The mental load

Mental load is a concept that is increasingly present in our modern society. It is an invisible burden that weighs on the shoulders of many people, especially women, and has a significant impact on their mental and emotional well-being.

In this article, we will explore what mental load is, how it manifests in different aspects of daily life, and the consequences it can have on individuals and relationships. We will also discuss ways to recognize and manage mental load to restore a healthy balance in our lives.

Mental load refers to the sum:

Unpaid mental + emotional tasks

This mental load affects mainly women, although it can also affect men. It is an invisible weight that includes different daily tasks:

1. Professional mental load
2. Personal mental load
3. Emotional mental load

Professional mental load

A mental “to do list”

Mental workload is often underestimated and neglected, which can lead to chronic stress, exhaustion and deterioration of mental health.

Send an email while in a meeting, stop work to respond to a colleague and resume later the files to be submitted...

In other words, the mental load at work represents the quantity of information that must be processed, the different tasks to be carried out, the decisions, the interactions, etc.

For most of us, we have a certain mental load at work that is more or less developed. However, if this mental load at work becomes too great, there is a risk of mental overload.

Attention

Professional mental overload is an additional risk of Burnout

In the personal mental load, we mainly find a mental load linked to the management of the home, of the family. This part of the mental load still mainly affects women today even if men can also be affected!

This mental load consists of having to think about all of your daily life outside of work: household chores, children, leisure activities, etc.

Now that we have defined what professional mental load and personal mental load are, let's take a look at what emotional mental load is.

This charge corresponds to the fact to accumulate several and different emotions within oneself.

This mental load also has the name “Affective Load”

There we find the emotional load linked to work and the emotional load linked to family.

Emotional stress can occur following too much stress, anxiety or even happiness for example. This overflow eventually explodes to transform into sleep disorder, depression or anxiety for example.

Mental workload has serious repercussions on the well-being of individuals.

Chronic stress

Anxiety

Depression

Exhaustion

The most common signs of mental overload also include:

• Great physical and mental fatigue
• Sleep disorder: difficulty falling asleep or regular nocturnal awakenings.
• poor management of emotions: great irritability or sadness for example
• Memorization disorders: forgetting tasks, files, etc. demonstrates significant cognitive overload.
• Greater anxiety with difficulty managing it
• Tensions with other people (collaborators, relatives, etc.)
• less efficiency at work

There are different tips that allow you to reduce the mental load on a daily basis. Let’s look at some of these tips together:

Become aware of our mental load

Yes, here is the very first step. Become aware of the mental load. It's not that simple. Mental load is something invisible, which is part of our daily life.

So, in order to really become aware of it, start by listing everything you do during the day. However, not just what you do, but also the tasks you think about during the day!

Practice assertiveness

Do you tend to say yes whenever someone asks you for help?

You have a lot of difficulty saying no, for fear of disappointing, of being rejected...

I have bad news, you can't please everyone by constantly adding tasks that add to your mental load. Even if it may seem difficult and go against your habits, assertiveness will allow you to enter a new virtuous circle.

Remember that saying yes all the time and to everyone will only make you feel overwhelmed, which can lead you to no longer have time for yourself at all and end up breaking down.

Finally, start defining clear and healthy limits that will allow you to preserve your energy and your mental load.

The dialogue!

It is important to communicate and share, so as not to carry all the weight on our shoulders.

Discuss with your loved ones and colleagues about the mental burden you feel. Express your needs and do not hesitate to ask them for help if necessary.

Without communication, others are unaware of the impact these numerous tasks have on you. Discussing it with them will allow them to become aware of it and better support you.

Which brings us to the next point:

Delegate

Easy to say, but not necessarily easy to do!

We tend to think that we have to do everything on our own, but this puts a lot of mental strain on us.

First, consider identifying the tasks that can be delegated. This is suitable for everyday tasks as well as for household chores.

Remember that the other person is not in your head. If you wait for help but don't ask for it, the other person may not receive your charge.

Take care of yourself

It's important to take time every day for yourself.
Take time each day to relax and recharge.
This may include activities such as meditation, yoga, reading, or any other activity that calms you and allows you to refocus. Taking care of yourself strengthens your mental resilience and helps you face challenges more effectively.
And above all, don't feel guilty! You have the right to give yourself time.

Sort out your tasks

Maybe you feel like all tasks are urgent and important. However, this is not the case. It's important to take the time to sort out what you need to do so you know where to start.

An urgent task is not necessarily important or vice versa.

There is a very practical tool for sorting the different tasks to be carried out:

Use modern tools to get organized

Today there are many applications that allow you to manage your time and your tasks to be completed. Don't hesitate to take to do list applications, calendars or others.

Use modern tools to get organized

When it becomes too difficult to help yourself, you should not hesitate to ask for help. If you feel like your emotions are starting to get too overwhelming and you can't manage them at all, it might be time to see a psychotherapist.

The psychotherapist specialized in CBT will be able to advise you in order to reduce your mental load, he will also be able to help you manage your emotions (through different emotion management tools), but also to work on the dysfunctional thoughts that may be present.

As you have seen, there are many ways to reduce mental workload. It's important to start thinking about yourself and taking care of yourself!

Mental workload is an invisible burden that can have a huge impact on our mental and emotional well-being.

By understanding its manifestations in our daily lives, we can begin to proactively recognize and manage it.

Open communication, sharing responsibilities and taking care of yourself are key elements in lightening the mental load!