Making space for you: A self-care guide that fits your lifestyle

Written By Noelle Acosta

Self-care doesn’t equal meditating for one hour a day 🙅‍♀️. The reality is… almost nobody got time for that! And that’s okay.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we teamed up with Reproductive Psychologist, Dr. Sunita Osborn, to talk about self-care rituals that are realistic and doable. 


First, let’s dig into why managing mental health and stress is important for reproductive health.

There’s no doubt that managing stress in life can be hard and inevitable. And depending on your reproductive health goals, the last thing you need to do is stress about stress! Unfortunately, stress can have an impact on both our mental health and physical health. Studies show that stress can lead to imbalances in hormonal pathways associated with our reproductive health like our menstrual cycle, fertility, pregnancy and even breastfeeding.

Cortisol, a stress hormone, is produced by our adrenal glands. Our body naturally uses cortisol for important functions like regulating blood pressure and blood sugar, decreasing inflammation, controlling our sleep-wake cycle, and how our body metabolizes carbohydrates, fats and proteins. When we’re experiencing chronic psychological distress, our bodies release higher levels of cortisol, triggering a “fight or flight” response. Higher cortisol levels can also cause a decrease in estrogen.

So how does this disrupt our reproductive health? Stress can…

  • Cause irregular, more painful periods and even pause menstruation cycles entirely

  • Trigger mood swings and irritability 

  • Reduce libido

  • Lead to high blood pressure in pregnancy, increasing the risk for preeclampsia, premature births and low-birthweight babies

  • Increase the likelihood for developing postpartum depression (PPD)

  • Decrease breast milk supply


In the heat of distress, our bodies and minds might not always have the capacity for certain coping skills, so Dr. Osborn likes to separate self-care into proactive and reactive skills. Proactive Coping Skills are long-term, consistent self-care routines or habits that you do on the daily (or as much as you can)! Reactive Coping Skills are secret superpowers that you can use in the moment and on the go, whenever you feel like you need them.

Below are some ideas for proactive and reactive coping skills that are easy to implement into your self-care routines:

Proactive

  • Journal (even if it’s only a few words, a short phrase, a reflection on an emotion, or a scribble!)

  • Finding regular times to meet with friends, family, or your support people 

  • Therapy

  • Exercise

  • Create a wind down routine before bed + sleep

Reactive

  • Deep breath with audible exhale

  • Change your body temperature by going outside

  • Taking a cold shower or even holding ice

  • 5 Senses Technique: Name 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste


Dr. Osborn weighs in on why making space for self-care in the journey to motherhood is important:

“Matrescence defines the transition and process of becoming a mother, and similar to adolescence, it brings a host of physical, emotional and psychological changes. Many new mothers report that each domain of their life significantly changes when they become a parent including their self-identity, relationships, career, and most certainly the day to day landscape of their lives. These shifts don’t just become known after the baby arrives, but can certainly show up during pregnancy and/or the fertility journey. 

In the midst of all of these deeply impactful changes, it is essential that mothers are supported in caring for their mental health as anxiety, depression, worry, grief, and so much more can all be a part of the experience.”

Let’s try a couple of Proactive and Reactive self-care strategies together! ⤵️

 

No matter how you show up for yourself, remember: you are doing a phenomenal job, even during the hard days. 💚

 

PS - We have a free community for awesome people like you at any stage of their reproductive health journey! We’d love to see you there. Come join us via the link here.

Dr. Sunita Osborn is a Clinical and Reproductive Psychologist based in Houston, TX. She received her Masters’ and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Indianapolis and has worked in a variety of settings including college counseling centers, hospitals, community mental health centers, and a private practice. Osborn specializes in anxiety, trauma, couples therapy, and the impact of pregnancy loss on the individual and family level.

Noelle Acosta