You’ve now done hundreds of interviews to identify eight different types of mental load, what are they?
What kept showing up was that women would describe their load as invisible, boundaryless and enduring and it was burning them out. I felt like we needed to get a handle on what it was so that we could help people start to lighten it, so here are the eight categories I came up with:
1. Life organisation
This is probably the most traditional understanding of the mental load, which simply refers to staying on top of planning tasks – all that invisible work needed to ensure the home is running smoothly.
2. Emotional support
This is when you’re doing emotional thinking to make sure you’re checking in on family, friends or co-workers. It also involves noticing others’ moods and providing emotional support during big or small moments.
3. Relationship hygiene
Maintaining strong social connections with your children, friends, partner and extended family. At work you might refer to it as networking – but mostly it’s the work of making sure everyone feels connected and loved.
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