Mental Health as a National Priority: What Are We Talking About?
In 2025, the French government declared mental health as the Grande cause nationale (National Priority Cause). Given the scale of the challenge, this initiative was extended into 2026, with a clear goal: "amplify support for families" and break the stigma around psychological suffering.
Since then, public debate has focused on mental health at work, among young people, in schools. Important progress. But there's a blind spot that almost no one addresses: what happens at home.
Because it's often within the walls of the household that silent suffering takes root. And it has a name: unfair domestic burden.
The Numbers That Should Worry Us
Studies are unanimous, and the figures speak for themselves:
- 8 out of 10 women report being affected by mental load (Ipsos, 2023)
- 71% of domestic mental load falls on mothers (British Psychological Society, 2024)
- 63.5% of women handle the majority of household tasks in their home (Ipsos, European Observatory)
- 92.5% of working women believe that mental load hinders their career (Ifop, 2024)
- Nearly 1 in 2 women has experienced a burnout episode or depression linked to domestic burden (France Assos Santé)
These numbers don't describe a minor inconvenience. They describe a public health issue.
The Proven Link Between Household Chores and Mental Health
Scientific research has established clear links between unfair distribution of household tasks and declining mental health:
- Chronic anxiety: the person who "thinks of everything" lives in a constant state of alertness. The mental to-do list never stops — not at night, not on vacation.
- Emotional exhaustion: planning, anticipating, checking, following up... this invisible work is exhausting because it's neither recognized nor shared.
- Resentment and marital conflict: the distribution of chores is one of the top sources of arguments in couples. This resentment, accumulated over years, erodes the relationship.
- Parental burnout: a rapidly growing phenomenon, recognized by health professionals. It primarily affects parents — mostly mothers — who juggle professional and domestic workloads without respite.
As researchers put it: mental load is a "double penalty for women" — they do more physical tasks AND carry most of the invisible planning work.
Why the Public Debate Misses the Mark
When we talk about mental health in France in 2026, the conversation centers on:
- Reimbursement for therapy sessions
- Prevention of school bullying
- Workplace mental health (well-being, professional burnout)
- National crisis hotlines
These are essential measures. But they treat symptoms without addressing one of the structural causes: domestic inequality.
Offering therapy sessions to an exhausted mother is necessary. But if she comes home to the same imbalance — meals to plan, appointments to schedule, a household to manage alone — the problem remains.
True prevention starts at home.
Making the Invisible Visible: The First Step
The fundamental problem with domestic burden is its invisibility. As long as each person's contribution isn't measured, everyone can sincerely believe they're "doing their share."
Studies confirm this: 45% of couples think they share chores equally. But when measured objectively, the imbalance is glaring.
This is exactly the principle behind the debt/credit points system: making every contribution measurable, transparent, and objective. Not to point fingers, but to create a common language that replaces blame with facts.
How it works:
- Each task has a point value based on its real difficulty
- When someone completes a task, they earn points and other concerned members lose points proportionally
- The household's total points always equal zero
- The imbalance becomes visible at a glance — no arguments needed, the numbers speak
It's not competition. It's a dialogue tool — the same principle as tracking a shared budget, but applied to chores.
5 Concrete Actions to Protect Your Household's Mental Health
The good news is that concrete changes can have a rapid impact:
1. Do a complete inventory — together
Take 30 minutes as a couple or family to list ALL household tasks: the visible ones (cleaning, cooking) but also the invisible ones (scheduling appointments, remembering birthdays, checking supplies). This is often an eye-opening moment.
2. Measure before you judge
For two weeks, track who does what. A tool like FairChore automates this tracking with its points system. The goal isn't to blame, but to have a factual basis for discussion.
3. Adjust points based on real difficulty
Some tasks weigh more than others. Cleaning toilets deserves more points than watering plants. Natural balance emerges when points reflect the household's true perceived value of each task.
4. Drop the "you just have to ask"
Having to ask is still mental load. The goal is for each household member to take ownership of their responsibilities autonomously — not to follow instructions.
5. Reassess regularly
Needs change: a child grows up, a work schedule shifts, a pregnancy arrives. Review the points balance monthly and adjust together.
FairChore: A Prevention Tool, Not Just a Chore App
FairChore isn't just a task management app. It's a tool designed to prevent domestic exhaustion by making everyone's contribution transparent and measurable.
- Debt/credit system: every completed task credits the doer and debits others — imbalance is immediately visible
- Concerned members: a 6-year-old isn't concerned by "cooking dinner," but a 12-year-old can be by "clearing the table" — points adapt to your household's reality
- No blame, just facts: when the numbers are there, the conversation changes. From "I always do everything" to "look, the gap widened this month — shall we adjust?"
- Free: create your family, couple, or roommate group in 2 minutes
In a country that made mental health its national priority, taking care of domestic balance isn't a detail. It's an act of prevention.
Because your family's mental health might start with a simple question: who emptied the dishwasher this week?
