Can the Stress of Being a Mom Cause Hair Loss?

How Mom Stress Can Cause Hair Loss

What can cause hair loss in women? With all of the traveling and adventuring, it is easy to become stressed from time to time, especially when you also take into account the challenges of everyday life and work. Although a little stress is normal when you have a family, if you are beginning to feel as if your stress is endless, you must find ways to manage it, as stress can lead to physical symptoms, including hair loss.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

In the photo above, I have inexpensive hair extensions for a Halloween costume party. I thought it was obvious, but my friends actually thought I went to the salon and got real extensions. My actual hair is shoulder length. Pretty good color match, don't you think? Though, I don't have a problem with hair loss or thinning, I did notice a lot of hair extra hair in the shower drain after recovering from Covid 19.

What causes stress?

You may begin to experience stress due to changes coming up in your life, even if these changes are fun ones like going on vacation or moving into your dream house. You might also start to feel stressed if you feel pressured, whether this is to be a good mom or to meet all of your work deadlines. Some women feel stressed if they do not take enough time off work, or if they are worried about something, such as a new baby or their lack of finances. 

How does stress cause hair loss?

As well as having an emotional impact on you and causing mental health issues, stress can also create a physical reaction in your body. It should also be noted that hormonal changes such as perimenopause and menopause can cause hair thinning and loss in women. When you are stressed, your hair follicles might stay in the resting phase of their cycle rather than fluctuating between resting and growing. If this persists for too long, they might then begin to fall out regardless of what you do to your hair. This can make you even more stressed as you begin to feel self-conscious about your appearance.

Should you get a hair transplant?

Although your hair will usually start to regrow once your stress levels have lessened, if you do find that you are struggling with hair loss to a great extent, you should consider the benefits of a hair transplant from a hair clinic near me. They will be able to restore your hair to its prime and allow you to disguise any bald patches that have formed on your head. With a hair transplant, there;s need for Halloween hair extensions. This can help you to meet your hair goals and to feel like yourself again, boosting your confidence, and enabling you to focus on your family. Although there are many different treatments for hair loss, hair transplants are nearly permanent and can make a dramatic difference that will allow you to start living your life to the fullest instantly. You won't have to hide inside your house in fear that others will notice your hair loss.

How can you reduce stress?

If you want to reduce the stress that you've been experiencing, make sure that you exercise often and get out into nature to enjoy the benefits of sunshine, that you drink and eat enough healthy choices, and that you try to reduce the triggers of your stress.

Take some time off to recenter yourself and perform self-care activities during which you can focus on yourself rather than the rest of the family. If your stress has reached unmanageable levels, consider scheduling an appointment with a therapist, where you can talk through the problems you are facing and process the emotions that you are experiencing. Sometimes, it's as simple as throwing on some silly hair extensions and attending a costume party! Whatever you choose, be sure to keep your stress levels at a minimum. Seek help if the stress feels overwhelming.

Recommended:

Self-Care Tips

Ways to Reduce Stress

What Not to Wear: Encouraging Self Expression: What's She Wearing Today: Mayhem Fashion

Encourage Self Expression to Create Self-Esteem

Mandy Mayhem, Fashionista Extraordinaire. She is one of a kind. We let her wear whatever she wants, wherever she wants. There are some misses, but way more hits! Allowing her to pick her own clothes and letting her know we accept her choices encourages self-esteem. Enjoy!

Outfit:
Layers of Ruffles paired with Cowboy Boots (Wal-mart Special) and a Magician's Hat (Reminds me of Slash). Never leave the house without a purse accessory. Today, the teddy bear backpack.



And yes, she almost always picks her own outfits.

I refuse to let grown-up stereotypes or 'you have to do this' or personal insecurities stifle her creativity. Life is too short to be boring. Live a little.





  

Purple witch skirt over dark, denim jeans.

Even in this one, her favorite tie-dyed onesie.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the many trips to the grocery when Clifford, The Big Red Dog, or Bob the Builder's friend, Wendy, or a Kitty or a Dalmatian in footie PJ's escorted me to the grocery store.

Creative outlets are important around here, ya know.

Tinkerbell Backpack.

  

Foam cowboy hat, Tinkerbell backpack, pink sundress (too short), 
knee-length skirt, pink monkey rubber boots.

So, wherever you go, strike a pose and never, ever, stifle your child's creativity. It's the stuff of superstars. A real superstar needs a supportive network to thrive.

Green Disney socks with plastic ballet flats.

Recommended Reading:


Innovative Interventions in Child and Adolescent Mental Health*


Building a Chicken Coop in a Tutu

Self Care Tips for Parents

A Guide to Taking Care of Yourself as a Parent

Self-care is often not a parent’s number one priority. First and foremost, they tend to the wants and needs of their child, and everything the parent wants and needs comes in a resounding second place. Parents need to take care of themselves to properly care for their children. We've compiled some self care tips for parents.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click and purchase I get a commission.

Living without self care for too long, however, will do neither parents nor their children any good. It will lower the elder’s morale and make them more susceptible to fatigue, and the younger won’t get the care they need as a result. If you feel that you, as a parent, are guilty of not taking care of yourself as often as you need to, then, you need to make a change.

To see what you can do to take care of yourself without forgoing your responsibilities as a parent, be sure to check out the following self care tips for parents.

Guide on How to Take Care of Yourself as a Parent

Don’t be adverse to napping

If you find yourself with a bit of spare time on your hands (if your parents offer to have your child for the afternoon, for instance), don’t feel that you need to spend your free time cleaning the home or getting dinner ready. Spend your break wisely, even if that means taking a little nap. Sleeping is always an excellent idea for parents, especially those that feel particularly run down, and even a few minutes here and there will prove beneficial. No matter the time of the day, if you feel in need of some rejuvenation, just get your head down for a nap!

Exercise regularly

On the other hand, physical activity can also prove to be a significant benefit in this instance. Whether you head to the gym, go on a run, take a brisk walk, or workout at home while your child is playing or sleeping, you will release endorphins around your body when you engage in physical activity, and these endorphins will make you feel instantly more positive. When you are tasked with the demanding job of being a parent, being positive as often as you can is pivotal, which, in turn, makes exercising regularly a must.

If you really are opposed to strength training and cardio work, then why not try yoga? This form of exercise, whether it’s rigorous or gentle, will release the endorphins as mentioned above just as well. What’s more, it will keep you in shape both physically and mentally to boot. Making you a better parent!

Engage in therapy

Sometimes, all you need to do to take care of yourself as a parent is to engage in therapy. When you talk to a neutral third-party, you'll be able to dump a lot of the feelings, fears, and worries that you have long carried around with you without having to worry about what your friends and family may think about you. The neutral advice that they offer will also allow you to see your life from a whole new perspective. Again, this will make you a better parent.

For more information on how you can engage in a therapeutic program, especially that that is centered around substance abuse and mental health, make sure to check out Forwardrecovery.com. With compassionate and effective programs on offer, Forward Recovery could help you to become not only a better person but a better parent.

By making a point of taking care of yourself, both you and your child will benefit. Take the advice laid out in the guide above, then, and start putting yourself first for a change. Self care while you're parenting is essential to a healthy family life. Don't feel guilty to the time you need for yourself!

Recommended:

Teen Activities

Parenting Teens

Crafting Builds Confidence and Self Esteem in Children

 Essential Crafting Skills That Every Child Should Learn

Art and crafting activities have positive mental and physical benefits. Studies show that when children work together on craft projects, they build language skills as they create together, and more easily understand the perspective of others. Crafting also helps cultivate a child’s sense of achievement, building confidence and self-esteem through creation and experimentation.

In addition to learning important skills, supporting your child with creative outlets for free expression is good for their overall well being and health. Crafting is a wonderful way to relieve stress and offer space to learn to experiment and create. With a few simple supplies and an open mind, children will have a lot of fun while learning to enjoy crafting, all while developing a wide range of important skills. Here are some recommendations for teaching essential crafting skills to your children.

Junk Modeling

Open-ended art projects encourage the development of critical thinking skills. As a child makes a mental plan for what they want to make, they are building visual-spatial skills and exercising both right and left brain function. Designing models and sculpture helps children learn to evaluate shapes. An assortment of containers, wires, plastic, and random bits of household junk can be transformed into robots, toys, or mobiles. Provide glue and tape to help secure the pieces together, and paint and decorations for embellishing the model.

Help them turn a box into a pretend stove.

Sewing

Hand sewing tasks, like threading a needle or tying a knot, help improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. As noted by the Philly Art Center, the small muscles in a child’s fingers, wrists, and hands are strengthened through arts and crafts activities, which helps to make learning to write easier. Older children may enjoy designing costumes or simple bags. Providing a sewing machine for children is a creative and fulfilling way to encourage artistic expression. Math skills, including spatial reasoning, measurement taking, and shapes are skills that can be learned through pattern making and design. Offer to host a fashion show for children to share and reflect on their creations.

What are the Cognitive Benefits of Crafts?

Making A Collage

Teaching crafting skills like cutting with scissors and drawing encourages the development of fine motor muscles. Suggest a collage theme and set a table with an assortment of papers, magazines, fabrics, leftover crafting supplies, and glue. Children will also learn about dimension and composition, gaining concentration skills as they assemble materials to create their art. Encourage children as they create unstructured work, focusing on the process and exploring the creation of art rather than the end product.

String Art

Children who engage with creative activities exercise and develop a creative mindset, learning there can be many ways to complete a task. With yarn, flat top nails or pins, and a bit of scrap wood or cardboard, kids will build skills like measuring and the steps involved in creating geometric and linear art. Patience and imagination will be stretched as they figure out how to transfer their ideas to the surface. Older children can be challenged to make elaborate templates or intricate designs with parabolic curves and repeating patterns. Dr. Kerry Freeman (Head of Art & Design Education, Northern Illinois University) adds that when kids engage in crafting and art for expression and are given the ability to take risks, they are developing lifelong innovation skills that will contribute to their success academically and as adults.

Learning essential crafting skills has so many benefits for your child, contributing to both their physical and emotional development as they grow. Plan to engage your child with age-appropriate creative activities every week. Enjoy spending family time together to teach these essential crafting skills to your child, it’s a wonderful opportunity to bond and create memories.

Recommended:

Pick a Collage Project from this list

Benefits of Extra Curriculars for Kids with Disabilities ad Special Needs

6 Reasons You Should You Retrain as A Nurse

 6 Reasons You Should You Retrain as A Nurse

Whether you've homeschooled or attended public school, the field of nursing is a great profession to learn. In the past, not that long ago – once you had a job and were on a career path, you stuck with it. Essentially, jobs were for life, and changing wasn’t something that a lot of people did. If you worked in a store, you stayed a store worker. If you were a laborer, you remained a laborer. However, if you've ever thought about changing careers, now might just be the time to become a nurse!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Today, things have changed. We’re not even expected to think of our jobs as being for life, and evolving midway through our careers is something that more and more people are willing to do. After all, why be unhappy in your job when you could retrain as something else and start a career that makes you glad to be working and makes you feel as though you are truly contributing to society? 

Technology plays a big part in allowing us to do this. Not only does it mean we can research different careers and apply for new jobs, but if we need to learn how to do something, or we need additional qualifications, we can do that online too, often while we work at something else in the meantime. 

Nursing is one of the careers that people tend to want to go into later in their lives. Whether they have experienced being in a hospital and were impressed with their nursing care, or they liked the way nurses helped a friend or family member, or even if nursing was something that had always wanted to do. Still, their life circumstances meant they couldn’t do it at the time and have to try, later on, nursing is something that is always going to be there for you. 

Get a Guide to Becoming a Certified Nurses Assistant

Nursing is a rewarding career to go into, and if you're thinking of changing your career, this is a great career choice to move to; here are some of the reasons why. 

You Can Be A Nurse 

We need to be honest; although nursing is a fantastic career with many different prospects and areas to progress into, and much job satisfaction, it isn’t something that is going to work for everyone. There is shift work to consider, the job is hard, and you need to be a caring, compassionate person who wants to take care of other people. Not everyone can do this; it’s just not in their nature, and many people might feel uncomfortable and unhappy if they were to become a nurse. 

Learn How to Succeed in Nursing School

However, if you do have the kind of personality and skills that make for a good nurse, and you feel this is what you are meant to do with your life, then there aren’t many barriers to entry. This is a skilled role, but one that offers the chance to everyone who wants to take it to learn exactly what to do and how to do it. You do need to realize that it might take some time to gain the qualifications needed, especially if you're still working full time at your current job, but the fact you can study online means the choice is yours, and the career is open to everyone with the right mindset. 

The personality traits that will make for a good nurse include:

• Patience

• A willingness to learn

• Being able to listen

• Compassion

• Organizational skills

• Dedicated to the job

• Able to cope with shift work 

• Being good with people

• Being physically fit 

So Much Choice 

The term ‘nurse’ is an overarching one that describes the profession as a whole but might not accurately describe exactly what it is you want to do as a career. This is because there are many different types of nurses and so much choice within this seemingly simple career. 

For example, if you love children, you can be a children’s nurse. The same is true if you want to work with senior citizens. There are trauma nurses and OR nurses. There are also different levels of nursing within each sector too. Each type of nurse must have a thick skin, be compassionate, and in a good state of mental health. Nursing can get depressing.

You might ask why become a nurse practitioner or look into other branches of nursing. This is something you can do, even if you're already working as a nurse or if you're changing your career. In either case, you can gain the additional qualifications needed and move across to a different area. In all, there are potentially dozens of different routes you can take when you have your nursing qualifications. 

It’s A Calling 

For some, even the thought of questioning the idea of whether nursing is the right thing to do or not wouldn’t cross their minds; it is simply something they know they have to do, and they'll fight hard to be able to do it. That’s because nursing is sometimes seen as ‘a calling.’ Essentially, this means that those people who feel like this know there is no other career they would be as good at or love as much, and even if it means earning less money or going back to school or rearranging their lives entirely, they'll do whatever it takes to become a nurse. 

However, what shouldn’t be allowed to happen – if we want to be as happy as possible, of course – is to pass up the opportunity to retrain as a nurse later in life when our circumstances change. At this point, your calling can finally be met, and the fact that you can train online and learn as much as possible in your spare time before you qualify is a wonderful idea that means you can now do anything you want, and it will never be too late to try. 

You’ll Have Plenty of Support 

If you're retraining at a later stage in life to become a nurse, you might feel worried or unsure about whether you're making the right choice or not. It can be scary to make such a big change, especially if you haven’t been working, or if your career has been something that doesn’t relate to nursing and caring for people at all. In this case, you might want to start out as a CNA, just to learn the ropes.

There will always be people around to support you. Ideally, some of this support will come from the people you already know, your family, and your friends. Still, if they are, for whatever reason, unsupportive there will be many others outside of your current circle who will look out for you and help you when you need assistance. These will likely be other people training at the same time as you, course leaders, and those who are keen to see you succeed in life. Those you train with and work with as nurses, will become lifelong friends.

With this kind of help and encouragement, you'll feel much more positive about making the changes you have to in life, and retraining to become the nurse; you always wanted to be. 

Every Day Is Different 

One of the things that can start to get people down when it comes to their current jobs is that every day is the same. Even down to the time they wake up in the morning, to the route, they take to work, to the tasks they carry out when they get there. Everything is the same, day in and day out. It's like the movie, Groundhog Day.

This can be comforting, and for some, it is the ideal situation, but this is not the best thing for everyone. For those who don’t enjoy routine work, it can make every day extremely boring, causing them to ultimately be miserable and unfulfilled in their work and their lives. 

If this is the case for you, it will make sense to retrain as a nurse instead. Every day as a nurse is going to be completely different from the next, and you'll never feel bored. The truth is, whether you are working in a hospital, a clinic, a doctor’s office, or you go out into the community to see people in their homes, you just never know what you will get from one patient to the next. It is a stimulating, interesting, fascinating job that allows your body and mind to work. Add to this the immense feeling of job satisfaction that you'll get, and the idea of retraining to become a nurse will seem even better than ever. 

You, Will, Make A Difference

Perhaps the biggest reason that people choose to become nurses either through retraining or from the start of their working lives is how much of a difference you will make to people. If you think back to any time you have ever been in the hospital, it will have been a nurse who gave you the most comfort and help, and a nurse who was able to make a difference to your life and your health, whether you had something seriously wrong with you, or it was a minor ailment. 

It feels amazing to make a difference in someone’s life, in whatever way, big or small. You might also consider a career as an Activities Assistant in a long-term care facility. Some of these positions require you to hold a CNA license, but you get the added enjoyment of entertaining seniors in their last years of life. You can honestly make lives so much better; why wouldn’t you want to retrain as a nurse knowing that? 

Recommended:

Is there a Doctor in the House? Medical Costumes for Halloween

What is Sepsis?

How to Put Yourself First and Feel Good as a Mom

Mom Self Care Ideas

Although you might believe that every second of your day has to be focused on your kids for you to be a good mom, this is not the case. To be the best mom possible for your family, you must learn how to put yourself first and feel good. Read on for self care ideas for moms.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Indulge and Treat Yourself to Little Luxuries

You might believe that it is only your kids who should be treated when you go on a day out or when the summer vacation hits. However, this is not the case, and you should make sure that you spend some of your hard-earned cash on the person who worked for it: you! One of the best luxuries you may want to consider indulging in is cologne for women. This can help you feel good about yourself and add that extra spark of magic to every day of the year. At scentmagic.com, they offer a cologne subscription that allows you to receive a box filled with lovely scents every single month. Indulge!

Take Time for Yourself

When you have kids, you don't' have to spend every moment of the day with them, and it is just as important to take some time for yourself to protect your mental and physical health. For instance, many moms indulge in a relaxing bath or shower, as this helps them to pamper themselves while taking a little me time away from the kids. You should also make time to do the hobbies that you enjoy and to attend social groups and activities in your local area. If you are unable to find a close relative or friend to take your kids off your hands, there is also no shame in calling a babysitter to care for your kids while you are focusing on yourself. Remember, don't neglect your friends. They need me time too! Spend it together and stay connected.

Build a Support Network

No matter how of a good mom you are, everyone needs support at some time throughout their parenting journey, and the best source that you can get this from is other moms. Consider joining a mom’s group in your local area that will allow you to meet other parents who are in the same boat as you, and who you can rely on for emotional, and even practical, support when times get tough. 

Update Your Wardrobe

You may feel as if you're constantly updating your kid’s wardrobes as they go through constant growth spurts. However, to feel good and to boost your confidence, you should also update your own wardrobe. Mom style is not only loungewear and baggy clothing, you should try to hit the balance between comfort and feeling good with items such as day dresses, tunics, and patterned jumpers- anything that makes you feel good on the inside and the outside!

Chase Your Own Goals and Dreams

As a mom, it's easy to put all of your energy into your kid’s dreams and end up forgetting your own. Instead, you should make sure that you chase your own goals and objectives too! Whether these dreams are heading off to college or training to run a marathon, don't put them off. By doing this, you can maintain your own sense of identity and ensure that you still have something to focus on when your kids eventually leave home to chase their own desires.

Recommended:

Self-Care Quotes

Mom posts from Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos

Products for Self Care