Stress in Women: Why Your Body Is Keeping Score and What to Actually Do About It

April is Stress Awareness Month and as a women's psychiatric provider in Nashville, my first reaction is: No kidding. What woman isn't aware of stress?

Chronic stress is the baseline for nearly every woman I see. We carry jobs, households, relationships, and invisible labor. Our body is keeping score of all of it! Headaches. Brain fog. Sleepless nights. Chronically elevated cortisol drives systemic inflammation and creates an internal environment ripe for disease.

But here is what most stress content misses: not all stress is harmful. There is a critical difference between eustress - short-term, motivating stress , and distress - the chronic kind that quietly breaks you down.

In this article, I break down both, and share two strategies to help you start reclaiming your calm.