The month of February is commonly associated with Black History Month, Valentine's Day and Love. In recent years, there has been a push with the Go Red campaign to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke with because 1 in 3 women die from both diseases. One of the main contributors behind Heart Disease and strokes is stress. Women are overwhelmed by stress typically caused by an erroneous belief they must become Superwoman to manage their lives, work and the home.
Ladies, ask yourselves the following question to determine if you suffer from Superwoman Syndrome?
- How many of you are struggling to balance work-home?
- How many of you work one or multiple jobs, manage the home, watch your own or someone's else children?
- How many of you are the doctor/nurse/and psychologist to your family and friends?
- How many of you cater to everybody else's needs but your own?
- How many of you are so burned out, tired and exhausted that you feel like running away and leaving everything because you need a break?
If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, then you likely are silently suffering from Superwoman Syndrome. People with this syndrome have an irrational belief that puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on women to look beautiful, stay in shape, take care of the home, solve and fix everyone's problems while succeeding at work. Truthfully, this woman is fictional. However, women often subscribe to this belief because that's how their mothers and grandmothers behaved in their home and believe they should do the same.
The truth of the matter, the quality of their relationships, work productivity, health and peace of mind can be negatively compromised because women feel compelled to run themselves into the ground to live up to the superwoman hype. When women began to rid themselves of the Superwoman persona, they can start to live their best life. When women shed this persona they can eliminate unnecessary stress, worry and depression from their lives, learn to say "No" to superfluous requests from family members and co-workers, learn to rest when their body and mind are weary and engage in positive thinking to boost their energy and self-esteem.
Tips to Rid Yourself of Superwoman Syndrome
- Don't feel guilty about saying "No" either. Be firm and non-apologetic. Remember, you don't owe anyone an explanation for why you are unable to meet his or her request.
- Practice Saying No. Say it loud and proud: "No!"
- Give yourself permission to take a break. You deserve "me time" to recharge, relax, rejuvenate, restore and reenergize your bodies and minds. Turn off the electronics and sleep uninterrupted. Send the kiddos to a family member's home or to the park. Even consider taking a mental health day from work during the middle of the week.
- Use I am messages that uplift your spirit. So instead of saying I'm depressed, I'm sad, I'm broke or I'm defeated, encourage yourself and say instead: I'm healed. I'm restored, I'm an overcomer and I am happy.
If you practice these tips, you can free yourself from the Superwoman Syndrome and live your best life.
This blogger graduated from Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses program. Goldman Sachs is a partner of the What Is Working: Small Businesses section.