Can't Slow Down? Do You say "yes" to everything, while your brain screams, 'No! No! Nap'? We are a generation of what experts call 'stress junkies'. More and more women are 'addicted' to stress. It's like a runner's high: women get so used to beign on hyper-speed that if tey slow down , they go into 'withdrawal' .It can be extremely exhilarating, but these women are practically killing themselves.

The Real Reason Women Can't Stop - Stress is not new, nor are women who do too much.So what makes today's mass addiction different? Women, more so than men, appear to be increasingly driven by the notion of what they 'should' accomplish.While we have achived some measure of equality, our newfound perch still feels precarious. For many, there's a sense that if we don't keep striving we'll somehow lose ground. Women are more competitive now because there are more opportunities. But we're especially competitive with ourselves. To stay on top, we often feel we must succeed in everything we do, whether it's getting promoted at work or cooking the perfect Sunday lunch. And, of course , here's a tool that can tell us how to do just about anything: the interent. But our beeping gadgets tap into another primal female need. We want to connect and be connected - we want to feel like live nodes on the network. Some of us subscribes to few magazines and newspapers, and we worry that if we don't read them, we don't be on the top of things. We need to know: Are chandelier earings in? What's happening in Iraq? What if Starbucks comes out with a toffee-nut green tea and we are not among the first to know? The truth is, underneath their bionic - woman bravado, many stress junkies are driven by insecurity. Women need to keep doing and performing in order to feel important and validated. We wear our busyness like a badge of honour.

Another reason technology has become the ultimate enaber is that it gives us a concrete way to measure just how important we are. Now, no matter how popular you were (or weren't) at school, you can be affirmed by having a zillion pals on Facebook - that is , far more 'friend' than you can keep up with. Meanwhile, the close friendships that matter get squeezed out, relegated to emails begging to reschedule lunch.

The True Costs Of Stress - Stress, in moderation, can be a good thing. It can make you feel powerful, motivated and alive. But when women crave stress to excess, there can be serious psychological and physical fallout. When you're racing, your adrenal glands pump out the stress hormpones cortisol and adrenalin, your heart pounds and your breathing revs up. In that split second when you nedd to slam on the breaks or leap out of the way, this fight-or-flight response can save your life. But we aren't designed to stay in this mode. We are hard-wired to maintain that arousal for a short time only. Walking around with that much cortisol and adrenaline in your system over a long period of time is not healthy. It affects your memory, concentration and performance.It can also cause insomnia and weaken your immune system. And, in extreme cases, if don't give yourself a reprieve you can go from stress junkie to stress burnout.

Aside from its effects on your health and psyche, stress can also corrode your relationships. When you stressed, you're no fun to be with. A recent study on work/life balance found that 45% of people in high-powered, stressfull jobs are too tired to even speak to their partners when they get home, and about half say their work stops them having satisfying sex life.

How Addicted Are You? Try this simple diagnostic test:sit still and read a book for 30 minutes.If the very idea of it makes you feel crazy, you're a stress junkie.If you can get though 30 minutes, but weren't able to fully lose yourself in the activity, you still need a mini intervention. Here are four ways to get started:

Go on a low-info diet - Limit email time and cut your daily reading. Belive it or not, people will continue to rely on you and you'll still have plenty to say at parties!

Start breathing - Defuse stress whenever you feel anxious by taking a deep breath to the count of four; holding it to five, then letting it out with force. Stop telling friends you're so busy - Its a self-fulfilling prophecy

Take a holiday from 'yes' - If you agree to too many things, you'll not only stress yourself out but you'll also let people down when you can't deliver what you've promised.

You can also try a little trick that has worked for many women: apprentice yourself to a pro. For example, if you're walking fast, but the person you're walking with is slower, you may at first resent the fact they're not keeping up. But eventually you have to slow down. It really works.

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