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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to hate the term mental load?

1000 replies

YeahIsaidit · 19/07/2023 17:10

I cringe every time I read it, people lamenting that they can't cope with the mental load, partners aren't taking on an equal share of the mental load, argh! They're chores, household tasks, jobs. Mental load makes it sound like you're suffering from some kind of mental health issue rather than being dragged down by housework, stop it.

OP posts:
SamanthaCaine · 19/07/2023 18:07

YeahIsaidit · 19/07/2023 17:57

Yes! Thank you someone that gets the point I'm trying to make. Complaints on here regularly about carrying this "mental load" and then when you get into it it's just carrying on a normal adult life. How people function when having to make actual decisions or do anything outside of the ordinary day to day, going by mn is beyond me

It's the MN equivalent of corporate wank speak and I can't stand it either. Makes my eyes glaze over whenever I see it, in the same way I want to vomit when office people use wank phrases to replace normal words.

Hankunamatata · 19/07/2023 18:07

I think it's a perfect description when you end up being the default organised adult. You literally end up being loaded with tasks, reminders, things to do like juggling 20 balls.

TheOrigRights · 19/07/2023 18:08

My young adult son gained an understanding of mental load when he minded the house and his younger brother while I was away.

That was without being at work all day as well!

Fightyouforthatpie · 19/07/2023 18:08

YANBU OP

kayserah · 19/07/2023 18:09

You seem to have some real issues. What is wrong with you really?

If you don’t like the term, don’t worry you don’t have to use it, no one is going to force you.

I get annoyed by people minimising the struggles or issues others seem to have, so what, Just because you find dealing with this stuff easy, doesn’t mean that the next person will.

You seem bitter

Spanky123 · 19/07/2023 18:09

Agree, mental load is rubbish. A concept to describe the tasks and plans associated with everyday life! If you can't handle planning and executing tasks perhaps a secretary is suitable for you. Otherwise this is normal life for us all!!

Caribun · 19/07/2023 18:09

When you're at work your manager carries the mental load, they organise tasks, ensure you have the raw materials to do the job, (hopefully) ensures enough staff are available and evaluates your performance (that's very broad and general but you know what I mean).

You don't expect your manager to then jump in and start actually doing the tasks, because their job is to plan and organise. They might in extreme circumstances, but day to day, you'd get on with your job (without too much interference or direction).

Problem is, this doesn't translate to the mental load of home so the person carrying the mental load (and let's me honest 95% of the time that's the woman in heterosexual couples) not only plans and organises the tasks (arranging appointments, nursery show rounds, play dates, creating shopping lists, planning meals, keeping track of laundry, when specific jobs need doing etc.) and ensures that the raw materials for the job are available (doing/ordering the shopping, ordering birthday presents, buying new uniforms) but also then performs as a member of staff by undertaking most (if not all) of the tasks so then takes children to the appointments, makes dinner, puts in the laundry etc. and if they want support they have to ask for it, because the other person in the relationship doesn't see or recognise the work which has gone into all of the planning. It causes a huge imbalance in levels of stress and responsibility within relationships.

The mental load is a job in its own right, but it isn't acknowledged, clearly, by the tone of the OP.

avaviolet · 19/07/2023 18:10

YeahIsaidit · 19/07/2023 17:57

Yes! Thank you someone that gets the point I'm trying to make. Complaints on here regularly about carrying this "mental load" and then when you get into it it's just carrying on a normal adult life. How people function when having to make actual decisions or do anything outside of the ordinary day to day, going by mn is beyond me

It's not usually people complaining about normal adult life.

It's usually people complaining because they are carrying all of the mental load for their household and having to basically be their partner's manager/ spell out every little thing that needs doing, because they can't adult.

Single people rarely complain about mental load in my experience.

What's hard is when one person in a family is basically the 'project manager' of family life, and the spouse doesn't have a clue how much energy that can take.

Check out this article, it might be of interest:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic

The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic

French comic artist Emma introduces the concept of the mental load. When a man expects his partner to ask him to do things, he is viewing her as the manager of their household chores

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic

OnlyFannys · 19/07/2023 18:11

But being a single parent means you also have nobody sharing the load of household chores or looking after the kids but in a relationship you have a partner who should be sharing all of that with you including the mental load. That's the whole point. Yes it's harder on your own, I was a.single parent for many years but just because you don't have somebody to share that burden doesn't mean other people don't have the right to be frustrated that they are when they have a partner, just like a parnter should be equally sharing household chores.

Tinybrother · 19/07/2023 18:11

What’s with all the obviously goady threads today? Is it some organised thing somewhere?

lieselotte · 19/07/2023 18:12

I agree with you OP. I realise some people struggle with everyday tasks but "life admin" to me just seems to be household stuff you need to get done because you are an adult and run a home.

As I said on the other thread though, I have a DH who pulls his weight, no pets and one child. And we don't have constant medical appointments or anything like that. The tedious thing is having to take the car for its MOT and finding tradespeople when things break.

But buying birthday presents or researching and booking holidays is not "life admin". It should be a fun process (although the moment of booking can be a bit stressful when you are checking, double checking and triple checking that you have everyone's names right and the dates are right etc!) But that is made so by the airlines/travel companies - if there were more flexibility built into the system to account for errors, it wouldn't be stressful.

PhantomUnicorn · 19/07/2023 18:12

imagine life is a wedding.

the daily living of it is the ceremony.

the 'mental load' is all the planning that goes on behind the scenes to make the ceremony go off without a hitch.

When you have 2 adults in the ceremony, but the bride is doing all the planning while the groom just shows up and expects it all to happen without a hitch while not lifting a finger, is that fair?

YeahIsaidit · 19/07/2023 18:12

kayserah · 19/07/2023 18:09

You seem to have some real issues. What is wrong with you really?

If you don’t like the term, don’t worry you don’t have to use it, no one is going to force you.

I get annoyed by people minimising the struggles or issues others seem to have, so what, Just because you find dealing with this stuff easy, doesn’t mean that the next person will.

You seem bitter

I'm being shafted for demeaning women, meanwhile it appears to me that you're demeaning yourselves by giving a job title to living in order to feel justified in moaning about it

OP posts:
Caribun · 19/07/2023 18:12

avaviolet · 19/07/2023 18:10

It's not usually people complaining about normal adult life.

It's usually people complaining because they are carrying all of the mental load for their household and having to basically be their partner's manager/ spell out every little thing that needs doing, because they can't adult.

Single people rarely complain about mental load in my experience.

What's hard is when one person in a family is basically the 'project manager' of family life, and the spouse doesn't have a clue how much energy that can take.

Check out this article, it might be of interest:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic

This is the article I wanted but couldn't remember where it was 😂. Probably because I've reached the threshold of my brain capacity for today by carrying the mental load for my family 😂

abyssofwoah · 19/07/2023 18:13

You’re right. Us women should just suck it up and not talk about it. Doing all the thinking and organisation for a household just takes a moment, on top of working and actually doing the chores. We should just get on with it and stop bellyaching.

avaviolet · 19/07/2023 18:13

YeahIsaidit · 19/07/2023 18:12

I'm being shafted for demeaning women, meanwhile it appears to me that you're demeaning yourselves by giving a job title to living in order to feel justified in moaning about it

It's actually a step in the right direction for feminism to give this a label. It helps men to understand.

megletthesecond · 19/07/2023 18:14

Yabu. You are obviously lucky you don't have much to do if it isn't overwhelming.

Confrontayshunme · 19/07/2023 18:14

Every task in life has a conception, planning and execution (CPE). If a man says "I will empty the bins" but he doesn't have a phone reminder that he set up himself to know which bin goes out on which day, and he asks his partner, he expects her to conceptualise and plan. If he says "Just tell me what you want me to do", he is literally only taking on the physical execution of the task and expecting you to know what needs doing and tell him how and when. THAT is the mental load and I know very few men who CPE every task. Most do E at best.

SamanthaCaine · 19/07/2023 18:15

avaviolet · 19/07/2023 18:13

It's actually a step in the right direction for feminism to give this a label. It helps men to understand.

It helps you to identify as the victim a bit more dramatically.

Goldencup · 19/07/2023 18:15

Wishimaywishimight · 19/07/2023 17:14

I agree. Never heard the term before MN. General life tasks which require a small bit of thinking - making a dentist appointment, renewing car insurance etc. Making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill.

As for "meal planning"...

But if like in my house there are effectively 4 autonomous individuals then these "little things" add up to something much greater. For example today as well as working as a senior leader in health care I have had to:
1)Book the rabbit into holiday care
2) Discus with 16yo;
a. whether or not she can stay out(again) tonight
b. Check she knows which shifts she is working this weekend
c. Go through her budget with her and negotiate a reasonable payment

  1. Sort out penalty fare for said 16yo 4)Order a tescos shop accomadating dietary preferences for up coming holiday with MIL
  2. Chase DFs birthday present

On my list for tomorrow (another working day) is:

  1. Pick up rail ticket for 16yo (although actually train strike so will need to remember to do that on Friday)
  2. Buy card for DF's birthday
  3. Buy special cheese from special cheese shop as requested by DM for DF ( probably should have phone to check in stock today, will need to do that 1st thing tomorrow)
  4. Find alternative present if DF's doesn't arrive
  5. Encourage 16yo to pack ( may involve encouraging her to identify clothing which needs washing today)

I am sure there is more.

DH would almost certainly say he has done the Lion's share today he has;
Emptied dishwasher
Cleaned kitchen
Bought a bedding set
Given teens various lifts as he was WFH

lieselotte · 19/07/2023 18:15

"keeping track of laundry" do you mean dry cleaning or do you mean everyday items? How do you have to keep track of it, you just shove it from washing basket to washing machine (obviously not mixed up with dark colours etc but how difficult is it to sort it).

I do think people make things into much bigger tasks than they are. And I don't think this thread is goady. It's a reasonable point that the OP has made.

sharonmight · 19/07/2023 18:16

"I'm being shafted for demeaning women, meanwhile it appears to me that you're demeaning yourselves by giving a job title to living in order to feel justified in moaning about it"

You've intentionally created a post purely
to have a bitch and a moan about other woman, and then describe yourself as being shafted whenever people here are either calling you out on being a dick, or are trying to explain to you what the phrase means. Very woo is me! How dare people react negatively to the negative goady post you created!! Imagine

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 19/07/2023 18:17

lieselotte · 19/07/2023 18:15

"keeping track of laundry" do you mean dry cleaning or do you mean everyday items? How do you have to keep track of it, you just shove it from washing basket to washing machine (obviously not mixed up with dark colours etc but how difficult is it to sort it).

I do think people make things into much bigger tasks than they are. And I don't think this thread is goady. It's a reasonable point that the OP has made.

I agree. Some people want excessive credit for managing ordinary tasks of everyday life, the things we all do.

Theeyeballsinthesky · 19/07/2023 18:17

yeah you’re being goady af OP but you know that & are enjoying the fall out

i like the phrase ‘resentment load’ used by a PP. too many men coast through life with things being organised around them.

lieselotte · 19/07/2023 18:18

Confrontayshunme · 19/07/2023 18:14

Every task in life has a conception, planning and execution (CPE). If a man says "I will empty the bins" but he doesn't have a phone reminder that he set up himself to know which bin goes out on which day, and he asks his partner, he expects her to conceptualise and plan. If he says "Just tell me what you want me to do", he is literally only taking on the physical execution of the task and expecting you to know what needs doing and tell him how and when. THAT is the mental load and I know very few men who CPE every task. Most do E at best.

My DH says "do you know offhand whether it's the blue or black bin this week" and either I do, or we look out of the window and see what colour other people have put out (though he usually asks when we're the first to put ours out). Thought this week I've put them out as I am WFH today and he is in the office.

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