Mother's Day 2021: How mothers are beating personal, professional stress amid pandemic

New Delhi [India], May 7 : Mother's Day 2021, much like last year will be nothing but different amidst the fear of the pandemic looming overall. As a consequence of the ongoing pandemic, every individual is overcoming certain challenges while being locked inside their home and working from home. Considering the situation, it would not be wrong to say that the struggle is real for a working mother.
While they cannot let a beat skip in terms of their work, it is equally essential for them to spend some quality time with their family and to keep their kids engaged. Mother's Day will be celebrated on May 9.
While a mother's role always requires her to juggling between tasks, the pandemic has further added to her woes. In this situation, here is a dive into what keeps them going. ANI spoke to some women who shared their experience and few tips to beat personal and professional stress amid the pandemic.
Mother of a 12-year-old son, and founder of Prerna's Handcrafted Ice Cream, Prerna Puri shared, "The current pandemic situation is extremely scary and difficult. The only thought in every mother's mind is to keep her family safe. Being locked indoors causes all sorts of anxiety and depression."
Speaking about spending time with family to relieve the stress she said, "As the supply of ice cream has currently been put on hold due to the lockdown, I have involved myself in cooking food not just for my house but also for my extended family that's infected and can't cook themselves. Cooking and sending them food every day, have given me a purpose and is helping in keeping my mind occupied. "
"Keeping a positive mindset and involving yourself and your family in whatever activities everyone likes is a good way to focus your energy on what's important," she added.
Kriti Aggarwal, co-founder of StoreHippo, too feels that the ongoing pandemic has created a very stressful and chaotic time for all the working mothers.
Talking about the tips she's got to reduce the stress amid pandemic, she says, "Managing work along with family and kids can be a very daunting task. But meditation, yoga, a little planning and a change in mindset can help ease the pressure and keep one at peace".
She also spoke about positives of work from home. "Instead of wasting time commuting, WFH has given me an opportunity to spend quality time with kids. Going out for evening walks and playing indoor games with kids is a big stress buster at night. Listening to kids as a friend makes my two champs happy."
"With the new work dynamics, COVID-19 has impacted all of us emotionally, but all I can say is that if mothers allocate their time to both personal and professional life proficiently then this can be a boon, rather than being stress," she added.
Amid the pandemic, the spirit of Mother's Day is still alive and some of the supermoms are planning to celebrate the day with their loved ones.
Speaking to ANI, Shalini Raj Sinha, the founder of The Infused Kettle, dished on the significance of Mother's Day and how she is planning to spend it this year.
"In pre-pandemic times, my kids and I usually used to celebrate by going out for a movie along with a dinner date. But this year, due to the COVID-19 scare and lockdown, we will have to stay indoors. But the exciting part is that the three generations of our family would be spending the day together since my mother is here and has been staying with us for a while now," Sinha said.
"We have planned to bake a special cake and prepare all the meals of the day right from breakfast to three-course lunch and dinner together. As a matter of fact, I know my little ones are onto something as they always tend to surprise me with their creativity and love but I am staying mum so as to not spoil their excitement,'' she added.
She said coronavirus spreading like wildfire is an added stress. "The situation is indeed scary. While we are following all the protocols, however, the fear is always there. In order to keep negativity at bay, I try to spend some quality time with my kids and engage them in something productive like reading, gardening, trying new recipes, or playing educative board games."
"These activities not only radiate positivity and peace but also keep us happy and motivated. It is indeed ironic that even making 'kadha' and soups and taking steam sessions have been added to the list of mother-kid bonding time. Deep down, all I hope is that this phase ends and we have our mask-free world back soon," she added.
Talking about the significance of Mother's Day, Kiran Dham, CEO, Globus Infocom Limited said the pandemic has changed their plans.
"Previously, we spent the whole day together. My kids plan some surprises to make me feel special like penning down their emotions and love for me by making cards and sometimes trying out my favourite dishes in the kitchen. In pre-pandemic times, we used to plan dinner outside on Mother's Day evening but now since it's all inside home, we will be having a family dinner at home itself," said the 45-year-old mother of two kids.
Speaking about how she manages professional and personal life during the pandemic, Dham said, "Since we all are working from home, I am trying to balance both aspects of my life. Thanks to the technology, I am able to plan the tasks, guide and manage my team from home. I am always in touch with my team to ensure smooth work and be there with them in case of any problem. We have seen this time before so we are more prepared to execute our work from home and we plan accordingly."
She also shared that the work from home culture has come up as a blessing in disguise for working moms. "But being at home I certainly am enjoying the time with kids. Working from home allows me to have more time with kids and enjoy small moments with family. We communicate better and the bonding is getting stronger. I get to do more things for my kids like cooking their favourite dish, helping them in their work etc."
To help working moms beat the stress in pandemic due to demands of personal and professional life, here are some tried and tested tips:
1. Spending more and more time with family members can help you in bursting the stress. Try to remember those magical moments you have spent together and cherish them.
2. Play with children - We all understand that being at home all the time becomes a challenge for mothers because you are juggling between personal and professional works. So, allow yourself some time to play with your children by playing video games, Ludo or any other game which you like.
3. Painting or Gardening - As we all know green environment or colour soothes the mind. So try your hands at gardening by maintaining your plants or by growing vegetables. If you like colours, you can paint anything no matter how good you are at it. Just do it but keep yourself away from responsibilities.
4. Yoga or meditation - Yoga offers several techniques for balancing the mind. Our minds are constantly active, racing from one thought to another, spinning possible scenarios for the future, dwelling on incidents from the past. So, stretching or meditation helps you to release tension from problem areas and make you calm.
Help yourself and family members by adopting these stress-busting techniques which will improve your lifestyle and create a happy environment at home. Also, you can establish a strong bond with children.
Be it lockdown or no lockdown, a mother is never off-duty. This year, Mother's Day is a tribute to all the loving moms out there who are the reason for everyone's existence, happiness and success, and who are single-handedly managing every responsibility with a smile on their faces. Here is wishing all the mothers, a happy Mother's Day.