Tips for Handling Holiday Stress

Women : If you’re “dashing through the snow” this holiday season, chances are you’re experiencing stress — especially if you’re a woman. Women are vulnerable to stress due to:

• Socialization. Women are taught to nurture others and spend less time caring for themselves. They often feel guilty saying “no.”
• Too many hats. About 70 percent of married women with children under 18 work also outside the home. Struggling to meet the “male standard” at work and the “perfect wife and mother” standard at home is a recipe for stress.
• Hormones. Premenstrual, post-partum and menopausal hormone changes make women more biologically vulnerable than men to stress and depression.

Take care of yourself this holiday season, so you can continue to be there for others. Give yourself the gift of well-being.