Meditation and yoga are fine when it comes to combating stress, but one stress-reduction expert says most women need to do more to stay healthy. Women need to learn how to take care of themselves if they are going to adequately take care of others, she says.
According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, many women don't even get regular mammograms or Pap smears, tests that can help them fight deadly diseases in their early stages. And, at the other end of the spectrum, most women don't know how to kick back and relax.
Alice B. Domar, a stress-management expert and author quoted in the article, says women can learn from men when it comes to relaxing.
"Look at Sunday afternoons," she says. "Most men have no problem at all meeting their needs by sitting down to watch football. Most women would never dream of doing the same thing."
Domar says there are four reasons why women have a hard time relaxing. First, they often have a tough time balancing the needs of work and family, more so than men. Second, they tend to be perfectionists. The third reason is that they often connect body weight to esteem, and lastly, women are less willing to make time for themselves than men. Domar says it's up to women to make changes, and up to the men in their lives to be supportive.
Sometimes the best way to get away from it all is to really get away from it all. To find out how some women are taking a break by taking a sabbatical, you can read this article from the Lexington Herald Leader. How do you get the time to relax? Simplify your life? Here are some tips from Redbook.
