WHEN MOTHERS BURN OUT - Carole Ritter - April 1977

Carole Ritter

Mothering is generally a well-respected and rewarding job, but few realize just how much it has in common with the other helping, professions. Motherhood is a demanding, rewarding profession. Nobody - teacher, preacher, psychologist- gets the same chance to mold human minds and nurture human bodies and emotions like a mother. It can be a tremendously satisfying job, and the results of truly competent mothering can reverberate down through the generations. But mothers, like other professionals, are prone to certain occupational hazards. Not just dishpan hands, either, but the same kind of difficulties that plague other workers such as doctors, lawyers and psychiatrists. One such hazard that has come to light lately is a phenomenon known as "professional burnout." Social workers, psychologists, ministers those who deal with people intimately and intensely day after day- may after a period of months or years experience a common syndrome. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library