How Embracing Femininity Helps Me Combat Stress

Whether working in a high-pressure industry, as a mother raising children, as a student with a busy schedule, or somewhere in between, we’re all guaranteed to face stress and pressure that threaten to draw us away from our feminine nature. Sometimes femininity is even labeled as a disadvantage or inhibitor of success in our chosen field, tempting us to shut down the parts of ourselves that are unique to womanhood. In reality, embracing femininity is not only the key to combating life’s stressors, but it can also be helpful as we work toward our goals.

Reframe Your Mindset

When it comes to life, career, and other responsibilities, it’s easy to feel pressure to operate in a constant state of hurry. We’re often compelled to move to the next stage of life as soon as possible, striving to get ahead in our career, move to the next phase of a relationship, or achieve more success at school before we’ve had time to fully appreciate what we have. This causes us to leave the present moment behind as we desperately search for answers about the future.

While there’s nothing wrong with excitement for what's on the horizon, it’s important to remember that life isn’t a race or competition to be won. Rather, our life’s work can be viewed as a process that ebbs and flows, and leaning into our true nature can help us stay grounded in the present moment. It may seem different from the traditional path to success, but letting femininity influence our work process can be helpful not only in achieving goals, but also in reducing stress associated with high-pressure situations.

Our life’s work can be viewed as a process that ebbs and flows and grounds us in the present moment.

Reframing our mindset and using femininity to manage responsibilities means learning to embody traits that are unique to womanhood. What does an ideal expression of femininity at work or home look like to you? How can incorporating these traits help you manage stressful situations? For instance, intuition is a powerful tool for navigating social dynamics or personality clashes, and gentleness helps us respond to difficult circumstances with grace and tact. Intuition can be cultivated by being mindful of your gut reactions to situations and tailoring your actions accordingly. Pausing to breathe deeply and thoughtfully respond is a way to react to pressure or demands with gentleness. Once you understand how the feminine traits you embody can help you respond to life, you can find ways to strengthen these qualities throughout the day.

Incorporate What You Enjoy

When I was in college, my classes and extracurriculars required me to spend much of my free time researching, analyzing, and writing. The busier I became, the more the self-care practices I once enjoyed slipped from my routine. I stopped painting my nails because it took too long for them to dry; I didn’t wear makeup often because I was always in a rush to get to class or meetings; and I stopped putting intention into the way I dressed, trading carefully-curated items for athletic outfits that I didn’t have to think too hard about. Sure, I was saving time by eliminating these “non-essential” steps in my routine, but I was also sacrificing things that had previously brought me joy and connected me to my own expression of femininity.

Though everyone’s personality has a different ratio of femininity and masculinity, as women, it can be easy to stay in a masculine headspace in order to be assertive, tackle our busy schedules, and get our work done. There’s nothing wrong with leaning into masculine traits to help us achieve career or academic goals or deal with tough situations, but it’s important that we prioritize caring for our inner, more feminine selves as well. Now that I’ve reincorporated practices that help me do this, I’ve noticed an improvement in my self-confidence and a lessening of negative self-talk.

It’s worth it to take the time to discover which self-care routines help you feel grounded. While I love to make time for stereotypically feminine things like makeup and clothing, there are many other ways to connect to your unique expression of femininity. Maybe journaling, creating music or art, spending time in nature, or prayer and meditation helps you. Anything that reminds you of your worth, connects you to your intuition, and provides time to reflect counts.

Lower Stress Naturally

Even with a renewed mindset and established self-care practices, we’ll still face stress that can twist our feminine nature into an unhealthy version of itself. Another way to deal with this is to eat and exercise in ways that complement, rather than fight, our natural cycles. As women, our bodies change throughout the month, sometimes making us more sensitive to stress. Luckily, it’s possible to adjust our lifestyles in ways that support the changes our bodies go through. 

It’s important that we prioritize caring for our inner, more feminine selves first and foremost.

For a long time, I thought the only way to be healthy was to eat and exercise the same way every week. I often disregarded the signals I was getting from my body, ignoring the foods I naturally craved and pushing myself to go on long runs nearly every day. I thought this consistency was the key to maintaining health, but the more I learned about personalized nutrition and exercise, the more I realized that my rigid workouts were exhausting, and my diet lacked the variety of nutrients needed to support my body. 

As it turns out, PMS isn’t the only change we experience throughout the month. Each phase of our cycle affects us differently and alters our dietary needs and most optimal form of exercise. Taking the time to track your cycle and the physical, emotional, and cognitive changes you experience throughout the month can clue you in to the best ways to support your physical body. 

Examples of this include practicing slow movement during your period when your energy is lower, and opting for high-intensity exercises during ovulation when your energy is greater. The best food to support your body changes depending on your cycle as well; for instance, low iron levels are common during your period, so it’s important to eat plenty of iron-rich foods to counteract this. Understanding how your mind and body work together has a grounding effect that encourages mindfulness and acceptance of yourself as you are in the present moment. 

Closing Thoughts

Though your expression of femininity is unique to you, there are still overarching qualities that we can all use to our advantage when faced with life’s challenges. Reframing your mindset to celebrate femininity, practicing self-care that allows for a moment of gentleness in your day, and using food and exercise to support your body’s cycle are all ways to stay grounded in your womanhood. Even when the stress of life comes our way, we can remember that embracing the aspects of our identities that are unique to us as women will help us interact with the world, achieve success in our chosen arenas, and keep us true to who we are.

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