Stress: The Enemy of Women’s Health. Advice from Psychologist Judith Moskowitz on How to Cope

Due to life circumstances, daily events, and numerous pressures, a large number of women are constantly under stress. Worse yet, it can be a lifelong companion, and avoiding situations that trigger it is often impossible. From work deadlines to family issues, these moments overwhelm us and leave us feeling utterly drained. The main goal for every woman is to learn how to keep stress from taking over. To do this, you need to understand what stress is and how it manifests. We’ll discuss this in detail at chicagoka.com.

What Is Stress and What Causes It

Stress is our body’s natural response to various events and situations that demand adaptation or change. When unpleasant things happen, or a person faces something unknown, the body automatically reacts with physical or psychological symptoms.

The factors that cause stress are actually quite numerous:

• Life-altering events. For example, divorce, changing jobs, or family conflicts.
• Unrealistic expectations from oneself and others. That feeling when you expect things to go one way, but they turn out differently, and not how you wished.
• Uncertainty. When a person doesn’t know what to expect or where to go next in life.
• Lack of control or support. A feeling of helplessness and inability to change the situation.
• Illness. Chronic diseases or injuries.
• Physical overexertion. In this case, stress is caused by overly intense workouts or excessive physical labor.
• Conflict situations.

Types and Stages of Stress

It may surprise you, but stress isn’t only a reaction to negative events; it can also be triggered by good ones. Depending on the cause, stress is classified as:

1. Positive stress (eustress). This stimulates the central nervous system, triggers positive emotions, and helps us enjoy life.
2. Negative stress (distress). This drains all energy, causes fatigue, disrupts the immune system, and leads to a number of illnesses.

Stress is also commonly divided based on the nature of the factors that triggered it:

1. Physiological stress. A reaction to external irritants, such as keys dropping from your hands or cars honking.
2. Emotional stress. A reaction to internal factors, often related to the anticipation of specific events.

Symptoms of Stress

There are a number of symptoms that indicate a person is experiencing stress:

• Constant fatigue, even after long rest. Energy disappears quickly, forcing the person to push themselves to complete tasks.
• Insomnia that persists despite changes in routine or environment.
• Emotional instability, expressed as a loss of patience or sadness without an obvious cause.
• Physical discomfort. The body starts reacting to stress with symptoms like stomach aches or headaches.
• Social isolation. The person avoids attending social events or completely stops contacting loved ones.

The signs of stress are usually noticeable, but you must listen to your body to spot the changes. Remember, the sooner you start addressing the issue, the easier and faster you can overcome it.

Stress Relief Practices from Judith Moskowitz

To break free from a state of stress, you need to work hard on yourself and think positively. Joyful feelings balance out worries, shifting the focus from simply struggling to thriving. Social psychologist and Ph.D. Judith Moskowitz, from Chicago, first discovered the power of positive emotions a long time ago while studying how male caregivers for partners with HIV status managed to cope easily with negative emotions and depression.

In one of her interviews, the psychologist noted that this was during the emergence of positive psychology, which explores ways people become resilient to stress and thrive, even in challenging circumstances. As a result, Moskowitz analyzed her research findings and discovered that simple skills that evoke positive emotions—such as pleasure, love, and joy—help people cope better and faster with health-related stressful situations.

Since then, Judith and her colleagues have been teaching these helpful skills to family members caring for people suffering from dementia, breast cancer, diabetes, and other stress-provoking diseases. The skills themselves are not difficult to learn; the key is to turn them into a daily habit. Importantly, they will be useful to anyone going through a stressful situation.

1. Notice positive events. People under stress focus entirely on the negative. It’s important to learn to shift your attention to something good every day, even the small things, and appreciate them. By bringing a sense of joy into your heart, you will notice a change in your mood and a sense of calm and peace.
2. Savor positive emotions. Fully experience all positive events and mentally replay them to yourself. It’s a great idea to keep a journal and write about your feelings and emotions. Don’t hesitate to share them on social media. This method allows you to train your subconscious mind to be positive.  
3. Express gratitude to the universe. Every morning after waking up, sincerely and wholeheartedly thank the universe for your life, your family, your friends, and your good health. The more items you list, the better. Judith notes that this method has long proven its high effectiveness.
4. Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is focused attention in a particular way—purposefully and without judgment. You need to accept the world, people, and circumstances as they are. That is, according to Moskowitz, you should not cling to the situation but be aware of it happening here and now. Furthermore, you shouldn’t worry about what will happen next. It is important to stay in the moment, rather than mentally jumping to the future or dwelling on the past. To train mindfulness, you need to learn to breathe correctly and stop the flow of thoughts in your head. You can dedicate just 10 minutes a day to learning to focus. Additionally, it’s helpful to master the deep breathing technique: a quick inhale through the nose and a slow exhale through the mouth.
5. Reframing events. Remember that our interpretation or assessment of how events affect our well-being determines the feelings we experience in response—positive or negative. It is important to step back and realize that the situation may not be as bad as it seemed initially, and you can actually extract valuable lessons from it. This process is called positive reappraisal. By practicing it daily, you will become more confident and calm.
6. Note personal strengths and praise yourself. When under stress, people forget their strong points. You should think about and write down your good qualities in a journal and consciously recognize them.
7. Set goals and work toward achieving them. When a person sets realistic goals and makes progress in achieving them, they undoubtedly feel positive emotions. Make a list, and check off each completed item. In this way, you will learn to analyze your progress and see how strong you truly are.
8. Show kindness everywhere and in everything. Try to do something pleasant for yourself and the people around you. Express admiration, love, and support. Shift your focus to others, and your stress will quickly begin to recede.

By following these recommendations from Judith Moskowitz, you can return to a full life without stress, one filled with much joy and pleasant emotions.