Men & Woman Deal With Stress

Do Women Suffer as a Result of their Employment?

During my stress management seminars, the topic of stress and the workplace often comes up as female participants strive to understand how their daily routine affects their current situation in life.

The first step to solving any problem is awareness.  Women, did you know that the current work culture was first created by and for men, and compliments their physiology?  

The current work culture is one of competition; those who have the competitive edge over others become successful in the fast paced work world of today.  Did you know that men thrive on competition?  It’s true.  Martians are happiest when they are competing because competition creates testosterone.  Just look at the male’s love for sports and the importance of sports in the males’ lives.  When the Martian ‘tanks’ are full of testosterone, they are happy and fulfilled.  Contrastingly, when Martians are not doing well at work, they feel unhappy and their testosterone levels drop.  So, for the Martian, the workplace fulfills a vital need for them aside from economics.

When women are within this work culture, they, unlike the Martians, are up against the very nature of how their bodies work. Research now shows that women feel fulfilled when they are connecting and nurturing others. When women are giving freely and helping other people with random acts of kindness, a stress-reducing hormone, Oxytocin, is produced.  Unfortunately, at work, women’s Oxytocin production is inhibited, because the competitive nature produces testosterone.  Unlike men, Testosterone does not make women happy but actually is a blocker to Oxytocin.   When women do not have enough Oxytocin being produced, on top of constant low grade stress it can seem like a crisis and causes the body to produce the hormone Cortisol. 

Cortisol is the fight or flight hormone.  Similar to adrenaline, it kicks in once the adrenaline reserves have dried up and the individual is still stressed.  Cortisol is excreted on a long term basis and remains in the body causing many negative effects.  With the continuous high levels of stress in our daily lives, today, most people have chronic low-grade stress causing them to have excess Cortisol in the body.  This wears the body out and compromises the immune system.

If you’re a woman and have any of the following physical symptoms, then you may be deficient in Oxytocin:

• weight gain
• sleeplessness
• fatigue
• headaches
• migraines
• infertility
• Cardiovascular disease

With the above symptoms, typical questions which arise in the mind of a woman include:

• Do I pursue my career and somehow find connection within my career–will this drive happiness?
• How do I balance raising kids as a single parent and work?
• How do I nurture myself, while also caring for everyone else?

How Can We Achieve Balance & Our Absolute Potential During Stress?

Educating ourselves about our physiology and what we need to do to increase our oxytocin is the first step towards fighting this battle.  The next step is follow-through on doing the daily, weekly, monthly activities that fulfill and balance us. If you feel like you’re in crisis. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a life-changing career shift.

Education.

Education is key, knowledge is power.  John Gray, Ph.D., talks about how women can produce more Oxytocin in his books, Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice, Why Mars and Venus Collide, and The Mars & Venus Diet & Exercise Solution.  These books will assist you in raising your awareness on the causes and effects of stress on your body and your life.  With awareness, you will be better able to deal with the issues of stress and how to balance your life.    

If you don’t have time to read books, and want to practice your skills the same time you’re learning them, Mars Venus Coaching Kuwait facilitates workshops covering John Gray’s, Ph.D., latest gender intelligence material.  Sign up for a seminar and let the de-stressing begin.

Accountability Partner.

Once you have become aware and knowledgeable, find a coach to help guide and keep you on track of your progress.  A confidential coach will hold you accountable to taking time to nurture yourself and your interests and ensure that you are effective at time-management by creating a tailored 90 day plan that will help you prioritize your time and energy for your wellness. You get faster results than following the same pattern of empty promises with yourself.

So, in conclusion, stress is a serious issue for women all around the world.  Many try to face this struggle alone and end up feeling frustrated and powerless.  For those who feel they have reached a stage in their life where their work-life balance may be in need of some tweaking, please feel free to drop me a line and it would be my pleasure to guide you to the best next step in the direction of a happier more fulfilled life.