Today, women take on more roles than ever. Women are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, partners, friends, bosses, teammates, entrepreneurs, and so much more. And though there is still a long path ahead towards equality for women, we live in a time where women have opportunities to be successful like never before.
So, why aren’t they happy?
In a recent piece on Oprah.com, Ada Calhoun outlines in detail the ways that women are facing mid-life crises like never before. They’re experiencing dissatisfaction in their careers. Their marriages have hit a wall. They struggle with fatigue and exhaustion as they try to manage the lives of the kids and family as well as their own.
As one woman named Michelle lamented, “I’m tired of being tired.”[1]
Have you ever felt this way?
Chances are you have. And if you’re like many women you probably aren’t sharing it with others. Women across the spectrum face obstacles – some big, some small – that weigh heavily on them and prevent them from living healthy, happy lifestyles.
What’s tragic is that they often fear telling others in order to avoid looking weak or having to be vulnerable. However, these problems only grow in isolation. Isolation and loneliness are not only bad for you psychologically, but as Frieda Fromm-Reichmann’s seminal essay, “On Loneliness”, describes, “it has now been linked with a wide array of bodily ailments as well as the old mental ones.”[2]
Find your path to wholeness begins by taking your fears of vulnerability and opening them up in a safe space. Therapy is designed to help you break through your fears that you are the only one. In therapy women, and all people, discover that it’s in the very act of exposing our darkest parts, the parts we are most afraid to talk about, that we begin to see the light.
If you’re struggling with depression, fatigue, anxiety, worry, or doubt. If you have problems in your relationships with your coworkers, family, friends, or partner. Whatever your reason, don’t let the false belief that you are the only one stop you from taking steps towards mental wellness.
Because the truth is, you aren’t alone.
Opening yourself up to someone you trust can be the beginning of the path to wholeness. And that’s something we can all smile about.
[1] http://www.oprah.com/sp/new-midlife-crisis.html
[2] https://newrepublic.com/article/113176/science-loneliness-how-isolation-can-kill-you