Mental Health Support for Parents/Caregivers

A few months ago, we talked about supporting teenagers’ mental health, but now it’s time to turn our attention to parents’ mental health. Raising children is not easy and comes with many challenges, some common and others unique to specific situations. At the end of the day, managing stressors as a parent is necessary to be fully present and available for your children without being reactive, angry, or overwhelmed. 

Read More: https://richmondnaturalmed.com/emotional-regulation-for-teens/ 

Here are some tips to incorporate into your daily routine to help support overall mental health. If you find that you are still in need of additional support, it is important to establish a relationship with a therapist, as they can help you navigate parenthood and help you develop a robust toolkit to help you be the best parent possible. Establishing a relationship with a naturopathic doctor can also be a helpful avenue of support, as we can help determine which additional lifestyle modifications may be beneficial for managing your stress levels. 

Breathwork

Slow-paced breathwork has been shown to help reduce stress and anxiousness and is often considered one of the most valuable tools for adjunctive mental health support. This free, easy intervention is available to everyone and can be implemented immediately, which further enhances its value. If you are in a situation where you are feeling anxious, stressed, upset, or overwhelmed, taking a pause for a few intentional deep breaths can help signal your nervous system to calm down and help you transition from a sympathetic (fight or flight) state and into a more parasympathetic (rest and digest) state. Incorporating this technique into your daily life could be an essential way to support your mental health and well-being, as it will allow you to respond to situations more calmly rather than react quickly. A few common breathwork techniques include Box Breathing and 4-7-8 Breathing. 

Read More: https://richmondnaturalmed.com/what-is-the-nervous-system/ 

EFT Tapping

The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a technique that uses gentle tapping on specific acupressure points while acknowledging your feelings in the moment. Neurobiological research has shown that tapping generates electrical impulses that stimulate specific brain regions, alter biomarkers such as cortisol, and help shift the body from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state. Studies have also shown improvements in sleep, anxiety, depression, and heart rate variability after incorporating EFT.

How to Incorporate EFT Tapping

Step 1: Start by becoming aware of the current emotions or feelings you are experiencing. It could be anger, frustration, anxiousness, sadness, overwhelm, etc. Once we are aware of our emotions, we want to create a phrase to repeat while we tap. Here are some examples:

• “Even though I am feeling            I am working towards feeling calm.”
• “Even though I am feeling             I am choosing to breathe and relax right now.”
• “Even though this situation is stressful, I am capable of handling it.”

This website has some excellent examples if you need support creating a phrase for your tapping sessions: https://www.thetappingsolution.com/blog/eft-tapping-phrases/ 

Step 2: Begin tapping gently with 2-3 fingers on the following points. You can tap each point 3-5 times. 

• Side of the hand (karate chop)
• Top of head
• Eyebrow
• Side of the eye
• Under the eye
• Under the nose
• Chin
• Collarbone
• Under the arm (below the armpit)

As you gently tap, you are also repeating the phrase out loud or in your head. This can be done for 2-3 rounds and repeated as often as needed throughout the day. This can be a helpful tool to use when you need immediate relief or to redirect feelings/emotions during a stressful situation. 

Need More Support?

These are just a few techniques available to support your mental health and well-being. Ultimately, our mental health depends on multiple factors, and sometimes there are other conditions that may be contributing that we are unaware of. Visiting your primary care provider for routine check-ups and labs, along with your naturopathic doctor, can help ensure you receive the best possible care and that no stone is left unturned. Together, we can determine whether any underlying concerns may be contributing to your stress, anxiety, overwhelm, etc., and develop a plan specific to your individual needs. If you have been feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious and need new tools or support, call our office today to schedule your initial appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors! 

References:

Feinstein D. How tapping works: physiological and psychological mechanisms in energy psychology. Front Psychol. 2025;16:1660375. Published 2025 Nov 18. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1660375 

Church D, Stapleton P, Vasudevan A, O’Keefe T. Clinical EFT as an evidence-based practice for the treatment of psychological and physiological conditions: A systematic review. Front Psychol. 2022;13:951451. Published 2022 Nov 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951451

https://www.thetappingsolution.com/