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The Female Stress Syndrome Survival Guide

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Georgia Witkin, Ph.D., is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, associate director of the Menopause Treatment Program, and director of the Stress Program at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. She also hosts "Beyond the News" on the Fox News Channel and is the weekly lifestyle contributor to its "Fox and Friends" morning program. She is the author of six books on stress and has a private practice in New York City.

This 303-page book has an index, a bibliography and a list of useful websites pertaining to stress.

Dr. Witkin begins by explaining what stress is in general, discusses in detail the Four D's of the Female Stress Syndrome (disorganization, decision-making difficulties, dependency fantasies, and depression), then provides an excellent overview of the results of the female stress syndrome in these areas of women's lives: (1) Fatigue and weight gain. Long-term stress can cause higher insulin levels, which can lead to fatigue, a craving for caffeine and sugar, and greater storage of body fat. (2) PMS. Premenstrual syndrome symptoms are made worse by stress and PMS can also cause stress. (3) Childbearing. Pregnancy affects the predictability of your life, no matter how wanted the baby is. This can cause stress, as can "fear and unrealistic expectations." (4) New mothers. Lack of an adequate support system to help with a newborn, postpartum depression, and the "loss of freedom, mobility and choice" all can "cause mixed feelings about parenting and its responsibilities," which leads to a lot of stress. (5) Menopause. This major physical transition often intersects with equally major life changes, such as children leaving home, aging parents losing their health, and so forth; all of which can lead to stress. (6) Anorexia nervosa, bulimia and irritable bowel syndrome. These syndromes are much more common in women than men and are strongly stress-related. (7) Depression. This mood disorder is a helpless-hopeless state and is twice as common in women as men. Many women respond to stress by becoming depressed. This may be because women are socialized to be helpless, which makes them less likely than men to take charge and change the things in their lives that are causing the stress which has triggered depression. (8) Smoking. Ironically, while many people perceive smoking as lessening anxiety, it actually causes stress due to mini-withdrawal symptoms that happen between cigarettes. (9) Headaches. Women more frequently respond to stress with headaches than men. Many women find that unexpressed anger, sexual needs and dependency issues can create conflicts that activate headaches. (10) Amenorrhea. Stress is one of the most frequent causes of delayed onset of menstruation in young women. (11) Sexual Dysfunction. Female sexual problems are often brought on or made worse by stress. (12) Anxiety. Stress can trigger anxiety and panic attacks.

The last part of the book covers recommended aids for reducing stress, including: giving yourself permission to try and reduce the stress in your life; learning to say no; giving yourself freedom to change your mind; laughter; expecting the best; exercise; relaxation; bibliotherapy (reading self-help books for insight); nurturing yourself; prioritizing the demands on your time; avoiding recreating old, dysfunctional scenarios again and again in your life.

The information in this book on female stress is invaluable for women of all ages. In addition, its sections on the effects of stress on children and men can help women understand how stress harms their loved ones. I highly recommend this book to women who are just starting to educate themselves on stress, as well as to those who have already read a lot about stress in general but are not familiar with how stress specifically affects women's health.