Study Reveals: Women Overloaded with Obligations, Experiencing Heightened Anxiety and Dissatisfaction

Report from the NGO Think Olga Esgotadas” , highlights the causes that have led to a current scenario of overload among women, who are more anxious, stressed and dissatisfied. Furthermore, the Datafolha Institute had already reported that women and young people have more anxiety in today’s society.

According to the survey, 86% of Brazilian women consider themselves to have a lot of responsibility, 48% suffer from economic difficulties in a universe in which 28% declare themselves as the only source of income in the home and around six in ten women, between 36 and 55 years, are responsible for someone’s direct care.

Erica da Cruz Santos, psychologist, Master of Science from the Institute of Psychology (IP) of USP and supervisor of the Psychology and Neuropsychology Service of the Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP (FMUSP), discusses the causes and consequences of this scenario.

Anxiety

According to the expert, the consequences associated with women’s overload — such as stress, fatigue and irritability — became more evident after the pandemic. The socioeconomic side and work overload, inside and outside the home, are some of the reasons that impact this burnout. 

Erica explains that there are two types of anxiety observed in the face of this overload: “Normal anxiety has to do with discomfort that is as expected, for example, in the face of some new event, some situation that is undesirable”. On the other hand, she highlights that pathological anxiety will produce an emotional response that can cause physical and psychological damage, has a high frequency in the individual’s life and the woman is unable to be — or see herself as — productive.

Treatment

The psychologist comments that this is a shared responsibility of observation, in which a support network is necessary for women to become aware and identify the symptoms. Furthermore, coping strategies must be implemented — a period of time for oneself, such as physical activity or more time with friends and family, as overload is directly linked to a cycle, without breaks, of multitasking.

In cases of pathological anxiety, professional help is often essential, including consultations with a psychologist and psychiatrist to obtain the first assessment. Then, if prescribed, start regular monitoring or even medication treatment.

The treatment, highlights the specialist, is a long process, that is, it is unlikely to have results a few months after starting to use the therapy or medications, “the idea is that it is a support for a period, so that this acute phase of the anxiety or depression is faced. From the moment the person is able to carry out longitudinal monitoring, this will be reevaluated. So, people don’t need to be afraid to seek treatment or help.”

Consequences

Erica states that psycho-emotional problems in mothers can directly impact the way they perceive and characterize their children and, to overcome this, tasks and care must be distributed so that the overload is not so intense.

“This excess fatigue can affect abilities related to attention and memory and will impact sleep and eating. We have to think about the individual as a whole and these impacts can lead to the onset of a mental disorder”, concludes the psychologist.