It's challenging enough to juggle work and home life and find time for oneself before the lockdown. Even more so now. Being at home and working or having little to no time for self-care takes a toll on women.
Imagine a work from home mom getting interrupted by her kids almost every minute. Or, think of a stay-at-home mom can't even get a decent shower without hearing her kids yell, "Mom!" There is no doubt that the pandemic affected moms the most.
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Staying at home and being a mom may trigger depression.
Stay-at-home mom depression has been around way before the imposed quarantines, which turned it more universal, if anything. It's not just stay-at-home moms who may feel it but also work from home moms.
People need to understand that having your maternity leave isn't a vacation. You may have few people to talk to, staying home to care for your little one. Doing this while recovering from birth is never easy, feeding on demand, having no sleep, and more.
Then, when your maternity leave is over, maybe you were forced to go back to work and feel guilty about leaving your baby or forced to stay home and leave the job you love. Without personal satisfaction outside being a mom, cooking, changing diapers, teaching toddlers is exhausting.
According to a 2012 analysis of more than 60,000 women, stay-at-home mom reported feeling more sadness, stress, anger, worry, and depression. If they aren't sad or lonely, they don't feel happy either. (Click here to know more about postpartum depression.)
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If you're feeling lonely, it's crucial to ask for help.
Whether you've been a stay-at-home mom for long or not, you need all the help you can get. It doesn't help that social media and the Internet had painted a picture of stay-at-home moms. This has created feelings of guilt when revealing loneliness or sadness about staying home.
If you feel more worried than usual, lonely, sad, angry, ask for help. Delegate housework so you can have some time for yourself. Talk to your partner or reach out to a friend. Vent it out and brainstorm ways to make your situation better within the restrictions. Your life can be better. Remember, you need to be happy first to be a good mother to your kids.
Don't hesistate to talk to a professional either. Find out where you can get psychiatric help here.
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