Breathe
By Mónica Hernández
I begin by clarifying that I am not a doctor. Nothing could be further from the truth. But I hear more and more people (yes, picky women) around me complaining about an ailment that is added to those we women have, that 51% of the population. This condition is called indifference, lack of attention or perhaps more worrying, lack of medical knowledge. Let me explain.
Women who reach a certain age are confronted with symptoms that seem to have no connection between them: insomnia, upset stomach, palpitations, depression. Irritability that appears in outbursts as well as an uncontrollable urge to cry. As they come, they go. Weight gain. Hair loss. We are often prescribed painkillers and meditation exercises for anxiety. In the end, it all comes down to our hormones, doesn't it?
Others, on the contrary, suffer from a kind of gastritis, an upset stomach, neither serious nor fatal, but continuous. Sometimes neck discomfort, stiffness in the muscles, as if they had slept badly and on one arm. Tiredness. The doctor labels the symptoms as stress, too much work at home and in the office, the children, the husband, the gym. We must learn to relax and leave clothes unwashed or food unprepared so as not to fill ourselves with so much work. Women seem to want to do everything. In the end it's our fault. We wanted to do everything, didn't we? Now let's learn to manage stress.
