Thank you for writing this â what you've shared takes real courage, and I want to respond carefully because what you're describing matters.
A few things, as a psychiatrist who has heard these exact words from many women in your position:
The feelings you're describing form a clinical pattern â and that pattern is treatable.
Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, regret over past decisions that won't quiet down, the sense that nothing you do is valued, questioning the purpose of your life, feeling that destiny has been against you â these aren't a verdict on your life. Together, they form a recognizable pattern of depression, which is a medical condition, not a character flaw and not the truth about who you are. Depression actively distorts the way we see our own past â it makes every decision look wrong, every effort look invisible, every alternative path look better than the one taken. That isn't reality. That's the illness speaking through you.
On feeling that only monetary contribution is valued:
This is one of the most common and most painful things I hear from housewives, and I want you to know it is a real social problem â not something you are imagining. Running a home and raising a 7-year-old is full-time, skilled, demanding work that our society routinely fails to acknowledge. The fact that you feel unseen for it does not mean you deserve to be unseen for it. But here's the part that matters: when depression sets in, this real injustice gets amplified into "I am worthless." Those are two very different things. The first is a problem in the world. The second is a problem inside the illness â and the second one is what we can treat.
On being an introvert:
Enjoying solitude and being introverted is your wiring â that's not the issue, and it's not something to be fixed. The shift to take seriously is the loss of interest, the regret, the loss of meaning. Those are recent changes layered on top of who you've always been. Don't confuse the two.
Next Steps
What I'd gently suggest as next steps: Please consider a consultation with a psychiatrist or psychologist. A 45â60 minute evaluation can clarify whether what you're going through is depression, how severe it is, and what options would help. Treatment for depression â therapy, medication where appropriate, or a combination â works well, and the earlier it starts, the easier it is. Tell someone in your home today. Your husband, a sister, a close friend, your mother â anyone. Women in our culture are taught to absorb things silently, and the people closest to you often don't realize how much you're carrying. They cannot help if they don't know.