The list of the commissions is ready, hung on the fridge, the dirty laundry picked up in the basket, that of yesterday is already washed, ironed and stored, electricity and water bills are settled ... Meanwhile, we cook to prepare the meal menus of the week. And during this time, Monsieur quietly reads his emails (or other), stoic, while Junior throws the bricks of his construction game throughout the living room ... Does that tell you something? Whatever one may say, and without being a fierce feminist, one still has the impression of getting to the pulp more often than in our turn and of being constantly anticipating, planning, 'organize. This is called mental burden .

Equal yes but ...

According to INSEE, in 2010 women account for 64% of domestic tasks and 71% of parenting tasks within households . An encouraging score, compared with the statistics of past years (these rates were respectively 69% and 80% in 1985), but far from satisfactory. And if, already in household chores, the gap is felt, it is only the submerged part of the iceberg! More than sharing tasks at home, the notion of mental burden also encompasses thinking, anticipating that the daily life of the home should take place at best. A whole psychological dimension, not least, but difficult to measure because without any visible effect.

Mental burden, a matter of women

Who suffers the mental burden? Mostly women. Constantly concerned about the smooth running of operations, the fulfillment of domestic tasks and the fulfillment of administrative imperatives, women see the constraints accumulate until they overwhelm them. And thinking too much about what to do is their mental and physical health end up in danger.

What men think

Often when they see their companion submerged, men are destabilized. Participate a little more? They only ask for it, it would be enough that Madam asks them. And this is precisely the situation . When women anticipate the next complex situation, men prefer to wait for the apocalypse and act once the damage is done or wait patiently for them to be asked to act (another thing women must think upstream). Since, in the end, most situations of crises are killed in the bud, Monsieur does not even realize the efforts deployed by Madame so that everything goes ...

Best to make them aware of the situation? Invite them to read the cartoon created by illustrator Emma on her Facebook account. The young woman put on line on May 9 last a BD 2.0 entitled "Fallait nous nous", in which she illustrates and puts words on this burden that is the mental load. A good way to raise awareness ... and avoid perhaps many scenes of households!