Burnout: The fault lies within us!

Burnout is when we reach a point of exhaustion as a result of overworking. Most women, particularly working women, will experience burnout sometime in their lifetime owing to a lack of work-life balance or an uneven split of household responsibilities. I’ve been married for 5 years. Only recently, I came to the realisation that the main reason for my intermittent burnout was actually me, the way my brain works and subconscious guilt. Not my profession, not my workplace and most certainly, not my husband. All long, IT WAS ME. 

I work full-time and I spend around two and a half hours each day just driving as a result of my long commute with unbearable traffic. Most days I felt drained by the time I reached home, but I still did most of the cooking. By the time the kitchen department gets closed it would be 8.30pm, leaving me just under an hour until it’s bedtime again. Many times I would notice myself doing way more than I could physically handle. Even on weekends, I wouldn’t rest. I found myself doing so many tasks all at the same time – vacuum cleaning, kitchen cleaning, bathroom cleaning, you name it. Before I knew it, that was my precious Saturday and Sunday gone. But I have to be truthful. My husband is like my right hand. He always comes forward to help, but it was me who actively kept refusing because of guilt. I would end up saying “no, it’s ok, I’ll do it.”

As time went by, I began to contemplate. I thought to myself, what am I feeling guilty for? Why should I feel guilty for allowing a man to do the chores? It’s his house too, right? Having been born and brought up in India and then moving to the United Kingdom has given me the advantage of experiencing both cultures. Whether it be family, friends or colleagues, there exists three categories of women I interact with in my life. White-British women, British-Indian women and Indian women based in India. To this day, I have never come across a single white-british friend of mine who has raised a conversation with me about burnout. It’s always been Indian women. Wondering why? It’s because white-british women are not conditioned in that way. However, from a young age, Indian women are conditioned to think that their one and only priority in life should be marriage, children and the overall smooth-running of the house. How many of you can relate to this? Indian women barely go out socialising because of feeling guilty for leaving the house. Even on the odd occasion when we do go out, there is that constant thought of what’s happening at home. The continuous cycle of questions at the back of our minds, not allowing us to switch off even during our break. “Will everything be ok?” “Have my husband and children eaten?” “How will he/they manage alone, until I return?” The thought process excels at an exponential rate that we just end up rushing back home because of guilt. My husband has never asked me to rush back home, so let me reiterate. All along, IT WAS ME.

That brings me to the top tips that I want to share with my fellow Indian women to avoid burnout:

1. LEARN TO SAY YES  – If your male counterparts are offering to share the responsibility, SAY YES. There is no reason to feel guilty, it’s their duty too (chores AND childcare). We are not inferior in any way. We also work, we also earn, we also make a solid contribution to the collective finances. Hence, WE DESERVE A BREAK.
   
2. VOCALISE – If something is incomplete, don’t just take up the task and do it yourself. That’s not a long-term solution. Speak up! More often than not, it’s not a case of men not wanting to do work. They just don’t have the same overriding urge that we do for doing chores. We cannot fully blame them because that attitude was never instilled in them from a young age. However, it’s never too late. We as partners can instill that in a healthy way. After all, marriage is all about teamwork!
   
3. PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION – If we ourselves don’t appreciate the work we put in, how can we expect others to? Learn to love yourself and be proud of your efforts. After all, we women are the leaders of the world when it comes to multitasking and time management.
   
4. MAKE TIME TO RELAX and EXERCISE – Family and career are both very important, but what controls the two is OUR HEALTH! If we don’t take care of our health, we won’t succeed in either of those departments.
   
5. BREAK IT DOWN – Break down tasks into manageable portions. There is only so much one can achieve in a 24-hour period. It’s practically not feasible to complete every single planned task in one day. Set realistic goals and allow space for some imperfection. Its not possible for a house to look spick and span 365 days a year. 

Burnout as a result of uneven split in household responsibilities is applicable to all women around the world but a large proportion of victims are Indian women. Thanks to a society built and still thriving on outdated patriarchal ideologies. Far too many women have been brushing it under the carpet for centuries, and it’s high time we decondition from all that guilt.

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