As the 2023 edition of International Women's Day week comes to a close, I'd like to share a nutritionist's perspective on how to equitably address the burnout crisis we are in. Because whilst both men and women burn out, the reasons why & the journey out of burnout does need to be tailored.
Dr. Lisa Mosconi's book, The XX Brain gives us some insight into how to #EmbraceEquity in the struggle against burnout.
WOMEN AND MEN RESPOND TO STRESS DIFFERENTLY
As it turns out, while both men & women share exhibit classic fight or flight responses to stress -- there is a uniquely female response to stress, which is called TEND & BEFRIEND.
According to Dr. Mosconi, this response likely evolved ages ago in hunter-gatherer communities. Men went hunting and fought against tigers. Women stayed behind to take care of the family.
Because fighting or fleeing is near-on impossible when you're breastfeeding, pregnant or caring for children, women evolved to respond to stress & danger differently. In such moments, they became even more protective of their children -- TENDING to them - and BEFRIENDING the other people in the community to increase their chances for survival.
This TEND & BEFRIEND stress response can be scientifically measured & demonstrated:
When women are under stress, our cortisol & adrenal hormones rise (like men). But women also get an additional shot of oxytocin from the brain, which promotes nurturing, loving & tending emotions.
Moreover, women have strong activity in the limbic system - primarily involved in emotions (hello inner critic!). Whereas, men activate their frontal cortex - the area in charge of reason.
What does all this mean from a health perspective?
WOMEN'S HEALTH IS MORE VULNERABLE TO LONG-TERM STRESS
Dr. Mosconi contends that the adverse effects of prolonged stress are harsher on women than on men. Not only are women contending with an increase in their stress hormones: cortisol and adrenalin. Women are also paying the steep physiological, emotional price that accumulates with caregiving and tending.
Dr. Mosconi states that the "caregiver burden can severely tax our health while compromising our immune response to stress". She goes on to say that this tending or caregiving stress exacerbates existing chronic health symptoms, and means that women are operating on a daily basis at a health deficit.
If you are caregiving at work, at home and/or with your folks -- on top of your daily obligations -- you are taxing your nervous system and this could potentially be manifesting as health symptoms like chronic fatigue, chronic digestive issues, weight gain around the belly, brain fog & anxiety - just to name a few.
But it could also be showing up on your bloodwork as high cholesterol, underactive thyroid, high blood sugar, abnormal liver enzymes or high uric acid. High blood pressure is also a big one!
Caregiving is part of our primal makeup. It's a big part of what keeps us in touch with our humanity. And it's why women leaders, more often than not, play by the "no one gets left behind" value book, as opposed to the legacy "survival of the fittest" so many corporate cultures have inherited.
BUT - caregiving doesn't come for free. And when overtaxed, it can cost us our health.
Embracing equity means understanding what caregiving is costing us. It means understanding when to draw the line & how to share the burden. It also means we can use diet & lifestyle as a powerful modulator to decrease the load off the mind & body & rebuild our health & wellness.
Book in your 15min chat with me today & let's answer those questions together.
In the meantime, come to my Book Club on March 29th and join a community of women, as we tend & befriend to each other whilst discussing Dr Mosconi's amazing book The XX Brain.
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Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.