In the gynecological office, the stories are very similar. Women who work outside the home, manage the house, take care of children, take care of parents, maintain relationships and still feel like they never do enough. They come in saying they are “tired,” but what they describe is chronic exhaustion.
The female body is extraordinarily adaptable, but it is not limitless. When the overload becomes constant, it responds.
Functional stress is not the same as chronic stress
There is a type of stress that moves, organizes and drives us. This is functional, specific, physiological stress. It activates cortisol for a short period and then the body returns to balance.
What we see today is different. It is a permanent state of alert. Women who wake up tired, eat unregulated and live with the feeling that they can never relax.
When cortisol remains elevated for a prolonged period of time, changes in sleep occur, a greater tendency to gain abdominal weight, insulin resistance and an increase in cardiovascular risk. It is no exaggeration to say that the heart also feels this invisible pressure.
Hormones do not ignore emotional overload
is extremely sensitive to stress. Menstrual cycles can become irregular. PMS intensifies. Libido decreases. Menopause symptoms become more intense.
Many patients believe that “it’s just a phase” or “it’s age”. In part it may be. But it is often a reflection of an organism trying to adapt to a constant state of exhaustion.
The body does not separate emotional overload from physical overload. For him, it’s all stress.
The guilt that makes you sick
There is also a powerful emotional component: guilt. Guilt for working too much, guilt for working too little, guilt for not being present enough, guilt for wanting time for yourself.
The so-called “superwoman syndrome” is not a formal diagnosis, but it describes a real pattern: women who believe they need to handle everything without showing fragility. The result can be chronic anxiety, irritability, feelings of inadequacy and,.
When a woman only seeks help at the limit
As a gynecologist, I notice a worrying pattern: many women only make an appointment when their body “stops”. A major hemorrhage, an anxiety attack, a serious change in exams. Before that, self-care is always postponed.
Society celebrates strong women. But he rarely asks how she really is. Taking care of female health is not just about taking exams or prescribing hormones. It’s recognizing that there is a biological price for continued overload.
On International Women’s Day, perhaps the most revolutionary gesture is not to exalt female strength, but to legitimize the right to rest, limit and care.
Because no woman was made to handle everything. And the body always finds a way to remember that.
*Text written by gynecologist Ana Horovitz (CRM/SP 111739 | RQE 130806), member of Brazil Health
