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Thursday Health Report: Parental stress is a major health concern
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BATON ROUGE — The U.S. surgeon general recently issued an advisory declaring 'parental stress' as a major public health concern, it is no surprise to many doctors.
"This is something that I think is long overdue, the recognition that this has significant consequences, that it's more than just a parent and I'm stressed and I'm tired. This is having real effects on individuals' day-to-day functioning. It's cumulative." Dr. Adam Borland, a psychologist, said.
Experts say there are many reasons a parent can feel stressed. Maybe they are dealing with financial issues, struggling to help their child keep their grades up, or constantly on the go with sports.
Whatever the reason, it is important not to ignore that stress.
Parents need to make self-care a priority, even if it's just doing something simple like going for a walk, taking a bath, or working out. Stress can impact your mental and physical health, or your relationship with your family.
"I often have individuals who come in and say, you know what, I'm experiencing road rage, or I'm snapping at others, or, you know, I'm not sleeping at night because I'm scrolling on social media, right? And these are things that are really out of character for me. And I need to take a look in the mirror and say, something's up. Something's going on here that's fueling this. And I can continue to kind of pretend as though it's not happening. Or I can do the work to kind of get a sense of where is this coming?" Dr. Borland said.
Parents should not be afraid of asking a friend or relative for help, it is not a sign of weakness.
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