Moms, Just say no.
Sometimes we have to say no, and be ok with it.
Moms these days are faced with lot of pressure —
there’s a ton of pressure to live up to the “motherhood ideal” impressed on us by the media, the medical community, society, friends, and even ourselves.
This pressure creates a fertile ground for issues with maternal wellbeing and mental health.
While there isn’t an immediate solution to the pressure, there are things we as moms can do for ourselves to ensure we are working to preserve our wellbeing and not hinder it.
Sometimes saying no is a good thing, despite how it sounds.
Have you heard of emotional labor?
Emotional labor is a term referred to the tasks that often fall on women because women are often seen as more empathetic or compassionate.
Emotional Labor can include things like writing holiday cards to family, friends, etc., dressing the baby in a particular outfit that was gifted by a family member when going to visit said family member, remembering birthdays and anniversaries, and a slew of other tasks similar in nature that when looked at individually are not that monumental but when compounded become an energy drain.
Most research says that these tasks often fall on women/moms.
Sometimes saying no to something means saying yes to something else.
The holiday season in particular can bring around a wave of emotional labor. Going to aunt Sally’s for Thanksgiving dinner, declining a friend’s invite because of aunt Sally. Deciding to whether go to the parents or the in-laws, writing Holiday cards to the neighbors, getting gifts for coworkers — this could be an entire job!
As moms, we already all have a minimum of one job, many of us two or more. So, I’m here to let you know that it’s ok to say No. Say no to emotional labor so that you can say yes to self-care
As moms, we feel obliged to say yes more often than we say no.
Say no to writing holiday cards. Have your partner do it instead.
Say no to aunt Sally so that you can go have a drink over Turduken with your friends, if that feels good to you..
It’s OK. Say no to everyone and stay home and take a bath.
