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Women under a lot of stress: survey

Modern life is full of stress, especially on a densely populated island like Taiwan. Men feel it, women feel it. And it's getting worse, according to a recent survey.

An item that brought this into sharper focus was cited yesterday by a group that was highlighting a recent survey on the issue. According to the group, a 30-year-old woman was treated for six months with skin medication and changed doctors often, but the nettle rash on her arm remained uncured. Finally, the cause of her skin disease was identified by an insightful doctor to be stress-related: the heavy pressures she was facing from her parents.

"Clinically, doctors have encountered quite a lot cases of nettle rash caused by psychological factors," according to Leo Wang (王健宇), head of the department of family medicine at Taipei's Schmidt Group Practice Clinic (實和聯合診所). "In the case of that woman, her parents were pressuring her to get married, saying she was at that age."

In addition to nettle rash, other clinically proven stress symptoms women often have include head-aches, dizziness, heartburn, chest pains, heart palpitations, asthma,peptic ulcers, constipation, diarrhea, thyroid dysfunctions, hair loss, irregular menstruation, sterility, reduced immunity, cancer, insomnia and lack of attention, according to Wang.

A survey released yesterday indicated that 90 percent of women in Taiwan feel they experience stress on a daily basis, with around 40 percent saying they feel constant and pressing stress.

The kinds of stress identified by the women in the survey include irritability (69 percent), insomnia or anxiety (63 percent), susceptibility to colds, backaches or stomachaches (47 percent) and bad skin conditions (36 percent).

The survey, sponsored by a French-based cosmetics company in August, polled 264 women above the age of 18 in Taipei and Kaohsiung. The survey also indicated that the major sources of stress are work or study (72 percent), family or children (34.7 percent), financial conditions (26.5 percent) and relationships or marriage (7.5 percent).

The survey also indicated that "dilemmas" were a constant problem for 47 percent of the women polled and that a sense of "powerlessness" overwhelmed 59 percent of those interviewed.

Liu Whei-ching (劉惠琴), an associate professor of psychology at Soochow University, said that the findings coincide with the fact that work, study and family relationship are the primary sources of stress for women here.

Liu pointed out that while women are still expected to play traditional roles, research shows that "dilemmas" often hit women the hardest because of the roles they are expected to play.

"If a woman wants to be herself, it will be very difficult for her to become a good manager or a good mother," Liu said. "The stress increases with the intensity of conflicts generated by multi-role-playing."

Liu said that unlike the situation in Western societies, where women experience life more as individuals than as members of a family or group, most women in Taiwan still feel subordinate to their families.

A similar survey conducted on French women has identified work or study (82 percent) and financial concerns (62 percent) as the top two sources of stress, compared with Taiwanese women who experience "family life" as the second source of their stress, following work or study-related problems.

Liu said that while education and economic resources can reduce the sense of powerlessness felt by Taiwanese women, support networks also need to be set up to help relieve women's sense of stress.

Wang recommended that women try exercising, listening to music and reading as well as seeking help from friends or colleagues to help relieve stress.
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