Young women More Prone to Anger/ Stress

Women may suffer from eating disorders, depression and stress-related illness because they are not comfortable expressing their true feelings according to two reports published last month in Scotland and the United States.

Whilst women are traditionally seen as good natural communicators, they have more difficulty expressing negative emotions such as anger and frustration than male counterparts.

"Women, no matter how high in power they may get...have a kind of people-pleasing syndrome which involves, among other things, an addiction to getting everyone's approval and getting everyone to like them," commented psychologist Harriet Braiker. "The price of nice.....is the inability to deal with anger in an appropriate way".

Researchers in Aberdeen, Scotland studied how men and women reacted differently to film clips designed to elicit an emotional response. Some were asked to express their feelings and some to repress them. Expressive women were more likely to want to swear and repressive women to feel anger or disgust than their male counterparts.

An American study published in the Journal of Counselling Psychology found that young undergraduate women who were not able to express their emotions positively, where more likely to develop bulimia and anorexia.

Many previous studies have shown the negative effects on health caused by repressed emotions.

American popular psychology author Dana Crowley Jack commented "Anger is one of the most important emotions we have to regulate relationships...to clear the air, clear obstacles in relationships...it is also an expression of self-esteem, of caring for yourself and of caring for the other person". Unfortunately, women have fewer role models to teach them how to express their emotions constructively, claims Jack. "They're learning indirect, manipulative behaviour".

Edith Maskell of Bromley Health Management adds, "I can certainly say many of our patients are women who have gone through their lives not knowing when to say no. Many of us dedicate our lives to our families. When the children have left, it's not unusual to stop and think - 'I need to focus on me'. That's not selfish, it's self-preservation. Our bodies and minds are often suffering from years of neglect".

Saturday, 2 February 2002