With the holidays being a stressful time for many New York residents, women will be 11 percent more stressed than men this holiday season — but still happier — according to the ‘Lantern.com Gender Stress Index.”
Women bear the brunt of holiday stress. Why? Though much progress has been made, women still manage holiday household responsibilities, like buying presents, cooking meals, caring for children on vacation, and entertaining holiday guests – and that comes with greatly added stress.
But just how much more stressed out are women than men during the holidays?
To find out, Lantern.com studied a sample of 2,000 men and women who answered its free online assessment — a series of scientifically-backed questions that evaluate a participants stress, happiness, anxiety, and other important dimensions of mind health. Interesting findings include:
GENDER-BASED RESULTS
Women are more stressed than men (11 percent more)
Women feel more daily anxiety than men (16 percent more)
Women are still slightly happier than men
Older women (ages 55-65) report feeling especially happy
Happiness increases steadily with age across both genders
Internationally-recognized Stanford and Medical University of Vienna Psychologist Dr. Megan Jones thinks there are three very simple ways women can fight back this Christmas stress:
STOP BEING PERFECT
Holiday celebrations don’t need to be perfect. Let your dinner or party be “good enough” and just have fun. Your guests will thank you and you’ll enjoy yourself.
CREATE POSITIVE ROUTINES
Turn a negative experience into a positive one by creating a habit. When you feel the stress, take a deep breath, pick up a book, do something that redirects the moment towards taking care of you.
LEND A HELPING HAND
Lend an ear to a friend who’s struggling, volunteer to help a family member move, or open the door for someone in the grocery stores. Little helpful moments can lift your mood and make all the difference.