When hearing the words women’s wellness one may conjure up images of women having a spa day, practicing yoga or drinking a smoothie. In fact, go ahead and type those two words into a stock image website and that’s precisely what you’ll find.
Yet, as I’ve been prepping for an upcoming keynote with the theme of Women’s Health and Wellness, I’ve had to put my bathrobe and kale smoothie images to the side.
While doing research for my talk, I dug into a few recent reports and pulled the following stats:
? About 42% of women in Corporate America feel burned out (McKinsey report on Women in the Workplace, 2021)
? Compared with men, senior women leaders report higher rates of burnout, chronic stress, and exhaustion.
? Based on a report by Mount Saint Mary’s on Women’s Health in California, about half of the respondents reported feeling depressed in 2022.
? And according to the CDC, our teenage girls are following suit and reporting high percentages of anxiety, depression and feelings of hopelessness.
When read in succession, the state of women’s wellness is – not really well at all. And no amount of supplements, creams or smoothies can erase the fact that many women are suffering from the weight of unpaid labor, financial stressors, gender inequality at work and at home and the pressure of trying to keep it all together for their colleagues and families.
I’ll be writing more about how we can help support women collectively, but first I wanted to say three things to you, if you relate to any of those stats (no matter what gender you are):
1) You are not alone. ?
That’s obvious, based on the sheer numbers above. Find a support group. A therapist. A coach. Get involved in your community. Ask for help. The worst you’ll get is a no, but the possibility of finding support and joy in community is far greater.
2) You deserve more. ?
You were not put on this Earth to just get by. To just survive. To count down the days until you can retire. You deserve peace. You deserve downright gut-busting laughter and moments of pure, unbridled joy. You deserve a life filled with meaning and utter badassery. All of it. Now.
3) You must prioritize your wellbeing. ?
You cannot pour from an empty cup. You have to fill it up first with self acceptance, love and self care. You must prioritize your physical health, your mental health, your spiritual health and your financial health. Because if you don’t, chances are nobody else will! Not your kids. Not your boss. And certainly not Corporate America.
It’s also helpful for young women and girls to see older women prioritizing their own wellbeing. (more on that later)
Don’t wait until you’re one of the statistics above. Hit the pause button and recalibrate. Take an audit of areas of your life that you have neglected and make a plan to take small, consistent steps to fill those areas once again with the attention and care they deserve.
You don’t have to change all of your habits overnight. Start slow. Start small, just be consistent. And chances are, these habits won’t come in a magic pill. They start in self awareness.
I’ve lived in survival mode for long periods of time and I’ve made a promise to myself to never allow that for myself again. I wrote The Art of Badassery as a guidebook of how I moved through it and how I help others do the same.
