Women And Stress

Most studies on stress reveal equal numbers of men and women affected, but experts will tell you that men and women react to stress in different ways and are stressed by different things.

In Britain , around twice as many women consult their doctors about anxiety and depression than men. Women might be more up-front about the stress they have to deal with but do they actually suffer more than men?

Experts in stress-related illness believe that modern life does place more strains on women than men, especially with the change in tradition of the modern-day working woman. However, as women often cope better with stress, this tends to even out the stress toll.

Why women suffer from stress

Over the last few decades, the British working environment has become increasingly populated by female workers. As traditionally male jobs were lost in the 1980s, typically female jobs increased and there are now roughly the same amount of women working in the country as men - 12.5 million and 15.3 million respectively.

Women, therefore, not only face the stresses that come with doing the share of childcare, housework and general caring, but also those that the modern workplace brings with it.

Around 4.6 million women who work have a child under 18, which shows how women have to cope with stress from several fronts at once.

The Science behind stress

In terms of the human body, stress in women can be caused by hormonal changes, for example during puberty, pregnancy and menopause your hormone levels fluctuate consistently and cause stress.

Emotional and physical changes that happen in your life such as illnesses, and changes to environmental components such as extreme cold, heat or toxins cause stress. When women over-work their body at work or at play it will quickly lose the energy needed to restore itself and as a result generate stress.

Pregnancy can be stressful as women face an onslaught of tests, financial worries and uncertainties about what childbirth and motherhood will bring. Research has shown that babies of very anxious mothers tend to be smaller or born earlier and may even suffer delays in their development. A London Hospital recently carried out a study which found that the stress hormone cortisol passes from anxious mothers to their unborn babies, which may cause these babies to be more prone to stress themselves at a later stage in life.

Looking after a new baby is stressful for anyone, especially if you are alone, or suffer financial problems. These pressures can eventually lead to postnatal depression, which affects one in every five mothers.

Many young mothers think that being a full-time mum means being able to stay home with the kids and taking it easy, but this is definitely not the case, as research will confirm. One recent survey, cited in a parenting magazine, revealed that 51% of full-time mothers felt regularly stressed, compared to 29% of women working full-time.

According to industry experts, just under 7 million people in Britain (6.8m) are caring for disabled or frail elderly friends and relatives with the majority of these carers being women.

Many women in the UK feel obliged to take care of elderly or sick relatives, which can prove to be very stressful. Carers may feel exhausted by a constant stream of repetitive jobs and demands and frustrated at being tied to the home.

The loss of a loved one, friend or relative can lead to extremely high levels of stress. Women are more likely to suffer bereavement as they generally live longer than men. In fact a recent study in the US showed that widows suffer more stress and depression after bereavement than widowers. These symptoms were likely to lead to medical problems such as heart attack or cancer, and even thoughts of suicide.

With the help of science, we are beginning to see the real impact that stress can have on our overall health.

Stress is often a key factor when women experience either absence of menstruation or abnormal bleeding. Hormonal imbalances caused by stress may reproduce the symptoms of endometriosis and fibroid tumours, as well as make pregnancy difficult to achieve for couples suffering from fertility problems.

Stress can also be related to high blood pressure, heart attacks, heart palpitations, and stroke. Some women experience changes in their sexuality and come across a variety of sexual dysfunctions like loss of desire and vaginal dryness as a result of stress.

The more common affects of stress that women encounter are fatigue, various aches and pains, headaches, or emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, or gastrointestinal disorders such as ulcers, lower abdominal cramps, colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Frequently people under the effects of over stress will have more colds and infections due to lowered immune system responses. Stress can also trigger dermatological conditions such as rashes and itchy skin.