Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Are you stressed?

CNN reports the finding of a study by Nielsen Company that asks: Where do the world's most stressed women live? Any guesses? I'll tell you and maybe it will surprise you (at least at first) just as it surprises me: India.

The Women of Tomorrow Study, which examined 6,500 women across 21 different nations from February through April 2011, found that an overwhelming 87% of Indian women said they felt stressed most of the time, with 82% claiming they had no time to relax.

(The US is 12th with 53% of women saying they are stressed most of the time).

So, what explains this? The article says: "...companies and workplaces have developed whilst society has remained static, meaning that women must juggle a modern career and busy home life as well as conforming to traditional standards." It doesn't seem that different than in parts of the US; my guess is that we have better stress management education and mechanisms, which is also ironic given that yoga and meditation--fantastic stress relief activities--have evolved from here.

2 comments:

Ami Rughani said...

More people probably live in extended families, and there are more responsibilities entailed than the lives of women in the western world. My guess is that has a lot to do with it. Plus living conditions in India are different, there is more competition with the education system, and it seems as though there would be "less time for oneself" for an Indian woman living in India than women living elsewhere. Of course, a larger part of the population in India also lives in a lower SES than the women being compared in places like the US. So, I suppose it makes sense...

Have fun in England!

Ami Rughani said...

*(My reference to the education system ties with the woman's other responsibilities, i.e. taking care of and upbringing of children).