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The Power In A Gathering Of Women |
by:
Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE |
Forget "fight or flight" asonly duo of responses inface of stress. For women, there'sthird response: "befriend". A landmark UCLA study turned five decades of stress research on its head withrevelation thatcascade of brain chemicals gives womenlarger behavioral repertoire when confronted with stress. The hormone oxytocin is released as part ofstress response in women. It controlsfight/flight response and, instead, encourages her to tend children and gather with other women.
Accordingly to co-researcher Dr. Laura Cousino Klein, now assistant professor of bio-behavioral health at Penn State,study suggests that this "tending and befriending" response to oxytocin producescalming effect. Although it will take new studies to reveal allways in which oxytocin encourages women to care for children and band together, it might also explain why women consistently outlive men.
I have addressed numerous women's conferences and corporate networks of women and I can attest toobservable behavior that participants leave these sessions feeling stronger, encouraged, and positive. I believe they also leave healthier. The famed Nurses Health Study from Harvard Medical School found thatmore friends people have, they less likely they are to develop physical ailments andmore likely they are to cope better with challenges.
Sadly, today's busy agendas often find women cancelingmost positive and healthy thing they can do: gather with other women to engage inkind of "rapport" and "report" talk that hallmark feminine conversations. The corporate women's networks that generatemost return fortime and money investment allow fornuts-and-bolts training needed forbusiness while also creating plenty of opportunity for mentoring, problem-solving andinformal sharing of personal issues.
Creategathering of women and stand back. The energy reborn from conversation, caring, compassion and concern can movecommunity,business, andnation intohigher place.
(c) twozerozerofour, McDargh Communications. All rights in all media reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.
Aboutauthor:
Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE is head of McDargh Communications,training and consulting practice founded in onenineeightzero. She's alsoaward-winning author, radio commentator, and onBoard ofNational Speakers Association. Eileen can be reached at http://www.EileenMcDargh.com
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