Women play numerous roles in their daily lives, as a daughter, as a mother, as a wife, as an employee, as an employer and much much more. Normally, they never compromise one role for another and wants to perform all the roles to its perfection. But seeing it in realistic terms, it is not quite possible to be perfect, however not all woman has the acceptance to this reality, hence the problem starts and she prepares herself for the battle. At some point in her life, this leads to losing her both mental and physical stability, this condition is medically termed as superwoman syndrome.
So what are the symptoms of this problem and who are the ones affected by it?
In reality, there is no superman, he is just an imaginary figure is what we try to make our kids understand. On similar lines, there is no superwoman either. No woman can tag herself with the word “The Best” before on all of her roles, like “The Best Wife”, The Best Mother”, “The Best Daughter”. Not understanding this completely and fighting with the imaginary world of perfection is the root cause of mental depression in most women.
Leaving off the 8 hours for sleep, A typical woman plays a lot of roles for the rest of the day and she faces numerous difficulties and problems in these roles. An issue with one role is reflected in another. For example, if you have a problem with your employer, it is immediately reflected on your kids when they start to behave in an undesirable manner at home, and this can get worse if you start beating the kids. If your husband becomes aware of your behavior towards your kids, he might question you for your actions, then your anger starts to turn towards him, this will go on in circles and at the end of the day what is left behind will be depression and mental stress. When you want to be the best in everything you won’t be able to handle even one single role with complete satisfaction, this turns into guilt that will haunt you every day. This is called Superwoman syndrome.
Do you have this problem and how to find out?
If your answer is yes to most of these questions, then you might have Superwoman Syndrome and you might need immediate help from a psychiatrist.
- Do you consider yourself as your competition or do you compete with yourself?
- Do you rarely say “No” to others?
- Though you know you cannot afford more responsibilities but still do you accept more responsibilities on your shoulder?
- Are you always unhappy with your actions?
- Do you always expect 100% of all your roles in life?
- Do you feel like you want to fulfill all people’s expectations somehow?
How to come out of Superwoman syndrome?
1. Spend at least 1-hour minimum for yourself
Every woman should spend time for herself, you must spend at least an hour in a day to take care of your looks, to do exercise, to do things you love, this can be anything from listening to music to having a fun chat with your friends.
2. Be bold enough to say “NO”
If you know you cannot take more responsibilities, be bold enough to say “NO” do not indulge in the dangerous experiment of “Let me give it a try” this can be counter-productive in many cases. Also, when you need help from others be straight forward to ask it.
3. Be Sharing to your kids
You can try to explain your feelings and difficulties to your kids, most kids do understand your feelings, explain it to them how hard is your work at the office, why you get angry at times, and what are the reasons for losing your patience. Sharing will make you feel relaxed, and ease your stress.
4. Complement and Appreciate yourself
Consider yourself as a special person and you will not be wrong, you just need to realize it. Love yourself, embrace yourself, compliment yourself. Do not hesitate to do things that truly make you happy and content.
5. Buy stuff for yourself
Do you like ice cream? eat it!. Do you want to buy new clothes? Buy it. Do you want to sing and dance? just do it, do not let anything hold you back from things that you want to do.
6. Do not strive for perfection
Do not expect perfection in every role you play and in everything you do. Do it to your satisfaction. Do your best and forget the rest.
7. The World will still continue to function well without you
Always be clear with the reality of life, this world will not come to a halt without you, it will still continue to function pretty well when you are not around, so take good care of yourself and make yourself happy.
