To ask you how you unwind?

[Keepgoing88]

I'm posting here as much for traffic as anything else.. Hope that's ok.
I'm a mum to 3 boys aged 6,3, and 1. I am pretty stressed out and looking for ideas of how I can take a bit of time to myself and unwind! What do you Do? I feel in the position to explore options now that my youngest is sleeping through. I work part time which is a big help for me but just wondering if there is something else small I could do to help me feel more like me and less frazzled. Open to suggestions!

Would a yoga class be of interest? I know a couple of people who do them and they really seem to get a lot of it.

How about a craft hobby like knitting, crochet, cross stitch etc. Really relaxing and there's the bonus of a lovely finished item at the end to show your achievements. Materials & kit can be pretty cheap.

Thanks- both good ideas! Have done Yoga before so might try that x

Diamond painting :).

I craft. Everything you can think of except crochet, which I just can’t do. It’s wonderful for clearing my brain of anything I’m stressed about.

I crochet and knit. They've really helped me since being diagnosed with hypertension - you really relax whilst you're doing it and it's easy to pick up and put down.

I have a long soak in the bath or book a pedicure. Listen to music and draw or paint. There might be some yoga or meditation you can follow on YouTube for free.

Park run on a Saturday morning. Fresh air, time to think, 300 other people all too busy to want to talk.

And means the Friday night pizza & wine is calorie neutral.

The Cat Meffan yoga classes on YouTube are really good and she does ones for different levels of fitness.
The Honest Guys on YouTube do some really relaxing guided mediations too (some of them are only 5-10 mins long if you don’t have loads of time).
Reading a book with my phone in a different room so I’m not getting distracted is something I try to do regularly.

I knit and make scale mail (nerdy AF), but have also started trying to do quilting for a laugh. I also go running twice a week and regularly play roleplaying games and board games with my friends. I will note that it is FAR easier to play regular games with friends that don't have children than with those that do. This way it's only me who needs to work around kids ;)

I'm currently re-learning two musical instruments I played as a child. Its very theraputic!

I got the kids a Nintendo switch for Christmas - I’m totally hooked on Zelda! Pure escapism

Painting by numbers, the kits are a reasonable price and unlike the ones I did as a kid (59yrs ago) the resulting picture is relatively good.(Good - because there are a lot more colours with the kits; the lines are finer and easy to cover; the paints are acrylic instead of oil and the pictures tend to be ones where staying exactly within the lines is not an issue)

I tend to find I am most relaxed after serious physical exercise - HIIT or circuits or weights where my brain switches off and I only have to do the exercise in front of me. I leave soaked through and sweating, but energised and refreshed.

(I stare at a computer all day, so I am frequently more brain-tired than body-tired, IYSWIM?)

Swim, run (outside), gym (weights), and reading. I always find my mind calmer if I read before bed rather than watching TV/phone scrolling.

I knit or work on a cross stitch - something that I have to concentrate on so I can't think about other things. Knitting in particular is very calming.