.

You try living this life.

Parenting isn’t for the weak, that’s for sure.

While I hate that it’s become this way, my phone has become my Achilles Heel. My imaginary way of relieving stress. Whether I’m feeling anxious, angry, frustrated, or just absolutely exhausted, I find myself using my phone as a coping mechanism.

I can’t be the only one, can I?

We all know that turning off our phones, stepping away from the computer, and just generally unplugging is the right way to de-stress. So why do we find ourselves still turning to our phones?

Is it because the scenes of a beach on Instagram allow our minds to drift, as we imagine taking off to an exotic land? Or is it because it’s similar to a television in that it allows us to senselessly zone out?

If I’m honest, I think we’re just passively taking a few minutes for ourselves in the only way we often can. I think it’s really as simple as that.

Parenting can be challenging. We can’t just leave for a coffee shop to meet friends when we’re feeling down. Neither can we curl up with a great book to escape. When parents are feeling burnt out, well, we still need to parent. Instead, it’s chin up and back at ‘em.

So we take escape the only way we can.

Looking at recipes on Pinterest that we’ll never be able to recreate. Or peeking enviously at our friends on Facebook, imagining the greener grass on their side.

You know, just the usual, adding more torment to our lives.

It’s not getting us anywhere we want to be and is only wasting our time in unproductive ways. This constant scrolling, comparing, living voyeuristically is making us the opposite of what we want it to do. It’s adding more stress to our lives instead of taking it away.

I think it’s time to stop the foolishness.

I propose that next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, instead of turning to your phone, try one of these techniques instead:

Turn on the music. Turn it up a little loud and dance it out. Or you can keep it soft and enjoy a few mellow tunes. Whatever your preference, you can do this with the children around and maybe they’ll chill out too.
Breathe. Take long, deep breaths instead of the rapid, shallow breathing of a caffeinated cat. When we’re stressed out, we start to breathe short and fast. Becoming mindful of your breathing and taking a few minutes to practice deep breaths will help ease your anxiety.
Take a break. Give yourself a mommy time out. Go to your bedroom, shut the door, and take five minutes to yourself. Maybe picture someplace you’d like to go. Really visualize it, the sand between your toes, the hot sun on your skin, the cool drink in your hand.

Decompress for a few minutes without turning to your phone and I promise, you’ll feel much better than if you’d looked at Facebook again, for the millionth time.