Caring for self is vital
for women, doctor says
A conference looks at ways for
women to stay healthy in life
Busy women working and caring for families should prioritize to manage stress and put themselves at the top of the list, advises a women's health expert.
Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men and two to three times more likely to have anxiety disorders, said Dr. Annette M. Smick, staff psychiatrist at Luther Midelfort, Mayo Health System in Eau Claire, Wisc.
"Women are expert caretakers. ... They're always taking care of everybody but they're not taking care of themselves," she said.
Smick was keynote speaker at a free public meeting entitled "Women's Way to Health" yesterday at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel. Kapiolani Women's Center hosted the event, organized by Straub Foundation.
About 550 women, joined by a few men, filled the Pacific Ballroom to hear Smick and local health experts discuss women's health concerns and the latest findings on nutrition, weight, exercise, migraines and anxiety.
In her talk and a later interview, she cited risk factors for depression and anxiety in women, ranging from genetic, reproductive and psychosocial factors to lack of social support and feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage or job.
Most women at mid-life "report a strong sense of competence and high levels of life satisfaction," she said. But women at this stage are vulnerable to stress because of demands of children and parents, she said.
Older women become depressed as friends and family members die and they lose connections to other people, she said. Chronic medical problems with significant pain may increase their hopelessness and lead to suicides, she said.
Much can be done to treat depression and anxiety, but primary care doctors are more likely to focus on physical symptoms and miss the underlying causes, she said.
For longer and healthier lives, women should eat a healthy diet, get adequate sleep, exercise and remain involved in work or other activities, Smick said.
And they should "try to diffuse guilt -- coulda, woulda, shoulda. ... No one can be perfect," she added. "We do the best we can at any time and that's good enough."
In other talks:
» Dr. Maria DeCastro, adult neurologist at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, discussed migraine headaches, which affect her and three of four brothers. Research shows it is a chronic brain disease with potential to get worse, she said, explaining it should be treated as a chronic disease with focus on prevention.
» Dr. Stephen Bradley, bariatrics medicine specialist at Kapiolani Women's Center, said 65 percent of Americans are overweight and "kids are worse than anybody." He recommended cutting body weight loss by 10 percent (avoid eating seconds), getting exercise to keep it off and modifying lifestyle to prevent kids from getting fat.
» Dr. Diane Thompson, co-director of the Quality of Life Program and psychiatric oncologist at Straub Clinic & Hospital, suggested women ask themselves every day how they're doing physically and emotionally, recognize potential health problems and take action to address them.
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