HOUSEWIVES : an underappreciated profession

 

HOUSEWIFE: THE MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED PROFESSION IN INDIA

India is a country where we are brought up with a belief, “men are supposed to be money making machine and women are supposed to take care of family.” Although things in respect to women is now changing and many women now a days are opting for other professional engagement. Still majority of women are playing the role of housewife.

 

Common Challenges in Housewives:

 

Depression is a mood or emotional state that is marked by feelings of low self-worth or guilt and a reduced ability to enjoy life. A person who is depressed usually experiences several of the following symptoms: feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or pessimism; lowered self-esteem and heightened self-depreciation; a decrease or loss of ability to take pleasure in ordinary activities; reduced energy and vitality; slowness of thought or action; loss of appetite; and disturbed sleep or insomnia.

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. Some of the symptoms are feeling restless, being easily fatigued, having difficulty concentrating; mind going blank, being irritable, having muscle tension, difficulty controlling feelings of worry, having sleep problems, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, restlessness, or unsatisfying sleep.

Reasons:

1. Lack of appreciation: The most unfortunate part is most housewives are not appreciated for the efforts they put in to manage their family. We have to understand their task is not easy. They have the longest working hours with least or almost no holidays. Appreciation leads to feeling of achievement and the same leads to confidence and happiness.

 

2. Lack of physical activities:  Earlier housewives were very active in terms of doing all the house hold jobs like cooking, cleaning etc. themselves. Such activities leads to a good amount of physical exercise. With time most of them now have maids or servants to take care of such duties and has reduced their physical activities. Lack of physical activities increases the risk of psychological challenges.

 

3. Ideal time: The more free time you have chances of such challenges increases. When you are having ideal mind then you are tend to think about things which are less productive or may be negative.

 

4. Social media: Social media build unrealistic expectations. When you continuously watch people posting their happy moments on social media like vacation, romantic moments, photos with their kids etc. then unknowingly you start comparing your life with others. Unfortunately you forget the fact that no one has a perfect life in this world. Pictures shown on social media is just a glimpse and not the full story.

 

5. Not taking responsibility for your life: Many women wish to achieve greater heights of success but fail to realize that they have to take the responsibility of the same. You cannot depend on someone else to get success for yourself. You are in charge of your own life and mind hence also in charge of the results you get.

 

Solutions:

1. Regular Exercise/ yoga: It is advisable to do a walking for 45-60 mins every day and also do regular exercise/ yoga for better mental health. Exercise can reduce the chances of psychological challenges to a great extent.

 

2. Limit social media usage: Restrict your usage of social media to maximum 15-30 mins a day. Also when you see anyone happy on social media then remember this may not be the full story. Everyone has challenges in life and that’s normal.

3. Count your blessings: Everyday recall one thing for which you should be thankful to GOD. Initially it might be difficult to practice, so start with small things in life. Visiting an orphanage, old age home etc. can help you a lot in this case.

4. Recall positive moments of your life: Everyday spend 10 mins re-living the best moments of your life where you have experienced emotions like happiness, confidence, calmness etc. Several women fail to recollect even one moment from their life and that’s the worst part of it. If you practice this then the chances of having psychological disorder becomes close to nil.

 

5. Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is a age old technique to overcome stress, negativity or anxiety.

6. Pursue your passion: Identify your passion and master on it. The real challenge is to identify your passion. The solution is keep trying new things in life and you will know soon your passion in life.

 

7. Upgrade yourself: Participate in workshops, read books, blogs, watch educational videos etc. to upgrade yourself. Use your ideal time to make yourself more knowledgeable.

 

8. Take charge of your life: Always tell yourself that you are responsible for your own life and it is you who needs to take action to get things done.

Remember you don’t need to do extra ordinary things to be happy. Just do these small things in life to achieve happiness.