超级妈妈更容易得抑郁症

Trying to be a supermum can be a recipe for depression, scientists said.

Working mothers who try to do everything by themselves are more likely to become depressed than those who accept that they aren’t superhuman, a study of hundreds of women found.

‘Women are sold a story that they can do it all, but most workplaces are still designed for employees without child-care responsibilities,’ said researcher Katrina Leupp.

‘You can happily combine child rearing and a career, if you are willing to let some things slide.’

She suggests that rather than trying to do everything themselves, working women should get family members to help with the housework – and not feel guilty about leaving work early when family duty calls.

High earners can take their cue from actress Anna Friel, who revealed her secret to juggling work and being a mother – employing two nannies.

The University of Washington researcher said: ‘Employment is ultimately beneficial for women’s health, even when differences in marital satisfaction and working full- or part-time are ruled out.’

But the analysis found that not all working mothers are equally happy.

The women with ‘supermum’ attitudes as young adults showed more signs of depression, the American Sociological Society’s annual conference stated.

Women who try to do it all without any help are more likely to feel they are failures when things do not go to plan, with guilt and frustration triggering a spiral towards depression. Tiredness and lack of any ‘me time’ could also be an issue.

However, she stressed that working women – including supermums – generally still a lower risk of depression than stay-at-home mothers, adding: ‘But for better mental health, working mums should accept that they can’t do it all.’

Pam Spurr, a life coach and mother-of-two, said women need to realise there is no shame in taking a career break when children are young or cutting back on time in the office.

She said: ‘We need to accept that we are only human and can’t do it all.’

科学家称，做一个超级妈妈是让你患上抑郁症的途径之一。

一项涵盖了几百位女性的研究发现，那些事事亲力亲为的上班族妈妈相比其他不勉强自己做超人的妈妈，更容易得抑郁症。

研究员卡特里娜•路易普说：“社会向女性灌输了她们可以多面兼顾的观念，然而很多工作岗位都是为那些没有抚育子女责任的员工设置的。”

“如果你不求事事完美，那么你还可以开开心心地一边养孩子一边干事业。”

她建议职业女性应该让其他家庭成员也帮助分担家务，别什么事都自己来。如果家里有事需要提前下班，也不要觉得有负罪感。

高薪女性可以学学女演员安娜•弗瑞尔，她透露自己工作孩子两不误的秘诀就是——雇两个保姆。

华盛顿大学的研究人员说：“从根本上来说，就业还是有利于女性健康的，即使不考虑婚姻幸福度以及工作性质是全职还是兼职。”

不过分析发现，并不是所有的职业母亲都一样快乐。

美国社会学会年会上的报告显示，那些年轻时就抱有当超级妈妈想法的女性表现出更多忧郁症的征兆。

凡事亲力亲为，不靠任何帮助，这样的女人在事情不按计划发展的时候更容易有挫败感，负罪、沮丧的心理后来就逐渐演变为抑郁症。劳累还有缺乏独处的时间也是可能导致抑郁症的问题。

不过，她强调说，总体而言，职业女性（包括超级妈妈在内）相比那些待在家中的全职妈妈来说，得抑郁症的风险还是要低一些。她补充道：“为了更好的心理健康，职业母亲应该接受这一事实，就是她们不能什么都自己干。”

帕姆•斯普尔是一名生活教练，也是两个孩子的母亲。她说女性需要意识到，孩子还小的时候暂时离开职场，或减少一点工作时间，这都没什么好羞愧的。

她说：“我们需要接受的是，我们只是凡人，不可能什么都做。”