Common Women’s Issues and Ways to Get Support

Do you struggle with any of these common women’s issues? If so, here are some practical ways to find support.

“Women spin the plates, pay the bills, sign the forms, do the work, fix the problems, manage the people, organize the world. If you made a list of everything you execute in a calendar week and put someone else’s name at the top of the page, you would give her an A+ . . . I don’t know a woman who is not holding her world together” – Jen Hatmaker, Fierce, Free and Full of Fire

Women wear a whole lot of hats. This doesn’t mean to say that men can’t either, of course. In most families, women are doing an incredible balancing act. They’re most often the ones responsible for raising the children, tending the home, managing activities, cooking, and often working professionally as well.

In our social media and image-driven world, being a woman can feel harder than it ever did before. There’s “mom-shaming,” the “why don’t you have kids” shaming, the Instagram comparisons, the “Pinterest moms,” troll moms who tear each other down on social media, and so much pressure. It’s no wonder that women’s issues are becoming more and more prevalent each day.

In this article, we’re going to look at common women’s issues, struggles women face, and ways to get support when life isn’t as it should be. We live in a society that undervalues women while expecting them to do more than their fair share. It is our hope with this article to empower and encourage women to find support when they need it.

Common Women’s Issues

Did you know at least 25% of women struggle with some form of mental illness? Not only are women wearing a lot of hats, but the rates of mental illness are also increasing year after year. Women are feeling pressure and it’s wreaking havoc on them.

Common women’s issues include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Postpartum emotional and physical issues
• Hormonal balance struggles
• Eating disorders
• Self-esteem issues
• Sexual abuse and harassment
• Gender bias

In addition, health issues such as thyroid disorders, STDs, cancer, and others are on the rise among women.

Support for Women from Family, Friends, and Others

Though some couples have found a balance, there still is an overwhelming imbalance in most relationships. This imbalance has to do with who does what in the household. In many marriages and partnerships, the woman is the primary one raising the children, cooking and doing household chores, managing the children’s education, taking care of household needs and errands, managing the family’s schedule, and transporting children to and from their various activities. More and more women are working outside the home or working professionally from home as well. Yet even in couples with both members working, the woman is still responsible for all the same tasks.

Looking inside the home for support with women’s issues is an important step to take. This is especially important for women struggling with any of the struggles listed above. Couples sometimes find they fell into specific patterns and rhythms subconsciously or because that’s what they saw modeled by their parents.

Even couples who are not yet married or who don’t have children may have an imbalance of who does what in the relationship. We hope these tips will help you no matter what your situation looks like, especially if you’re struggling emotionally or physically. Here are a few tips for dividing up household tasks, chores, and parenting needs.

First, track everything you do for a few weeks.

Some people like to print a daily calendar with the time listed along the side, while others write as they go. Every 15 minutes or so, make a note of what you did for that time period. For example, 8:30am-8:45am: took kids to school, 8:45am-9:00am: responded to work emails, 9:00am-9:15am: started a load of laundry.

This will not only help you see areas you’re not using your time well, but it will also help you get everything on paper that you’re doing. Two to four weeks is a good amount of time to track. Tracking your time spent like this can be helpful in periods of stress or transition.

Next, use this tracking calendar to make a list of every task you completed.

Make a note next to each task of approximately how much time per week you spent on that task. For example, if you spend two hours a week total with carpool, write “carpool: 2 hours/week.”

Then, figure out what you can delegate or get outside help with.

You don’t have to figure out right away who is going to do what, just figure out what tasks are essential for you to do, and what could be done by others. This doesn’t mean you’re going to give up all these tasks. If you enjoy doing something you could delegate, you don’t have to delegate it. In this step, you’re evaluating everything you do that you don’t have to do.

Next, sit down with your spouse/partner and talk about what tasks you could take off your plate.

It is a good idea to talk with them before you start tracking as well. Let them know you’re overwhelmed and are trying to see how you could use your time better, or that you’re trying to figure out what you can delegate.

Depending on the season of life you’re in, you may need to hand some of these tasks off for only a short time. If, for example, you’ve recently had a new baby or are recovering from surgery, you may need extra help for a few months and then you can reclaim some of the tasks. The two of you may also wish to invite older children into the conversation. You can decide together who is going to take over what tasks.

If finances allow, you may choose to hire a dog walker, get a sitter once a week so you can have longer work-hours, start ordering grocery delivery, or using other paid services. Also, consider what friends or relatives you have in the area who may be able to help. Working out some sort of trade can also be helpful.

For example, if you love to cook you may offer to cook a double portion of dinner and ask a friend to take your child to/from school. Or if you have a job that allows you to work from home, you may trade off childcare with a friend. Get creative.

Last, make arrangements!

Make sure everyone knows what they’re doing and how to do it. You may wish to make notecards with instructions on them for the task. There may be a bit of transitional struggle and you may need to manage the schedule a bit at first while folks fall into a new routine. You’ll want to re-evaluate every few months as well. This will help you decide if there’s anything you delegated that you’d like to pick back up, any balls that have been dropped, or any life/health/emotional circumstances that have changed for you.

If you need more support with this process, your counselor can help you out.

A counselor can also be helpful in relationships where the spouse/partner is unwilling, or resistant, to helping. They can also help couples where both partners want to help but aren’t quite sure how to figure out how to divide the workload.

Some couples may also find counseling helpful to work through beliefs on traditional gender roles. It can be difficult to reassign tasks that the individual, or couple, has long felt should be done by a specific gender.

Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, we’re happy to be here to provide extra support!