As part of the award-winning #BeHealthiHer movement, GCI Health and HealthyWomen teamed up with Prevention Magazine to conduct a survey examining the rising levels of stress among women today. The overwhelming results are highlighted in the December issue of Prevention and were revealed on national broadcast television on the Tamron Hall Show on Wednesday, November 20. The acclaimed journalist and host of the self-titled daytime talk show recently moderated an expert panel influencer event to examine the survey findings, bring national attention to the detrimental impact stress is having on women’s overall health and discuss new ways women can address.
“We don’t have to live in a stress bubble,” said Tamron Hall, addressing the pressures she faces as a new mother with a highly visible and busy career. “There are solutions to this problem—so how do we pop the bubble and free ourselves?”
The results of the #BeHealthiHer survey revealed that 65% of women are suffering from symptoms of stress daily and 40% of those are experiencing them multiple times a day. Stress can have devastating effects on health leading to conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal conditions, insomnia, and an assortment of aches and pains. With almost half of women rarely or never talking about their stress because they don’t want to be a burden or think this is normal, GCI Health, HealthyWomen and Prevention are currently partnering to provide resources that will engage and support women alleviate many of the common triggers in their daily lives.
“Stress is part of life, but unfortunately, we’ve normalized it to the point that we are constantly feeling stressed, and it is taking a toll on our health and well-being,” said Beth Battaglino, RN, CEO of HealthyWomen. “Our goal with the #BeHealthiHer movement is to remind women that this is not normal. If women are feeling stressed every day and experiencing symptoms like headaches, inability to sleep, mental or physical fatigue, it is important that they bring this up with their health care providers so that they can work together on solutions on both preventing and managing their stress.”
Ms. Hall, along with some of the expert panelists including Beth Battaligno, CEO of HealthyWomen, Sophia Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), Vaile Wright, director of research and special projects for the American Psychological Association (APA), Marsha Henderson, former associate commissioner for women’s health with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Wendy Lund, CEO, GCI Health, is sparking meaningful conversations around an issue that affects so many women, yet so few are talking about.
“While everyone’s stress is unique, our survey showed that common triggers in our daily lives – including work, family and finances—are causing many of us to experience the symptoms of stress on a regular basis,” said Wendy Lund, CEO of GCI Health. “We partnered with Prevention to show women the impact this has on their health, and to rip off the band-aid so women feel comfortable talking about their daily stresses and uncover ways to help them manage stress better.”
