Dealing with stress
Stress is common and may be heightened during the period after childbirth. There are many ways to deal with stress.
Regularly check-in with yourself and your partner to assess how you are and recognise when you are stressed.
Recognise the causes of your stress, how your body responds to stress, physically and emotionally. What can you do to change this? Try regular gentle physical exercise.1
Learn to reduce the intensity of your emotional and physical reactions to stress. Don’t exaggerate the stress or overreact. Don’t focus on the negative aspects. Try to see stress as a normal process in our daily life.2
If your stress is related to previous experiences, perhaps related to loss or trauma, know that there are specialist services to help you. Stress related to previous life experiences may combine with the stress of being a new father, for example, being concerned about the health and safety of family and friends abroad in difficult situations.
Check Beyondblue’s stress test for new dads.
Read about dealing with stress.
Talk about how you are feeling with other adult family members or friends. Recognise how this stress affects you and your parenting role.
Seeking help is OK. In fact, it is often better to recognise that you are having difficulty with stress or worries so you can seek help. You can seek help from a health professional or counsellor.
If you need to talk, contact MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78 or chat online.
