The Times and Democrat
Stress is Killing Young Women, Doctor Says


February 18, 2006

CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — A report released Thursday by the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, “Seventeen” magazine and teen medical experts reveals that stress is driving girls into lethal behaviors that put their lives at risk.

In 2004, 1.5 million girls started using alcohol, 173,000 more than the number of boys who started drinking, the report shows.The report also shows there were 729,000 girls who started smoking cigarettes, 164,000 more than boys. The number of girls starting to use marijuana was 675,000, 98,000 more than boys.

The report cites peer pressure and the trials of being an adolescent in a fast-paced society as the culprit for these and other dangerous behaviors in girls, including eating disorders, other illegal drug use, prescription drug misuse, and low self esteem.

Dr. Kathleen Hall, founder of The Stress Institute (http://www.thestressinstitute.com) and Fellow of the American Institute of Stress, has developed a program she calls “S.E.L.F(TM) Care,” which stands for Serenity, Exercise, Love and Food, a program that blends science, psychology and spirituality to create daily practices for improving one’s mental health. The program is discussed in Hall’s book “A Life In Balance: Nourishing the Four Roots of True Happiness,” published last month.

Dove, the beauty product company, has also done research into this topic and found that 92 percent of young girls want to change their appearance.

According to Dove’s on-line booklet, titled “true you!”, the most important factor in a young girl’s self esteem is her mother. Communicating with one’s mother about friends, school, family, body image and feelings can be extremely important in making a girl more confident.

While 75 percent of girls age 8 to 9 like the way they look, only 56 percent do at age 12 to 13, according to the Girl Scout Research Institute. One-third of all girls age 14 to 17 think they are overweight, and 60 percent are trying to lose weight, the institute has found.