Thanks

First off, a huge thankyou to all who have kept our family and others in need, in their thoughts and prayers. I know many sent the newsletter to people they knew who were going through a difficult time.

For Kerry, the surgery was successful and the results very positive in terms of treatment options. It’s now a matter of deciding what to do, as well as doing all we can to aid the healing process.

I’ve put up two new things on the Free Wellbeing Program. One a power point I recently used at a presentation to the Australian Institute of Management in Brisbane. The other is a Stress and Wellbeing Assessment tool. Check them out here.

Gender Differences in Stress and Wellbeing

Are their gender differences in stress and wellbeing? Well there certainly was in my research.

In my research for both business owners and workers in the helping industries, women indicated higher levels of stress, and significantly less wellbeing.  Women in the helping industries reported the highest stress and lowest experiences of wellbeing.

It seems that this is supported elsewhere. Here’s some interesting studies that I’ve found. Sure to spark some debate and discussion.

Stress Response 
You have probably heard of the fight or flight stress response. There’s another one that women seem to have more than men and it’s called Tend and Befriend.

What happens in Tend and Befriend is that when faced with stress you seek to nurture others and you seek out social support, predominately with other women. It seems that this is linked to genetic and  hormone differences.

Stress Arousal
Men’s autonomic arousal shows a marked decline upon returning home after a work day; women’s autonomic arousal remains elevated long into the evening – in some studies, decline does not begin until 10 P.M.

Happiness
Over the last forty years, women have become less happy than they were, and less happy than men.

As women grow older they gradually become less satisfied with all aspects of life. By contrast, men’s satisfaction increases with age.

Women’s daily levels of stress are higher now than they were forty years ago, and adding more free time does little to lessen these feelings of stress. According to a 25 year study each extra hour of free time doubles a man’s feelings of relaxation, but does nothing for a woman’s.
(research cited in Find Your Strongest Life – Marcus Buchanan)

Gratitude
A study found that women have more grateful dispositions than men and benefit more from acts of gratitude. Those who actively utilized gratitude in their life had greater wellbeing.

Support
Men’s main source of support was their partner, whilst women had a wider support network, often with other women.

What do you think?  Do men have different ways of showing stress that isn’t being picked up? Do the studies accurately reflect what’s out there in the general population? Why do women tend to take longer to wind down?

Peter

Heart and Soul Coaching helps you to be clearer, stronger, and better in yourself, so you can travel life well, and function at your best in your life and work.