Looking after ourselves isn’t selfish as it’s when we put ourselves first, we give ourselves a lifeline so we can do the other things that we need or want to do. Our bodies are subtle and if we’re not giving ourselves that time, will give us little clues like increasing tiredness, headaches, not sleeping, eating or overeating, lots of infections, feeling low etc. It’s not normally because something else is going on, it’s simply because you don’t take the time for yourself.

Having the right support network around our teens helps us as Mums, as we are able to back off and begin to give them responsibility for their own lives. If you are a Mum of a teen with chronic ill health, do not despair, there are wonderfully supportive people out there who will go out of their way to ensure our teens get the support they so rightly deserve that they can achieve whatever they put their mind to!

Parenting a teen with chronic ill-health whether that’s physical, emotional or mental is hard, very very hard. Unfortunately, there is no way of getting away from that fact until society changes its view. However, even within these limitations, there are ways that you can find space for yourself and make time for your needs and I’m here to show you how.

Life with a teen sucks at times, especially one who’s got extra needs through whatever reason, whether that is behaviour, emotional, ill-health etc. All behaviours are caused by an emotion or a feeling so they are reacting to that feeling. I’m sharing my experience as a stressed-out mum with an anxious teen so you don’t need to feel alone.

Being holed up in their room is a safe zone, for your teenage daughter. They don’t have space to think about anything including self-care, looking after themselves or joining in with family activities. In this blog post, I explain 4 ways to reconnect with your teen even if she’s always on her phone or stays in her room all day.

The truth about being a Mum with a teen daughter, how life isn’t perfect and why it’s important to look after yourself first.

Why are you not putting yourself first? If you put yourself first then your teen will learn to put themselves first. It’s like the ripple effect – to throw a stone into a flat piece of water like a lake, then as that stone drops it creates air around it that then makes ripples gong out and out as far as the eye can see and that’s what self-care does to you, it literally has a ripple effect on those around you.