PCOS PCOD Management

Introduction We all face stress from time to time. How our body reacts to the challenges of daily events is perceived as stress. Although, a little bit of stress can push us to perform our duties and responsibilities well, experiencing stress over a prolonged period can have serious repercussions pertaining to our overall wellbeing. Also, stress manifests differently in different people. For instance, stress affects women in more ways than men. Moreover, chronic stress can accumulate in such a way that it starts looking like a conventional way of life for many women. This can lead to stress symptoms in women that manifest at physical, emotional and mental levels that compromises their mental peace and affects their ability to . Women, wherever they are in the world, are hardwired to take on more responsibilities like household chores and childcare in addition to professional commitments. This can be attributed to socioeconomic inequality, gender bias, their traditionally perceived roles and other such factors. Hence, this article delves into the causes of stress and effects of stress in women. It further explores ways to deal with stress in women using natural alternatives such as yoga, nutrition, and meditation. Common Causes of Stress in Women Today, women need to juggle multiple roles, spanning their professional as well as personal lives. A woman needs to  juggle multiple responsibilities irrespective of her education level or professional accomplishment. In fact, a Nielsen survey called Women of Tomorrow, conducted in 2011 on 6,500 women respondents from 21 countries, found that women in developing countries are the most stressed in the world! An astounding 87% of women said that they were stressed, with about 82% of women claiming that they never had time to relax. This alarming statistic puts focus on the causal stressors that women need to endure in her day-to-day life. Let’s take a look. Occupational stress: Though companies around the world these days claim to be 21st century workplaces, very few companies have actually made their policies more women friendly. Lack of creches, long working hours, increased workload, difficult maternity leave policies and lack of pay parity are still some of the issues plaguing workplaces, giving little to no leeway to women who want to succeed at work. Lack of social support: This especially holds true for working women. In traditional societies, working women face challenges such as missing physical infrastructure like creche facilities at workplaces and lack of social support such as reliable house help or elderly relatives to take care of children and other household duties. Due to these bottlenecks, many educated women stop working or go on long sabbaticals, which affect their career path and growth. Social expectations: Social expectations are such that a woman, irrespective of her working status, is expected to manage household chores, relationships and look after children. Many of these women are the first-generation women in their family to go out and work. But, the workload at home stresses them out. Though being assertive at workplace is imperative, voicing similar concerns at home is often met with disgruntled looks and a lack of empathy. While travelling for work, networking and putting in long hours at work might be perceived critical to succeeding at work, returning home at a specified hour every day is an unspoken rule and expectation in many Indian households. Expectations from self: In this age of Instagram and LinkedIn, where looking good as well as succeeding in the rat race is more desirable than ever, women put undue pressure on themselves to perform and succeed at every level. This holds true especially for urban women, who, with a decent job and education, have ambitions and aspirations to perform well in multiple areas. The above-mentioned causes usually fuel stress symptoms in women, leading to serious manifestations pertaining to physical as well as emotional stress symptoms in women. What are the Symptoms of Stress in Women? Each woman reacts to stress triggers in distinctive ways. Chronic stress symptoms in women include physical, emotional, mental as well as social manifestations. Let’s delve into these symptoms in some more detail. Physical Symptoms of Stress in Women Stress symptoms in women show up physically or in a psychosomatic way, such as: Mental and emotional stress symptoms in women Besides experiencing debilitating physical symptoms, many women suffer from myriad mental and emotional problems due to chronic stress. Some of these symptoms are listed below: These emotional and mental stress symptoms in women lead to wider social, occupational and personal consequences, such as feeling unfulfilled at work, social isolation or social awkwardness and loneliness. Women might also experience tense relations at office and home, less interest in sex or intimacy, and decreased affection for partner. Despair, guilt and doubt might engulf women, leading to feelings of emptiness and apathy towards life in general. Book a Free Demo session And Get A Instant Relief From Stress How to deal with stress in women? It is easy to see that stress symptoms in women can snowball into serious problems. However, women can take charge of their life and not let stress hold them back from leading happier and more fulfilling lives. Women need to exercise natural self-care strategies to cope with the many stressors that they face in their daily life. Since these strategies are completely holistic and revolve around yoga, meditation, and nutrition, they don’t have any side effects and offer lifelong results. Below are some suggestions that women can incorporate in various areas of their life. Yoga to Beat Stress Symptoms in Women Besides the above suggestions, yoga for stress is a powerful intervention that women can incorporate in their daily lives. Yoga is a holistic science that amalgamates asanas or exercises and breath control for gaining optimal physical and mental wellbeing. Stress can increase the cortisol levels in our bodies. However, research has shown that regular practise of yoga can lower cortisol levels. Anxiety is a by-product of stress. A 2016 meta-analysis has shown that regularly practising Hatha yoga can help