I followed my husband to the US for his work ten years ago, and the medical profession I had trained for in our home country isn’t recognised in the US, so I can’t practice it.

I have explored a few avenues to get a different certification, but for various reasons none of them worked out for me (= I didn’t make them work for me), and because we never knew how long we would actually stay, I (chose to think) I couldn’t start a new 3-year degree I might not get a chance to complete.

This means I haven’t been working for the past ten years. We have two small children so I have been raising them while my husband works and makes a good income to provide a comfortable living situation for us, but I struggle with feelings of emptiness and unworthiness.

I feel socially invisible (in our circle, people define themselves by their work, and I feel looked down upon as a stay-at-home mom) and I am having a hard time seeing real value in the work that I do for my kids and my family.

My husband is supportive and says nice things to/about me and the way he couldn’t do it without me, but I realized I don’t really believe him. Part of me thinks it’s a convenient way for him to keep me at home creating the nice family environment that he gets to come home to after everyone’s fed and bathed.

I see I’m making myself a victim of all of these circumstances, and this is keeping me stuck, so I would like to get clarity on how to move forward.

Should I allow those feelings of emptiness, uselessness, and invisibility, or are these indulgent feelings I should shake myself out of?

Should I focus on feeling fulfilled in my current situation (feels like a huge stretch right now), or should I focus on creating something new in my life to introduce a source of creativity and growth, something I would do independently and for myself, outside my home and family?

I have been doing meditation and thought downloads, and it is helping, but I would welcome your guidance.