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Parenting or caring for a young person can be joyful but also challenging, especially when they face stress, anxiety, or other difficulties. It's important for parents to have strategies to manage their own wellbeing, so they can better support their young person through life’s ups and downs.
When parents take care of their own mental health, it creates a calmer home environment and helps young people feel safe and understood. This isn't just about feeling calm—it's about modelling healthy ways to cope with stress and uncertainty.
Schools are busy, demanding places, and teachers often juggle multiple roles with little downtime. According to recent research, around 44% of teachers in the UK report feeling high levels of work-related stress and 1 in 5 consider leaving the profession due to stress and burnout. Long hours, workload pressures, and emotional demands contribute to this burnout.
Life outside school adds to this load, with personal responsibilities and challenges. Balancing both can leave little time for self-care, increasing the risk of exhaustion.
Our brains and bodies are wired to protect us from danger through the central nervous system (CNS). This system includes the brain and spinal cord and controls how we react to stress, including activating the fight, flight, or freeze response. When we feel stressed or worried, our CNS triggers physical changes like faster heartbeat or tense muscles.
This can lead to a “busy mind” that constantly thinks about what might go wrong or what we didn’t do perfectly. This is called procrastination and worry, where the mind focuses on “what if” scenarios instead of the present moment.
When stress builds up, it can feel difficult to try new strategies or routines—especially when you’re already overwhelmed. That’s why starting small and building a simple daily routine can help. Even short mindful breathing or movement breaks can gradually re-train the brain and calm the CNS.
One simple way to soothe your CNS and calm the mind is through mindful breathing. Here’s a quick exercise to try:
This helps switch off the stress response and activates the parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and digest” mode—helping you and your young person feel calmer.
Sometimes, young people don’t need immediate solutions—they just need to feel heard and validated. When they share worries, they’re often trying to untangle and unpack what’s going on inside their minds.
Being a calm, patient listener gives them space to express their feelings without judgement. This can be hugely helpful in releasing worries from their brain and making those thoughts feel less overwhelming.
Remember:
If you’re worried about neurodivergence (like autism or ADHD) or if your young person is struggling with something at school, these concerns can build on each other, making the mind busier and harder to settle.
A helpful tip is to write down your worries—this gets them out of your head and makes them easier to manage. You can also explore our topical blogs to better understand yourself and the young people in your care. Knowledge is power, and understanding the brain helps you feel more in control.
We rarely learn about how our brains work in school, yet understanding the brain is key to managing stress and supporting wellbeing. When you know why certain things happen—like why movement can help calm the mind or why the senses are so important—it’s easier to use helpful strategies.
Our senses (touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste) connect us to the present moment and help regulate emotions. For example, feeling the texture of a soft blanket, listening to calming sounds, or noticing the colours around us can ground us when the mind is racing.
Movement helps the brain release chemicals like endorphins that improve mood and reduce stress. Simple activities like stretching, walking, or mindful movement can calm the nervous system and make it easier to focus.
Cognition means how we process information, make decisions, and solve problems. When we understand cognition, we can recognise unhelpful thinking patterns like rumination (dwelling on the past) or catastrophising (expecting the worst). This awareness helps us choose more helpful thoughts and behaviours.
Here are some trusted sources for further information and help:
Reaching out for support—whether locally or online—can make a real difference for you and your young person. If you’d like to know more about resources, courses, or training, please contact us at developingmatters@gmail.com
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