Ways for working moms to keep calm and carry on

There’s much to stress about with today’s busy urban lifestyle.

For working moms like us, juggling our multiple roles and responsibilities at home, at work, and in the community can be harrowing. Meeting expectations from superiors and colleagues at work, seeing to the needs of family members, and serving the communities we are part of do sometimes take their toll.

A chronically stressful lifestyle will have serious effects on both physical and mental health. Manifestations of stressful living range from headaches, stomach upsets and chest pains to lack of motivation, difficulty sleeping and anger or irritability.

Given all the demands on our time and attention, working moms can’t afford to be sidelined by symptoms of stress.

Some well-meaning folk would just give the advice to “keep calm and carry on.” However, that is easier said than done.

Among the ways to effectively handle stress, as advised by a Psychology Today article, are to:

• Accept that stress is a part of life.
• Keep problems in perspective.
• Take care of physical health.
• Look for a silver lining.

I discovered one such silver lining when my sister-in-law gifted me with a bottle Prosource Calming Oil.

In this handy 10ml bottle is a mixture of natural ingredients that include virgin coconut oil, ginger, lavender, eucalyptus and menthol. The bottle’s roll-on mechanism also helps in quickly applying the oil to alleviate discomforts and various effects of stress, such as:

• Headaches
• Neck, back and joint pains
• Muscle pains
• Gas pains
• Dizziness and motion sickness
• Colds and coughs

This calming oil is a boon to me whenever I experience driving anxiety. When I feel the headache and nausea coming when I’m behind the wheel, I rub some calming oil on my temples. The cool, soothing sensation on my skin and the fresh scent help to manage my discomfort, allowing me to successfully reach my destination.

This was also helpful when my little boy got sick; massaging it onto his back and chest helped in quieting his bouts of coughing enough for him to get a good night’s sleep.

Stress may be a part of life, but it need not be life-limiting.

Prosource Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is available in most Watsons and Mercury Drug outlets nationwide. It retails at Php120/tube.