Dr. Ketam Hamdan is a true multipotentialite; she describes herself as a guiding light for all those seeking happiness and purpose. She is a Harvard graduate and influencer raising awareness on mental health, creating powerful and motivating content to enlighten, educate, and transform lives. She is a high-performance coach, a purpose-driven leader, and a licensed therapist running her private practice. She does everything expertly, all while being a mother.
While many parents, especially mothers, struggle to balance thriving careers and personal lives, Dr. Hamdan has established her career and sanity through it all. She agrees that it is very challenging for a mother who desires to have a career, but it is not impossible by any means!
Dr. Hamdan is a powerful voice for highlighting modern-day psychological issues. Her social media handle is one of the most enlightening spaces helping people lead happy and fulfilling lives. This article shares tips and tricks that help her maintain a balance in her roles as a mother, psychologist, content creator, and educator.
1. Be kind to yourself
According to Dr. Hamdan, many mothers forget to be kind to themselves and exert so much, physically and mentally exhausting them. You can start by not comparing yourself to other mothers, especially those who have ample time to spend with their children. Quality time must be preferred over quantity, so before you feel bad about not being as involved as other mothers in your child’s life, stop right there. Breathe. Put your hand on your heart, and tell yourself, “You are a good enough mother.” Be kind to yourself.
2. Show up to events
Dr. Hamdan realizes our brains tend to remember milestones and events, so she is very intentional about showing up to events, even if she can’t stay the entire time. She has noticed this has helped her sustain her relationships with friends and family. She makes sure to mark and set reminders for school birthday parties, holiday parties, birthdays, and other family events on her calendar. She believes that family involvement is a priority despite having a busy career, especially on certain days of the year where she has had to turn down clients and opportunities to speak or present at.
3. Spend money on time-saving services
The hardest thing for a working mother to do is to seek help. She notices that mother’s have a lot of guilt around asking for help or delegating tasks. She notices those who spend money on time-saving services such as house cleaning, grocery delivery, laundry, or lawn care services are happier. The belief is that time spent doing mundane activities frees one up to spend more quality time with kids and other family members. By comparison, money spent on material things does not yield the same level of lasting happiness or positive emotions.
4. Take time to meditate
Dr. Hamdan explains how many working women avoid managing their mental health. Juggling work, career, and parenting often leaves one exhausted and drained. Taking care of one’s mental health is not a luxury but a necessity. A tip she swears by is daily meditation to quiet her mind. She meditates daily for at least 10 minutes, which helps her stay in tune with her higher self and more calm to tackle the many challenges of the day. Thanks to brain science, she understands fully that meditation helps to thicken the pre-frontal cortex. This part of the brain is responsible for increased awareness, concentration, and decision making.
5. Manage your negative thoughts
The automatic thoughts that we silently tell ourselves can be the most toxic thing we do. If we are beating ourselves up with negative self-talk, such as “I am a horrible mother, I am fat, I will never lose weight, look how that mother looks so much better than me”, etc. then it sabotages our entire well-being and efforts. So noticing our inner critic is important. Most people make the mistake and think that they just have to tell themselves, “no you are not fat”, which doesn’t work. This is known as toxic positivity. Instead, if you think something negative about yourself. Repeat it back to yourself in the third person, “Sally you are fat and don’t like your weight. Okay, Sally, what steps are you going to take to improve how you see yourself? What goals do you want to set for yourself Sally? And Sally, what do you like about yourself?
Taking care of your mental and physical health is essential. Remember that this struggle isn’t just a mom thing; it’s human. You can access Dr. Hamdan’s wisdom and valuable insights on psychology, brain science, and inner healing on her Instagram handle @brainhealthdoc or website www.brainhealthgrowth.com
