Mothers should have their own identities aside maternal roles. Mental issues like PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), depression and Anxiety disorder are quite common among women and one of the factors responsible for these is when a woman has no other role in her life apart from her maternal duties.
A friend, Abike, (not her real name) used to be a stay-at-home mum and she was super awesome at her duties but soon she began to experience depression stemming from thoughts that her husband had a side chick, thoughts that she was too fat, thoughts that her kids loved their father more than they did her because he buys them more expensive gifts and provides almost everything in the home and thoughts that she couldn't meet up with the standards of her friends because she had to ask her husband for everything.
Get a life, Woman!
Sounds harsh, right?
Yes, that's the bitter pill you've got to taste to get out of that comfort zone of pity-party and take the bulls by the horn. When I told her to start a side business, she had doubts about her ability to do anything substantial and she was more concerned about who will run the home as good as she did.
Well, I have never been a stay-at-home mum because I was not raised to be one but I could relate with that feeling of being indispensable. I used to think only I could do it all when it comes to chores and caring for the family but you know the truth already. I was getting exhausted all the time and losing my sanity. I had to learn to relegate jobs to others so I could find time to feel myself. Now whenever a task overwhelmes me, I would pick the ones with higher priority and leave the rest.
Women should know that the earth would not stop revolving around the Sun because of them. A woman needs healthy activities to keep her in a good mental state. Activities such as aerobics, dance classes, yoga classes, girls hangout, sporting activities, volunteering with NGOs, music classes aside work are good distractions from a monotonous life. If you collapse and pass away from exhaustion today, there will always be someone who can take your place. No one is indispensable after all.
So, GET A LIFE, WOMAN!