Consider a day in the life of a typical working wife and mother. She gets up too late to exercise and jumps into the shower yelling at her kids to get out of bed. She throws together their breakfast along with some PB & J’s for their lunch. She grabs a cup of coffee and a toaster pastry as she bolts out the door. The gas tank registers empty, but there's no time to fill it. Her workday is over booked, and she knows from the get-go that she’ll never get it all done!
Around 10 a.m. she takes a few deep breaths and stretches her neck. With no time for lunch, she buys snacks from the office vending machine and drinks more coffee.
She forgets to drink water.
Her workday ends with an overflowing inbox and unanswered messages left in her voice mailbox, including one from her best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in months.
She has no time for friends.
Some co-workers remain at work to finish projects — but it's 5 p.m. and she has to rush out to pick up the kids. There’s still no gas in the car, so she detours several blocks to a gas station. She snaps impatiently at the dawdling gas station attendant before peeling out toward after-school care. A childcare worker taps her watch as our harried mother roars up 15 minutes late.
The kids are tired and cranky.
Hungry, exhausted, and sad, her thoughts drift to the unopened package of cookies at home. Her husband, already home from work and watching TV, asks “What’s for dinner?” as she walks through the door. She has no idea! Her husband goes for a run. Chowing down a cookie, she rummages through her cupboards settling on macaroni and cheese with wieners, garlic bread, and frozen veggies for dinner. She fills up on the casserole and bread, but has room for ice cream later.
The mail remains unopened, the laundry basket is full, and the house is a disaster. After helping the kids with homework, she tucks them into bed, and then collapses into bed herself. Her husband insinuates that this would be a great night for sex and edges closer. She groans, but not with pleasure.
If you can relate, welcome to the club… You are most likely churning out a poisonous level of stress hormones — a condition I call toxic stress, and it’s simply too much to withstand on a day-to-day basis.
Learn to break free from this hormone turmoil! In my next article, I will be sharing simple actions and solutions that can benefit the stressed-out busy woman.
Best of Health, Nish!
Nisha Jackson PhD, MS, WHCNP, HHP
www.justasknish.com
Nisha Jackson is one of the nation's leading bioidentical hormone & wellness experts. She is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show "Just Ask Nish", columnist, lecturer, and continues to be in high demand in her Southern Oregon-based specialty practices. With no hidden agendas, Nisha is relentless to uncover health solutions that work! If it's effective and good for you, it's good medicine!