Best for Women Blog

Between the economy, our family and personal lives, our jobs – finding peace in a stressful world is difficult for all of us. But I think it’s especially difficult for women. Most of us have been raised to be caregivers and nurturers. In some respects, that is a wonderful part of who we are. But if we tend to carry those traits to the extreme, if we tend to forget our own needs or don’t take time for ourselves, then we can burn out. In the long run, we’re not helping anyone.\\r\\n\\r\\nAlthough I am single with no children, I had to learn the hard way to undo many patterns from childhood. As the oldest of nine, it was always my job to take care of others and so it was often difficult to put “me” first. Eventually I learned that caring for myself was the most important, loving act I could do for myself and those close to me.\\r\\n\\r\\nStress will always be part of life. For me, it’s constant writing deadlines and other personal responsibilities. And at times, I’m sinking in the quicksand of stress before I know it. That’s when I have to remind myself, first, to be gentle with myself. Adding a layer of judgment to already-existing stress just doesn’t work! Then I do something for “me.” I take a walk. I listen to music. I call a good friend. Once my batteries are recharged, I can better deal with what’s in front of me.\\r\\n\\r\\nSo, I’d be interested in hearing more about your caregiving responsibilities or other daily stressors. Do you find that we as women are more prone to putting our needs last? Do we, as women, try to do it all? And what things are you doing to find peace in today’s stressful world?

From the time I was old enough to know what school was, I was all for it. I loved it–everything about it. Picking out my school clothes. Packing my lunch. Riding the bus. I found it all fascinating. I loved the act of going to school, and most importantly, I loved to learn. I fondly remember the process of learning to read and write and being so excited by what I could do. I have vivid memories of putting what I learned into action—I wrote stories in my spare time and looked forward to art class and learning to play and read music. But, when I think back to the days of multiplication tables and long division, I\\\’m as bored thinking about them now as I was when I learned them. In fact, I remember very little about the math lessons I painstakingly made it through. It\\\’s almost as if that part of my brain has been overtaken by some sort of anti-math fog that just prevents me from having an interest in the subject.\\r\\n\\r\\nTo this day, I struggle with numbers—not because I\\\’m not intelligent enough to figure them out, but because I never took an interest in truly understanding them. As a kid, my parents always encouraged me to be a well-rounded student. “You can be anything you want when you grow up,” they would say all the time. So where then does my dislike for math, and science for that matter, come from? How could someone who loved to learn and was always encouraged to be well-rounded have such a disinterest in a subject? Is this a gender-based issue, or are certain people just inclined to prefer some subjects over others?

In the world today, millions of women and girls are trapped in lives of slavery. Most often forced into sex work, these women are terrorized and tortured by their captors until they lose all will to resist. Frequently victims of trafficking face the added obstacles of language barriers, foreign criminal justice systems, and the threat of added torture at the hands of people in international criminal organizations. Despite the obvious damage slavery inflicts upon its victims, the demand for slaves—particularly female sex slaves—continues.

The sad fact is that most trafficking victims will never speak up. Many fear repatriation back to their home countries - which is a horrifying situation. They risk death on return - or perhaps worse - death to family members or having other women in their family forced into trafficking as well. Victims who want to stay here in the US also have a terrible dilemma - they are asked to give up their traffickers and they must prove they are innocent. How can we serve as a voice to these women who can not have their own voices heard?

Obstetric fistula affects more than two million women and girls each year. Sufferers are often condemned to lives filled with shame and stigma. Share your thoughts about why this treatable condition persists and how to restore dignity and hope to these women.