In today’s fast-paced world women are prone to more stress and anxiety. They are generally more stressed than men. The stress level will be different for women in various life stages. The challenges with menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause can affect women’s mental health.
What is stress?
Stress is a stage in which the human body reacts to a change/challenge. It can be short-term or long-term. Women are more likely to have more mental stress which is caused by depression and anxiety. The most common symptoms of stress are headaches and an upset stomach.
What are the aspects that cause stress?
Women can feel stress or be anxious about many different things. Simple situations such as getting stuck in traffic or an argument with the spouse or even deadlines at work. Some of the causes for long-term stress are financial worries, family/marital problems, discrimination, and traumatic experiences.
How does stress affect women?
Anxiety/Mental stress among women can cause trouble sleeping and a weaker immune system. Here are few other ways that anxiety affects women.
Health problems
Women are more worried about their family’s health rather than their own. When they are worried, they are prone to headaches and migraines. Women are more likely to have an anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
High-stress levels also increase blood pressure and heart rate. An upset stomach is the common result of short-term stress. Also, irregular periods can cause stress in women.
Family and personal issues
Stress also affects the sex life of women. They tend to have a lesser sex drive and are distracted during sex. For some, not being able to get pregnant may cause stress. Family issues such as domestic abuse, arguments with the family, worries about children also affect the mental health of the women. Some women share these problems and seek a therapist for help but some do not. They suffer mentally, which also affects their both mental and physical health.
Obesity and body images issues
A hormone called Cortisol causes a woman’s body to store fat because of stress. A negative feeling about the body image can put women into a stressful condition which may cause eating disorders and depression. They feel pressured because of unrealistic social and cultural beauty ideals. As a result, they are more likely to develop unhealthy thoughts about their own body.
How to manage stress?
Take time for yourself – Set aside some time for yourself to meditate and exercise. This will help you to relax and make you feel less tense. Take deep breaths, listen to music, read a book, play with the children, or just take a stroll around. All these activities make you feel relaxed.
Healthy diet – Eat nutritious food such as fruits and leafy vegetables than high sugar snacks.
Good sleep – Sleep at least 7 hours per day
Talk to friends/family – Open up your anxiety and stressful thoughts with your friends and family. They will definitely provide you help and support to reduce stress levels.
Get professional help – A therapist can help you control your emotional outbursts. Seek a doctor who can give you counseling and prescribe you antidepressants, if necessary.
Don’t deal with unhealthy ways – Smoking, drinking too much, using drugs, or overeating does not let you cope with stress; instead, it causes more harm to your body.
To conclude:
It’s the need of the hour for women to prioritize their mental health by meditating, getting ample sleep, and other healthy habits. The JoyScore app can help you. With JoyScore, you can enhance your living and lead a joyful life. Give it a try. Download the app now.
