First of all, what is superwoman syndrome? A woman’s pursuit to achieve perfection in every aspect of her life and trying to do it all! Well, aren’t we all guilty of doing this? Or are at least surrounded by women who do this? We have seen our mothers take up innumerable tasks upon themselves trying to do everything on their own with less to no help at all. Was it because they didn’t have an option? Or were they also suffering from the same?
We are living in a world where our phones are fully equipped with apps, planners, schedules, reminders, you name it and it’s there. We can create, explore and shop our entire grocery lists from these devices. So we are mostly juggling our work life, personal life and social life. While it seems so perfect from the outside, how a woman is juggling everything at once, she is actually burning out from the inside. We all have the same 24 hours in a day but assigning 10,000 tasks in those hours and not feeling like you are toasted is impossible.
Women are responsible for 82% of domestic duties, which doesn’t change even if she is going to the office for work. We talk about sharing the load, but in most homes, its a long shot. It’s nothing but conditioning. Girls are brought up with this mindset that the house is their responsibility. Whether she decides to pursue a career outside or not, she is solely responsible for the running of the house.
Things are changing slowly but steadily. With men shouldering more responsibilities of the house and women climbing up the corporate ladder. But somehow a big chunk of responsibilities tend to fall on her.
Women need to stop putting themselves on a pedestal and start setting realistic goals. Some women might be able to do it all, but why are we putting that pressure on ourselves?
Most of us are experiencing superwoman syndrome and don’t even realise it. The workload never really reduces, but more tasks keep getting added. As a twenty-something-years-old woman married to a very-understanding helpful husband, I still feel the exasperating mental load. While he offers to buy the groceries or stock up the vegetables, I am the one making lists, checking the pantry and planning the entire week’s schedule based on his one trip to the supermarket. The mental load is crushing. But we don’t stop, week after week, we keep on moving ahead but are somehow still being held back.
What we essentially need to break away from is the stress of wanting to do it all. If we decide to skip a few tasks or outsource them, our mental and physical health is benefitted. An overwhelming desire to excel in everything we do is impractical. It’s ok if you can just manage the bare minimum in some.It’s humanly impossible to split yourself in 10 different directions and do them all well. Prioritise your life, there will be some things that bring you joy, some bring satisfaction and some that you just loathe. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, if your life, you make the rules.
Also read : https://jfwonline.com/article/must-watch-courtroom-dramas-featuring-women/
