More from The Female Brain

I've started the teenage chapter of the book, and it's been an interesting read...

On a study by the Pittsburgh Psychobiologic Studies Center:
"Males and females become reactive to different kinds of stress. Girls begin to react more to relationship stresses and boys to challenges to their authority. Relationship conflict is what drives a teen girl's stress system wild. She needs to be liked and socially connected; a teen boy needs to be respected and higher in the male pecking order."

"Robert Josephs at the University of Texas has concluded that men's self-esteem derives more from their ability to maintain independence from others, while women's self-esteem is maintained, in part, by the ability to sustain intimate relationships with others."

In terms of reactions to stress...
"...females appear to have some stress responses in addition to 'fight or flight' that allow them to protect themselves and their dependent children. One such response may be reliance on social ties. Females in a bonded social group are more likely to come to one another's aid in a threatening or stressful situation.... This pattern of behavior is termed 'tend and befriend'."

I like the idea of "tend and befriend" much better than "fight or flight". It definitely makes sense with my reactions to stress. My senior year, whenever I was stressed at school, I would go and play with the two little boys to "remind me what is important". Those were my words that I used to explain it once. Interesting idea here.

On a more personal note, it seems like half the people in my little world are sick right now, including myself (though happily I am so much better than I was at the beginning of the week). This crazy weather, I have a feeling, has a big part in the many illnesses spreading. Plus, it's prelim season for the undergrads, so there's lots of stress in the air. So, time to hit the open road and have a refreshing weekend!