For This House
Every Season. Every Space. All for Him.
Every Season. Every Space. All for Him.
January 13, 2024 | 8 min read
Emily Van Eps
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For the last nearly two weeks, my 2-year old will randomly throw her arms up in the air, start jumping, and yell “Happy New Year!” She has genuinely no idea what it means other than that her grandpa told her to say it during our New Year’s Eve celebration, and the antics that come along with it tend to bring a smile to anyone in the room. While her cuteness is impossible to ignore, the phrase itself brings me a small cringe every time she hollers it.
Personally, I’ve found myself dragging through the first days of 2024, feeling exhausted and foggy-brained. Attempting complex thoughts feels like wading through molasses. Getting myself to the point that I could actually put words down on paper to write this blog felt like a Herculean task.
Maybe it’s overwhelm from constant task-juggling, expectations set by all the “New Year, New You” marketing, the invisible workload of being a mom and wife, or something else. Regardless of the cause, I’m entering this new year feeling like I’m already ready for a break.
If you find yourself feeling the same, I’d like to suggest a kind of New Year Reset that you probably haven’t considered before.
So often, the start of the new year means adding things to your plate, specifically new habits to improve your health and wellness. Maybe it’s eating healthy or adding exercise to your routine. And while each of these things are good habits for us to work on, adding something additional to your plate during a time when you’re already feeling maxed out is likely setting you up for failure and future heartbreak.
So, rather than a diet reset, join me in trying a mental health reset. Give those connectors in your brain a chance to rejuvenate. Just remember–we’re not striving for perfection. We’re striving for better, whatever that may look like for you.
Are you taking on too much? Staring at screens too long? Not taking enough breaks? Lacking work-life balance? As a mom, many of these can be difficult to resolve (anyone else’s toddler follow them everywhere!?).
I’ve found that simply the practice of recognizing where my exhaustion or mental overwhelm stems from can be hugely beneficial in and of itself. This way, when my husband inevitably tells me I look tired and asks how he can help, I can immediately identify a bucket he can help to pour into to take some of the load off of me.
Don’t just veg for hours doom scrolling on your phone. It feels like a mindless task, but I can guarantee it’s affecting your mental exhaustion more than you realize. Find a hobby that allows you to actively rest—get out in nature, listen to music, find a book that you consider to be a ‘leisure’ read (not something that requires brain-power to comprehend). Whatever the hobby is, it should require little brainpower, allowing you to take a step back and rejuvenate a bit.
I don’t mean add an extra cup of coffee to your morning routine and call yourself hydrated. As adults, we should be aiming for half our body weight in ounces of water or other hydrating beverages per day.
Lately, as a busy, pregnant, stay-at-home, work-from-home mom, I find myself assessing my total water intake around 7 pm and realizing I’m severely behind my goal. On days like this, I will often mix up a packet of LMNT in my 40-oz Owala cup and try to drink as much of it as I can before my head hits the pillow. While it’s not the same as hitting my total ounce intake goal, my body is getting many vital nutrients and minerals from the LMNT powder, and it’s doing a better job of hydrating my body than just 40-oz of water would on its own.
(Interested in trying LMNT? Use my link to snag yourself a free sample pack with any order!)
While this reset might be something you do initially this January, don’t let it be something you stop doing. As the year goes on and things are inevitably added to your plate, take a minute to gauge whether those additions improve your functioning or further your fatigue. Remember that “no” is a full sentence and requires no further apology or explanation. Listen to your body and your mind—the road back to base level from mentally maxed out requires ongoing check-ins with yourself.
We’re now almost 2 weeks into this New Year, and if you’ve realized the resolutions you set for yourself are furthering your fatigue, there is NO shame in dumping them and prioritizing something else. Depletion benefits no one.
I hope these tips feel practical and simple to incorporate. Taking care of your mental health is one of the most important and most often overlooked tasks.
What habits have you implemented to help stave off feeling mentally maxed out?