Exploring the Impact of Stress on Women’s Health

Life moves pretty fast these days and with that, stress has become a universal part of our lives. Although stress impacts everyone, women face unique challenges and responsibilities that make us even more vulnerable to the harmful effects of stress.

Let’s take a look at the complex relationship between stress and women’s health, explore some common stressors that we face, factors that contribute to our stress levels, and the different ways that stress manifests at various stages in our lives. From there, we will discuss practical tools and strategies to empower you to take proactive steps to manage and reduce stress, prioritize self-care to protect your health on all levels.

Common Stressors in Women’s Lives

As women, we navigate numerous stressors that, over time, take a toll on our health and well-being. Here are some common challenges that we face:

Caregiving: More often than not, women are the primary caregivers in the home. We are responsible for the care of children, partners, and, in many cases, aging parents and other family members. These responsibilities are generally tacked on to a myriad of other responsibilities such as our jobs or vocation. Unfortunately, we often prioritize caregiving for others at the expense of our own health and wellbeing, neglecting our own self- care and refusing to receive needed support from others.

Roles and Responsibilities: Daughter, mother, spouse, friend, employee (or business owner), teacher, student, housekeeper, cook, landscaper, and so many more. Balancing all of our personal and professional commitments is a tough juggling act that generates a lot of stress and can limit our ability to excel in the various aspects of our lives.

Relationships: With all those hats to wear, we have a lot of relationships to nurture. Maintaining strong, healthy relationships requires time and effort, and when things get overwhelming, we don’t have the capacity to be everything to everyone. If we are lucky, we have a strong support system that nurtures and strengthens us, that we can lean into when we are struggling. Even then, reaching out for help can be challenging. Unfortunately, many women struggle with unhealthy, unsupportive relationships where we feel unappreciated, uncared for, and perhaps taken advantage of. These challenges go far deeper when abuse is present in the relationship.

Social and Cultural Norms: Although our culture has advanced, the oppression of women remains. We live with intense pressures and expectations that create standards nearly impossible to meet. From unrealistic ideals around relationships, motherhood, body image, success, and gender stereotypes, the pressure is overwhelming. Our inability to live up to these unreasonable standards damages our sense of self and creates tremendous stress and anxiety. Additionally, we face gender discrimination, harassment, and violence in our homes, workplaces, and communities. These and other traumatic events wreak havoc on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Finances: Financial concerns create significant stress for many women. On average, we earn less than men, which can contribute to financial stress and anxiety. Additionally, the burden of managing household finances and ensuring financial security for our families can add to the stress.

Health: Women are more susceptible to certain health conditions such as autoimmune disorders, reproductive health challenges, hormonal challenges, anxiety, and depression – all of which can be exacerbated by stress. Additionally, our health concerns are far more likely to be dismissed or minimized by the medical community, making it harder to be properly diagnosed and receive effective treatments.

Stressors Throughout Our Lifespan

Stressors show up differently throughout the various stages of our lives.

Adolescence and Young Adulthood: During this time, we navigate significant physical and emotional changes that come with puberty and approaching adulthood. Alongside the hormonal challenges, we are developing our identity, navigating complicated peer relationships, exploring our first intimate relationships, dealing with academic pressures, and taking on the responsibilities of adulthood.

Reproductive Years: As we move into our twenties, in addition to establishing our careers, we are under a lot of pressure to find a spouse and have babies. We may find ourselves feeling conflicted between our own goals and societal pressures and expectations. Relationships and marriage present their own pressures and challenges. When we do enter into motherhood, we may face fertility issues, challenging pregnancies, miscarriages, postpartum depression, and hormonal fluctuations. From there, we are faced with the monumental task of raising our children into adulthood and beyond, which, even with healthy kids, can be a tough road. Add in any health or behavioral challenges and it becomes exponentially harder.

Midlife: As we enter into our 40’s and 50’s, we are often faced with a lot of transitions and changes. Kids are growing into adulthood and leaving the nest. Relationships with our spouses go through changes as our children get older. We may be juggling care for both our children and our eldering parents. Health issues can start to creep up. And to make things really fun, perimenopause steps in and we are faced with significant changes in our bodies, as well as the numerous effects of the hormonal shifts like irregular periods, hot flashes and night sweats, mood swings, and sleep issues.

Older Adulthood: As we get older, health and financial stresses increase. We start planning for our retirement and have to figure out how we’re going to be cared for as we age. Health issues have become more common, and we have to adapt to changes in our physical and cognitive functions. Grief becomes a common companion as we lose our friends and loved ones.

The Effects of Stress on Women’s Health

The impact of stress on our health are far-reaching and can affect various aspects of our well-being:

Physical Health: Chronic prolonged stress weakens our immune system, making us more susceptible to illnesses and infections. It can also contribute to the development of chronic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, digestive issues, and hormonal imbalances.

Mental Health: Stress is a significant risk factor for mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Chronic stress can impair cognitive function, memory retention, decision-making abilities, and overall mental well-being.

Reproductive Health: Hormonal changes triggered by stress can disrupt the menstrual cycle, affect fertility, increase the risk of complications in pregnancy, and exacerbate symptoms of conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or endometriosis.

Emotional Health: Stress can lead to emotional exhaustion, irritability, mood swings, and difficulty managing emotions effectively. It can cause strain in our personal relationships. We may distance ourselves from friends and loved ones, resulting in feelings of isolation or loneliness.

Spiritual Health: Chronic stress can interfere with our ability to engage in self-care practices such as meditation, prayer, or other spiritual activities that would otherwise help reduce our stress levels and overall sense of well-being and increase resilience.

Stress Management Strategies for Women

Women often prioritize their own self-care after everyone else and, as a result, we are depleted, exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed, and sick. We have been told it is selfish to put our needs before others and we believed that lie. You cannot pour from an empty cup. It’s time we break free from this pervasive toxic belief and make ourselves a priority in our lives. When we do, not only is our health better, but we have more energy and greater capacity to meet our responsibilities, including the care we give to others. We are able to show up better for our loved ones.

Here are several recommendations for practices and tools you can begin using to reduce stress and incorporate more self-care activities into your daily life. Pick a few that light you up and make them part of your daily life.

Self-Care Practices

Establish and prioritize a regular self-care routine. Include daily, weekly, and monthly practices that support your overall health and well-being. This can include things like:

• Taking salt baths
• Cooking and eating nourishing foods
• Schedule massage, Reiki, acupuncture, and other services that nourish and nurture your body
• Spending time with friends and family
• Schedule date nights with your partner
• Reading
• Meditating
• Getting out in nature
• Making time for hobbies
• Take breaks
• Journaling
• Plan fun adventures
• Move your body daily with exercises that you enjoy
• Sing and dance
• Play
• Establish a bedtime routine the supports restful sleep
• Set healthy boundaries in your relationships (family, friends, work, etc.)
• Limit your time on devices, and reduce time spent on social media, news, and tv
• Practice gratitude

Mindfulness

Practice pausing between activities

Stay present and focused on each task rather than multi-tasking

Practice mindful eating by savoring each bite

Spend time outside connecting with nature

Practice progressive muscle relaxation exercises to release tension in the body

Unplug from technology regularly

Practice breathing exercises and meditation

Explore meditative movement through yoga, tai chi, or qi-gong

Self-Awareness

• Become self-referencing by taking time to discover who you are, separate from your loved ones and your responsibilities
• Engage in regular self-reflection and introspection
• Pause and check in with yourself before agreeing to requests or making decisions
• Journal
• Observe your self-talk patterns and take steps to cultivate a kinder and more compassionate inner dialogue
• Explore your needs and wants
• Try new things to expand your horizons and discern which ones truly light you up
• Observe your habits and thoughts to gain insight into your limiting beliefs and challenging patterns and take active steps to shift them (coaching is helpful for this)
• Cultivate healthy boundaries

Personal Growth Practices

Do your inner work

• Get support and/or mentorship from a qualified therapist, healer, or counselor (depending on your needs)

Identify your dreams and goals and create a plan to actualize them

Seek mentorship or coaching from someone skilled in the area of personal growth and transformation

Read books, listen to podcasts, and attend workshops, classes, and retreats geared towards personal growth and self-improvement

• Join support groups and communities with shared experiences, interests, and goals
• Surround yourself with people who inspire and uplift you
• Explore new things – cultures, food, hobbies, etc.

As you weave these practices into your daily life, you build resilience and create a happier, healthier life for yourself.

Start small, picking a couple practices to begin with. Slowly add others on over time and make them an integral part of routine.

De-stressing Your Life

Although stress is an ever-present part of our world, it does not need to be a constant burden that destroys our health and happiness. We have the power to take proactive steps to reduce and better manage the stresses in our lives. When we prioritize ourselves and our self-care, we not only have the chance to prevent the negative consequences of stress, but also are able to lead a more fulfilling life.

Connect with Linda on The Wellness Universe.

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