Depending on who you are and what your personality is like, you may find being introspective either extremely helpful and healing, or you may grimace at the idea of clearing out the cobwebs of your mind!

However, whether you love it or hate it, looking inward is a necessary step if you want to understand your triggers. Although it’s important to understand that recognising your triggers will be a journey and not an instant fix, it will certainly help you to take the steps needed to respond to those more difficult moments that you will come across as a parent.

So, let’s dive into understanding what the most common triggers are among parents! Try to keep in mind that some of these might be difficult to read, but that there are ways to deal with every single one of them.

What are the most common triggers among parents?

Chronic exhaustion. Some adults aren’t even aware of just how exhausted they are. Although they may be getting a full 8 hours of sleep every night, this doesn’t mean they are getting the ‘right’ kind of sleep: that is, good-quality sleep! In addition, normal life challenges such as being busy, dealing with stress, and becoming overwhelmed will lead any parent to feeling overly tired. Looking into reducing your stress in any way can be helpful.

Multitasking while spending time with your children. A lot of parents like to think that they can do it all: look after the children, find time for yoga class, and do the weekly shop. But it’s important to admit that you’re not Superman or Wonder Woman, and that no one can do everything at once, especially when you have children. Be honest with yourself about this, allocate time for yourself and time for your children, and this will help you balance your energy equally.

Your smartphone. There’s something exhausting about being in contact with everyone all of the time. And this is the reason that we all look forward to decompressing when we arrive home. But thanks to smartphones and social media, many of us end up feeling like we don’t get a break from others. So, try to make a conscious effort to switch off your phone.

Major life changes. Major life changes such as illness, injury, job loss, moving, death, or divorce can trigger a great amount of stress for any person. Although we can’t always avoid events like this, as they are part of life, there are ways to make them more bearable. The number one remedy for this is self-care! We don’t just mean taking long, hot baths and putting on face masks, but mental self-care too. Be kind and patient with yourself, and give yourself time.

Chronic stress. Stress is the number one cause of illness worldwide, most probably because it’s so easily felt by human beings in general. Stress is the perception that you cannot deal with whatever events are happening to you, and that the feelings triggered by them become hard to cope with. Although it’s easy to become stressed, becoming aware of how it makes you feel is important for finding coping mechanisms.

Anxiety. Anxiety is a common feeling that most people get from time to time, where they feel worried, are having difficulty focusing or concentrating, as well as becoming easily tired, irritable, or having problems falling asleep. Although anxiety is common, it’s important to become aware of how often you are having these negative feelings. Being anxious all of the time is not healthy for your body or mind, and it’s crucial to find strategies to deal with these feelings if this is the case for you.

Games and activities. Games and activities are supposed to be fun, so we don’t typically see them as something that would cause stress. However, benign experiences such as your child’s football game can be a trigger for stress. This is because a scenario like this will cause many parents to find themselves in a social situation they feel uncomfortable. Perhaps they don’t know anyone and are feeling a little socially awkward, or perhaps they’re worried about their child not being able to join in properly.

What are the most common triggers for a parent?

Warning: these will make you angry. Unii explains parental triggers.