World Mental Health Day 2022:World Mental Health Day (October 10) is almost here and it is the perfect time to talk about mental health of women who often juggle with multiple responsibilities. Be it a working woman or a housewife, the daily duties seem to be never-ending for females – from taking care of kitchen, children, elderly to their individual goals. This puts them at an increased risk of depression, anxiety and other such mental health issues. (Also read: Diabetes to arthritis: 5 chronic diseases that can lead to depression)
A survey conducted by Researchgate which saw participation of 80 married women in the age ranging from 25-40 years, including 40 married working women and 40 housewives, noted that while working women experience financial independence, high self-esteem the house wife may experience insecurity and poor social life etc. The survey concluded that married working women and the housewives have their own set of issues which may cause difference in their quality of life. On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, we asked mental health experts about the unique challenges of working woman and a housewife and also if one is more stressed than the other.
“There are several reasons due to which women’s mental health gets affected. There are biological, social and cultural reasons with an undeniable gender difference in the incidence and prevalence of mental health disturbances,” says Dr. RC Jiloha, Senior Consultant – Psychiatry, Paras Hospitals, Gurugram.
What ails the mental health of a housewife
“Housewives spend their entire time dedicated to routine chores but that is not the case with working women and hence they are good at grooming and taking care of themselves,” says Dr Jiloha.
The psychiatrist says that while staying at home allows a lot of leisure time but it affects the person mentally. He adds that working allows women to be independent that may help prevent negative thoughts.
“India, over the years, has witnessed a lot of domestic violence cases and the backwardness of the society has its own shortcomings. Working allows women to make decisions, be independent and wake up to be confident every single day. None of these scenarios is met with a housewife and that somehow gives them time and space to welcome a plethora of negative thoughts. At work, you tend to be practical and take opinions about solving problems. But it is an upside-down episode when you stay at home. Society looks at a housewife’s chores as if it is her duty and why should there be rewards? No one appreciates it. Hence, there is a lot of dissatisfaction and anxiety. A working woman has no time to think of disappointments,” says Dr Jiloha.
“In various households, the housewives fell prey to the frustrations and aggression of their male counterparts. There is a perpetual burden of keeping the family tied up together along with bearing the financial issues and still keeping the family happy together by taking care of all the members of the family – husbands as well as the in-laws was a very challenging task for housewives. There is also a rising tension of sexual dissatisfaction between husband and wife. According to a research in this area, 70% Indian women do not have orgasm during sexual intercourse. Sexual dissatisfaction leads to many mental disorders like neurosis and even Oedipus complex sometimes in worse cases,” says Dr. Jyoti Kapoor, Founder and Senior Psychiatrist, Manasthali.
Dr Kapoor says some of common triggers of mental health problems in housewives are episodes of depression and anxiety, marital dissatisfaction, domestic violence and patriarchal ideologies.
Mental health challenges of working women
To think about leisure time is a dream for working woman as even off days are dedicated to finishing off pending chores while worrying about how they children are performing at school. Any free time from office work is utilised in a domestic chore while leaves little leisure time for working women. The burnout may be visible in form of decreasing work productivity and loss of interest in household work.
“A 9-hour shift itself is a challenge and the moonlighting trend has somehow worsened the work routines. On top of that if an individual has a layer of another set of responsibilities it becomes adverse to mental as well as physical health. Working women need to be an expert at multitasking. She has to remember everything beforehand without making many mistakes. Kids are a big responsibility and so is look forward to preparing meals every single day. A working woman manages her finances and the moods of every family member. In normal circumstances it is still manageable but when she’s ill, how can the doer expect something to be done for her? All these roles and responsibilities exhaust her and the burnout is excessive to drain her mentally,” says Dr Jiloha.
Working women vs housewives: who is more stressed?
“Both have their own set of pros and cons but a working woman is more productive end of the day. Working can also include taking tuition or having a small business, like selling pickles etc. This can make them financially independent and garner their knowledge of many things. She can be confident and polish her communication skills while dealing with various clients and colleagues. Though both have their level of anxiety and stress, a working woman is far happier in what she does and has no space for negativity in her mind. She makes friends at work who are ambitious like her and help her deal with the issues of life. Such behaviour helps in maintaining mental health,” says Dr Jiloha.
Dr Kapoor says anybody can be stressed or depressed and one doesn’t need to have a certain profession.
“We cannot say that only working women or housewives are stressed. Stress can stem from anything or anybody around you,” she says.