The Stress of Being a Housewife
We could devote hundreds of pages to the topic of stress itself. However, there are some people who are especially susceptible to the effects of stress. In this case, we’re talking about housewives.
We may think that the role of a housewife doesn’t involve pressure since it’s a common occupation. However, this isn’t the case. Housewives actually do a lot of tasks.
If we consider intensive work, high level of responsibility, and lack of leisure time causes of stress, then being a housewife is definitely a stressful occupation. This means that a housewife may be exposed to a lot of stressors.
The housewife: a superwoman with superpowers
The primary responsibility of a housewife is to care for her family and her home. Her obligations demand physical and mental stress.
Regarding physical stress, it may not be too intense. However, it may be continuous, with few breaks, which may lead to faster deterioration. Housewives are physically exerted throughout the day. They don’t have schedules. From the time they wake up until they go to bed, they have to be active in order to fulfill their family’s needs. From personal care to nutrition, the housewife takes on all the work. The responsibility of caring for a dependent family member rests on the mother.
At the same time, housewives have to maintain order and cleanliness in their homes. This activity is never-ending because they have to do it every day. Moreover, what’s worse is the feeling of being useless because of the routinary nature of the work. Arranging things for nothing and then arranging them again tomorrow.
The housewife has to exert continuous physical effort
The physical effort housewives make tend to be more routinary than intensity. However, some people may suppose (and for good reason) that they also exert themselves physically. They have to move furniture, carry heavy bags, carry a child in their arms…
It may be true that a housewife has some time to take a break. She can sleep throughout the night. But can she really take a break or sleep? The housewife must remain alert day or night for any unforeseen situation, especially if she has small children who cry, demand things, or get sick.
All this physical exertion leads to fatigue. This fatigue leads to muscular fatigue and exhaustion. The stress of being a housewife is made up of these factors.
Mental activity results in the stress of being a housewife
People believe that a housewife’s activities don’t involve mental work. However, this isn’t true. She must prepare the menu, calculate expenses, solve her children’s problems, etc. She has to face many diverse challenges.
Many professions, like engineers, lawyers, project designers, or air traffic controllers, involve mental exhaustion. However, if we delve deeper into this, these professions are no different from being a housewife. Both undertake important tasks such as planning, resource management, or communicative intelligence.
On the other hand, mental exertion may lead to mental fatigue. This diminishes her capacity for concentration, contributing to emotional instability. Therefore, the stress of being a housewife is heightened by her exposure to mental exertion.
The housewife also has a life of her own
A housewife is, first of all, a person. She has her own conflicts, feelings, and psychological intricacies. What would happen if the housewife suffered from other types of stress, aside from the stress that comes from being a housewife?
We think that nowadays, many housewives, besides carrying the entire burden of their homes, also work outside the home. That is, we’re talking about people who take on two full-time jobs, with little or no help at all. The worse part of all is that many of these women are misunderstood.
Being a housewife is a dull job, who many women who never receive the recognition they should, do. This feeling of being unimportant often acts as a catalyst for stress, triggering the feeling of loneliness and isolation between the walls of the housewife’s home.