Why do we See Depression in Housewives? 10 Useful Ways to Manage Their Depression.

Depression in Housewives is the most burning issue of the modern world. Every year a huge number of women are suffering from depression and having the tendency to commit suicide or isolating themselves from the social surroundings. Depression is the most common mental health disorder among all people throughout the world, according to the report of WHO( World Health Organization) published on 13 September 2021- globally about 5 percent of adults suffer from depression and more women are affected by depression than men.

According to the report of NCRB(National Crime Records Bureau) published on 2018, the house-wives accounted for the second-highest percentage of all suicide victims in India after daily-wage laborers and in most of the cases the reason is the acute depression due to marital issue, domestic violence, social status or economic dependence. Day-by-day the depression in women are increasing due to work load, relationship issues and too many expectations of society from them. Though the working women can fight with their issues due to their economic independence but the condition is severe among housewives resulting in Acute Depression in Housewives.

Causes of Depression in Housewives

Depression is the mental disorder associated with prolonged period of sadness, mood swings and loss of interest in all activities including the daily activities of life. There are several trigger points which cause depression among people like family history, childhood trauma, domestic violence, relationship crisis, prolonged illness, physical or mental abuse or neglect, injuries in head, changes in brain chemicals etc. But the major causes of Depression in Housewives are-

• Traumatic Life Events- The housewives who experience Traumatic Life Experiences in their family after marriage are more prone to suffering from depression. For example, if the environment in family is full of conflicts and arguments with family members like in-laws or the husband is addicted to alcohol or the housewives are the victim of physical abuse or psychological abuse and neglect or they lack the minimum freedom in their life are the sufferers of depression in their life. In most of the cases, they cannot express their difficulties or issues and become the sufferers of major Depressive Disorder or they may commit suicide.
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• Domestic Violence- The presence of domestic violence is one of the main causes to create anxiety, phobia, fear and depression among the housewives and often lead them to self-harm or suicide.
• Financial Dependence- In spite of domestic violence, abuse or neglect, the housewives cannot take any decision to protect themselves as they don’t have any financial freedom or they are depended on others for their bread and butter and this is a main reason for depression in housewives.
• Loneliness- At some point of their life especially when the children become elder, the housewives often feel lonely in life as the children are now busy in their own world – the husband may be also busy with his works. If they cannot cope up with this free time and loneliness, we will must notice depression in housewives.
• Postpartum Depression- This is a type of depression seen in the women who are the mother of newly born babies. It is a form of major depression that occurs within 4 weeks after delivery due to various hormonal changes in the body of mother.
• Family History, Presence of any other Mental disorder, Relationship Issues, Presence of any Physical problem etc. also causes depression in women.

Useful Ways to Manage Depression in Housewives

To manage depression in housewives, the following ways can be beneficial if they follow those ways for a period of time in association with self-care routine activities.

Talk About your Problems and Feelings

This is the most essential way to manage depression not only for housewives but also for all, we should talk about our difficulties, our issues to someone we Trust and who are empathetic to us. We can share our feelings to our partner, our parents, our friend or someone we trust. Sharing the mental issues to someone or talking about it, surely show us a way to go in the right path.

Make a Support Group

It is very important for the housewives to make a support group to whom they can share their difficulties, they can make a support group with their college or school day’s friends or with the parents of their children’s friends and can spend quality time to share their feelings. Now-a-days, various WhatsApp group are created to share good thoughts, motivational quotes etc. to beat the depression in housewives.

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Engagement in Social Media

Positive engagement in social media like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter can also help the housewives to beat their loneliness and manage depression. They can share their hidden talents in social media and can also stay in contact with their friends easily. For example, if anyone can write beautiful poems or can do excellent painting, they can post their works in their timeline and people will surely appreciate you if your work is good and this appreciation works as a tonic to manage depression in housewives.

Be Socially Active also- be Involved to any NGO

To be socially active- to be engaged with any socio-cultural organization or charitable organization or be a member of any religious organization will make ourselves busy in different activities in association with group members and thus help people to manage their depression in a proper way. It has been found in a research work that the housewives who are engaged actively in social activities are less prone to depression in housewives.

Do Regular Physical Exercise

Physical exercise always improves our mood, make us relaxed and stress-free, that’s why physical exercise are recommended to manage depression in housewives. Any kind of physical exercise like walking, running, weightlifting or playing any kind of sports always reduces stress hormones in our body and also increases the secretion of Endorphins- the “Feel Good hormones” in our body. So, doing regular physical exercise will be beneficial to manage depression in housewives.

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Practice Yoga and Meditation.

Doing yoga, meditation or mindfulness techniques make our body and mind relaxed, lower our blood pressure and heart rate and minimize our stress and depression. Yoga not only lower stress hormones in our bodies but also increase the secretion of feel-good brain chemicals like Endorphins and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) which lower the level of depression and improves our mood. So, Yoga and Meditation will be helpful to manage depression in housewives.

Engage in Activities that you Like to Do

The housewives can engage in activities that they like to do, those activities that give them joy and happiness to manage their depression. For example, if anyone can sing well, they can again start their singing or anyone who is fond of doing craftwork can start to explore again and create a new way of design. True engagement with the works that you are passionate about will surely help you to manage depression and anxiety.

Don’t Feel Guilty for any Wrong Deeds

The housewives should try to avoid your guilt feelings for little little mess- little little wrong deeds in your everyday life. It is quite normal to do mistakes in everyday life as you are doing everyday so many works but don’t feel guilt for your little faults as the feeling of guilty will lower your self-confidence, self-esteem and may cause depression among you.

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Practice “ME TIME” Everyday

To manage depression in housewives, it is very beneficial to do self-care- the housewives should spend everyday some time with yourself to refresh you. They should then reflect on themselves, can spend time with nature, can read a book or just can take a sip in their favorite drink and think about the positive aspects of their life. Me-time really helps to resolve our issues and find the solution of our problem.

Don’t Feel Ashamed to Take Professional Support and Care

In extreme cases, the housewives should take professional support and care- they should go to therapist or psychiatrist or counselor to solve their issues and to beat their depression. Cognitive therapy, Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy, Psychotherapy etc. are really beneficial to manage depression in people.

Conclusion

The Housewives- the Homemakers are the primary caregiver in the family as in society, they are actually the full-time workers and their work is not less than the working women. But, being busy to look after the family, the housewives hardly care for themselves- never give attention to their mental health and well-being. Slowly slowly loneliness, unfulfilled expectations, financial dependency, abuse and neglect in family create acute depression in housewives. To manage depression in housewives, they should first talk with someone they trust about their issues and feelings- share about the status of their mental health and must be engaged in those activities that give them happiness and they prefer to do.

Depression is a Prison where you are both the suffering prisoner and the cruel jailor. – Dorothy Rowe