How Stress Causes Aging in Women Over 40

Jacqueline Jase Author

Ah, the good old days: When all you worried about was, well, if you'd eat again, survive the job, and find a suitable mate with whom to tie your relationship knot, but as you enter your 40's – the obsession tends to be more inclined towards how to look younger.

We can feel you when every new worry line is on your finger count, and turning into a silver-momma can be frustrating :( !

Many riders of the grey rollercoaster revamp their wardrobes to create the illusion that they're not as old as they actually are.

In many cases, it's not the finer points of your appearance that contribute to aging but the things you're inadvertently doing every day that show on your face. It could be slouching over your laptop while doing WFH or even sleeping on sub-par pillowcases that can age you beyond your years.

Curious what other hidden stressors you're mistakenly triggering to speed up the aging process?

Let us help you here …

1. Perfectionism

Your Perfectionism theories and tendencies can paralyze you!

Struggling to score 10/10 in every chore of life can aggravate unnecessary stress leading to early aging, such as,

• not feeling fulfilled with a paycheck alone but wishing to chair executive authorities and build unlimited financial assets or
• dream of living a peaceful, ideal family life, or
• working hard to achieve the same figure and skin glow at 43 years old as you had at your 22nd HBD, and the list goes on …

Running after such high standards helps to excel in life but can sometimes develop unnecessary pressure and stress on nerves.

What To Do?

Well, better to go with the flow and assure yourself: "There's the plan, and then there's what happens."

2. Constant Self-Critiquing Against Others’ Experiences

While social media is great for connecting with others, it's important to understand how detrimental constant exposure might be to women’s mental health.

These days, social media is a huge stressor for many reasons, but mainly, it's the constant expectation of being 'Insta-worthy' and the endless comparisons inflicted upon us – FULL STOP.

For example, scrolling through Facebook or Instagram viewing others' happy faces, amazing dinners, and destination wedding photos can sometimes make you feel stressed about where you're at in your life.

It's not just the stress of posting everything you're doing, eating, watching to stay relevant, but also the stress of comparing your life, your body, and experiences with your friends and followers. This ends up having unrealistic expectations of life and the build-up of pressure.

What To Do?

It's hard, but one of the best things women over 40 can do is thoughtfully disengage more often from social media. Be more present, live the moment, stop feeling your every move needs to be documented or discussed.

3. Neglecting Your Friends

Thinking of the things that can boost your chance of a long, youthful life, even after the '40s, you probably should not ignore the value of good friendships.

Women who do not stay connected with their genuine friends get lonely and socially isolated.

You’ll feel more tense when there is no one around you who can listen to you unconditionally. Missing a trusted friend in your life for self-catharsis and solace increases stress, and you're more likely to age prematurely.

What To Do?

Whatever the age or gender, holding good friends is the key to managing stress and slowing down the hands of time.

4. Holding Grudges

Your emotional state can have a significant impact on your physical appearance. Being depressed takes a toll on both your mental and physical health— and if left unaddressed, it can even accelerate the aging process.

So, holding on to past incidents or confrontations is something that can wear on your mind and your body.

Or keep regretting and blaming yourself for some bitter mishaps of the past will hold onto stress and traumas on your body through permanent frowns or furrowed eyebrows, clenched jaws, and slumped shoulders.

What To Do?

Practice tolerance, try to let go of the anger and thoughts of revenge — embrace forgiveness and move forward.

5. Body Image-Related Stress

Which is worse: getting old and fat, or facing chronic disease?

It's awful of traditional media, especially the celebrities on social media who are literally photoshopped and get paid to look beautiful and stay thin, which has put regular women under unwanted loads and stress.

Living the low-esteemed aging-&-aching body and experiencing obese body-related shame comes with unwanted anxiety leading to adverse health outcomes.

What To Do?

To be fit women over 40, maintain a healthy lifestyle by adopting clean eating, regular exercise, mindfulness, and positive self-talk habits. Begin to accept yourself more and be thankful for your body and what it can do for you.

6. Pressure of Too Much Information

Do you continuously keep updated with mass media, or jump on social media every time a notification pops up or monitor your Twitter feed while watching the (grim) news?

A major source of stress for many is keeping a continuous close watch on social, national, and global concerns.

If these concerns strike a chord of anxiety with you, remind yourself that some stressful circumstances are out of your control. Over-obsessing about everything happening around you does more harm than good.

You can't control the future or what’s happening in the world. Like how adversely COVID-19 hit every economy or the violence here and there is impacting people's lives, it's all beyond your control. But what you can do is control the here and now.

What To Do?

To cope, carve out time for 'information breaks' such as spending 30 minutes just being still and distraction-free every morning.

7. Excessive Use of Technology

Excessive device usage is just as bad for adults or women as for children.

• Slouching at your desk, hunching over a computer, or constantly looking down at your phone can age your body prematurely and lead to headaches, neck and shoulder pain, and a visible hump in the spine.
• Using your phones before bed or checking your phone just first thing in the morning can cause vision impairment and aging-wrinkly eyes.
• The fear of missing out (FoMO) on social media is another hidden stressor that can’t let you relax and sleep well.

What To Do?

Maintaining good posture and scheduling your time over such devices can help you stay away from early aging.

Please share some of your thoughts on this topic and/or ideas of what you can do to embrace aging. on Facebook and Instagram.

If you want to learn more about How to Get Glowing Skin Over 40, please check out our FREE GUIDE.