Backpack - check ✔️
Crayons - check ✔️
Kleenex - check ✔️
Therapy appointment - ugh … check?
The time has come. Target’s back corner has shifted from beach towels, water balloons, and s’mores supplies to a scene filled with Crayola, Encanto pocket folders, and hand sanitizer. First day outfits have been decided and schedules are confirmed. Back-to-school season is here. The kids are ready - but are you?
The do-list is long. Commitments endless. Spending aplenty. If you’re being honest with yourself, you’re probably putting yourself at the bottom of your priority list. We’re here to challenge that. It might seem a little nuts, but hear us out: the start of the school year is a natural time to focus on you.
What might seem like an impossible task is more doable than you think. And it might actually be perfect timing. Have you ever heard that the best time for a home inspection is during a rainstorm? What might seem like a contraindication is actually sound advice – by doing a look-around during rough weather, you get to see the leaky areas in a house. Starting therapy during this time of the year – this crazy, full time of year – could actually be a really impactful thing for your family.
Here are five reasons why back-to-school season is the time for moms to focus on their mental health.
Work smarter, not harder
Do you ever wonder what you did with your time before you had children? Or when your responsibilities at home or work weren’t all-consuming? As you and your family grew, you developed strategies - maybe even unknowingly - to survive the increasing demands on your time. Even with the best mom hacks in play, back-to-school season can highlight problem areas or ways in which we are inefficient. Your therapist will work with you to identify patterns and develop tools to make your life easier. You might also discuss what is realistic during this season of life and work to be “okay” with things being okay instead of perfect.
You’ve got buttons
Most simply, we all have our buttons. Experiences from childhood or our young adult life that inform how we view the world - poverty, unkind comments from teachers or coaches, expectations, trauma. You find that you’re redirecting your insecurities about not having the “in” shoes, not making the team, or needing a certain grade to earn a scholarship onto your child(ren). Therapy will help you see these more clearly, assess their origins, and rewrite the stories you tell yourself. Your experiences *don’t* have to be your child’s experiences and your buttons don’t have to be buttons forever.
(Re)develop your identity
Do you struggle to answer the questions, “what are your hobbies?” or “can you tell me about yourself?” Parenthood can be an absolute jam … and it’s easy to lose sight of things you once enjoyed. Back-to-school season can be a time for you to dedicate to re-focusing on you - what you enjoy, how you want to spend your time, the ways you want to show up for your kids now that their lives are different, and more. Your time in therapy can be a time to process the change in your life, raise up your strengths, and create a game plan for your next chapter.
Tools to help you calm your child
If you’re familiar with the “Sunday scaries”, you know all too well about the emotions that back-to-school can stir in your children – and in turn, you. Together with your therapist, you will identify and practice strategies that you can use to increase your peace. You’ll also learn tips and tools to implement at home to increase calm and confidence in your children.
Time is different – we’ve got options
When you have children in school, time is different. Maybe you are a stay-at-home parent, and newfound silence in your house is screaming at you. Or you’re suddenly the parent of a kid who is involved in *all the things* and you’re catching your Mom Taxi coming and going.
Amidst the changes and responsibilities of back-to-school season, you want something easy. A commitment that isn’t a struggle to sustain or a stressor to fit into your day. Marble Wellness offers three convenient options for you to make - and keep - your therapy a priority. Therapists are available to meet with you in-person at our office in Ballwin, MO, at Queeny Park for a walk-and-talk session, or virtually, from the comfort and convenience of your home.
In-person
Does that deafening silence resonate with you? We got your back. In person sessions are great for people who want (and NEED) to get out of the house.
Walk-and-talk
Want to move more? Is fresh air something in your coping toolbox that you haven’t been getting enough of? Our walk-and-talk appointments at Queeny Park meet these goals and more.
Virtual
Are you the parent who is just trying to keep up? Virtual appointments are a great way to focus on YOU while minimizing the time you’re on the road.
Does this resonate with you? Is back-to-school season the time for YOU to start therapy? Marble Wellness therapists are booking appointments as early as NEXT week. Contact us today at (636) 234-3052 or hello@marblewellness.com to get started.
Start Therapy with a St. Louis, Mo Therapist
If you live in or near St. Louis and want to find a safe and compassionate place to process your maternal overwhelm, or any other problems you’re dealing with, the therapists at Marble Wellness are here for you. You can