According to a survey carried out by the Club de Malasmadres and DKV, seven out of 10 Spanish women feel more tired now than before confinement, and 86% are apathetic, sad and unmotivated. The data are really worrying, and show that, far from decreasing, the physical and emotional stress of mothers has skyrocketed in these months .
And it is that apart from the physical damage that the coronavirus is causing, the pandemic is also affecting us psychologically , and parents are one of the groups that is suffering the most. During our confinement, we had to combine teleworking with raising children and educating them at home, an overly demanding burden that has ended up taking its toll for many.
Now we are no longer confined, but the emotional stress continues to mount. Many parents continue to telework with their children at home, and many families have decided not to go on vacation in this uncertain summer. Added to all this are doubts about what will happen with the return to school in September and, in general, about everything that the pandemic is bringing with it.
Mothers feel sad, apathetic and unmotivated
The Malasmadres Club and DKV have been working for some time on a joint project called ‘Time to take care of yourself’, the purpose of which is to help mothers take care of themselves in order to take better care of their family.
As part of this project, they decided to conduct a survey of 10,000 Spanish women to analyze the mental health of mothers in these months , and the results could not be more worrying.
Among the reasons described by the women is the workload they are having to face in this exceptional situation , which forces them to combine teleworking with raising children, their education and household chores. Added to all this is the uncertain outlook derived from going back to school and the lack of time to dedicate to oneself.
Faced with this situation of mental and physical stress, mothers ask, first of all, to be able to be alone without their children or their partner; second, sleep; third, to be able to do whatever they want; fourth, to be able to disconnect, and fifth, to be silent. However, 43% of women say that they will not be able to achieve these purposes during their summer vacations.
Mothers, who suffer the most stress during confinement
The data that this survey has revealed would be added to that of an investigation carried out two months ago by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and which revealed that mothers with young children who telework were the ones who suffered the most stress during confinement, since they also having to carry out their work, they were in charge of monitoring their children at school and facilitating teleworking for their partners.
But although these types of studies and surveys focus on the role of mothers, the truth is that fathers are also suffering the physical and emotional stress that the pandemic has brought with it. In many families the economic situation is being delicate and uncertain, and doubts regarding work, school and work-life balance are widespread.
Faced with this bleak outlook, the only thing we can do is try to rest and enjoy together with our children during the month of vacation that we still have ahead of us. In addition, it is essential and necessary to find time for ourselves and to be as a couple.
Regarding the beginning of classes and the uncertainty that this situation generates, it is very important to find effective and safe solutions that allow us to reconcile , whatever the scenario of back to school that arises. Although, obviously, these solutions are beyond the control of families in most cases, hence our concern.
In this sense, the Club de las Malasmadres launched a campaign on Change.org to make families a priority in society, demanding urgent measures from the Government that allow a conciliation without resignations.
Photo | iStock
Via | EuropaPress, The Country
In Babies and More | How the pandemic is changing our families, The strength of mothers: crying alone, drying our tears and moving on as if nothing had happened, “Mom in quarantine”, the funny illustrations of a mother about confinement with which we identify
