Multitasking women need better balance.

• Position: Stress - Brief Article

Stress is here to stay. It is how you manage it that is important--particularly for women, who are the "queens of multitasking," says Stephanie Setliff, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "Stress refers to internal and external pressures that we experience daily. We can't eliminate it, but it's up to us to decide how to deal with it."

Most people react to stress in one of three ways, Setliff explains. They are crushed by it and "freeze," try to climb around it and "escape," or "hold it lightly on their shoulders" If not managed effectively, stress can turn into depression, it also can result in high blood pressure, rapid weight loss or gain, headaches, or other physical symptoms.

Becoming "stress hardy" requires learning to balance the...