Suffering from Hurried Woman Syndrome?

By ROBIN YAPP, Daily Mail

Last updated at 10:42 30 April 2005


Being a mother, holding down a career and doing the housework can be an exhausting combination.

Now experts say increasing numbers of women are so rushed off their feet that they are suffering from a condition called Hurried Woman Syndrome.

The illness is typically caused by chronic stress which results from the demands of juggling work with a hectic family life, such as bringing up children and caring for elderly relatives.

This causes symptoms such as tiredness, increased appetite, weight gain, trouble sleeping, lack of motivation, and feelings of guilt and low self-esteem.

The term Hurried Woman Syndrome was first coined by US researcher Dr Brent Bost, who says it tends to affect women between 25 and 55 who try to do too many things in a short space of time.

Dr Bost says stress leads to an imbalance in the brain of the 'feelgood' chemical serotonin, which leads to fatigue and an increased appetite, setting off the other symptoms.

The only way of reducing HWS is to reduce your pace of life and organise things better.

Now the British Osteopathic Association has warned that more than three-quarters of women suffer from at least one chronic health problem, compared with 48 per cent of men.

Nigel Graham, BOA president, said: "It's occurring a lot, particularly with women in London who have high-pressure jobs and who may have a young family and are trying to do everything at once - running off to the gym at lunch time and then doing the shopping before going home."

The BOA-commissioned survey questioned 2,900 people aged between 16 and 55 about their health and lifestyle.

PMT was the most common chronic ailment, suffered by 36 per cent of women, followed by sleeping difficulties (35 per cent), migraines (28 per cent), irritable bowel syndrome (17 per cent) and constipation (15 per cent).

Earlier this year a survey of 10,000 British women by Prima magazine found three-quarters had at least five symptoms of HWS. It warned that the combination of symptoms can often be a precursor to clinical depression or a more serious illness.

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