According to a recent study on mental health issues, depression rates among women have doubled since the 1970s.
Researchers found that women of childbearing age are particularly vulnerable, attributing this to the pressures of trying to juggle the demands of ‘having it all.’
Now, I don’t want to come across as unsisterly, but if I hear one more woman endlessly lamenting the challenges of modern life, I might just unleash my hefty handbag…or perhaps a copy of Allison Pearson’s wonderful novel, I Don’t Know How She Does It, which has been adapted into a film starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
Similarly, those who prefer to be full-time mothers and homemakers should feel free to embrace that choice without hesitation.
Women no longer rely on men for our homes, finances, or identities. We are educated and capable…and if pursuing a career is what we desire, nothing should hold us back.
Yet, let’s not deceive ourselves into believing that women’s lives are worse today than they were in the Seventies. This simply isn’t accurate.
However, a decade later, it seems time has come to cease the complaints. Enjoy the film, and share a good-hearted grumble with friends over a glass or two of wine afterward…while your husband or babysitter tends to the children.
This book reflected the zeitgeist and vocalized feelings many working mothers experienced but seldom expressed: the exhausting guilt of trying to balance a career and young children, leaving one feeling inadequate in both roles.
My answer has always been the same…just to keep moving forward.
When the novel was released ten years ago, a coworker who had recently given birth gifted me a copy with the endearing note, ‘I really don’t know how you do it!’
We all recognize individuals who suffer from genuine depression: it is a daunting and crippling condition. Yet, there exists a significant distinction between authentic depression and mere whining…and failing to differentiate could be perilous.
In my observation, the world splits into whingers and troupers. Some…notably the ever-complaining Fergie…seem to believe that happiness is a given.
These individuals are tireless in their pursuit of bolstering their self-esteem, with an entitlement mentality matched only by their propensity for complaining.
Moreover, whinging women serve as a poor role model for younger generations.
How can we expect our teenage daughters to achieve top grades and start their careers $50,000 in debt post-university while simultaneously conveying that the future before them isn’t worth pursuing?
As for the divorced mother-of-two who anonymously writes for websites, claiming thousands of sympathetic emails in response to her juvenile complaints about her ‘lonely life at the bottom of the sexual food chain’…it’s time to stop acting like a sulking teenager and grow up.
Maybe investing in some luxurious lingerie or stylish footwear could lift your spirits and help curb the flood of self-pity that seems to drive men away.
It is not solely women who complain; men are exhibiting concerning signs of similar behavior. It’s time to halt this cycle before we sink into a murky pool of tears.
We are all aware of those who genuinely battle with depression, a truly crippling ailment. However, distinguishing real depression from complaining is crucial…and blurring that line is dangerous.
Here’s my classification of Whingers and Troupers:
WHINGERS – Fergie, Germaine Greer, Heather Mills, Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West,
TROUPERS – Linda McCartney, Joan Collins, Liz Hurley, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Cruise
by Susan Floyd