Taming Toxic Stress

Four years ago, Heather Coleman knew something had to give. As the head of a consultancy division for a Fortune 50 technology company, she worked late into the night at least once a week, trouble-shooting staff issues for her employees and managing the expectations of both her bosses and her clients. She wasn’t sleeping well, which meant she sometimes reacted poorly to unexpected events. She had knots in her back and shoulders and a pit of anxiety in her stomach. Plus, she’d been struggling with bouts of stomach pain and cramping.

Health Myths: Fact or Fiction?

With so many new studies, it has become exceedingly difficult to make informed decisions. This guide to common health myths will help....

Sleepless in the Prime of Life

Insomnia, the inability to either fall or stay asleep, strikes one-and-a-half to two times more women than men....

Keep on Moving!

Like many executive businesswomen, Bita Sistani is always on the go. Having clients and business partners located across the country and all over the world means that Sistani’s workday is hardly nine to five. The director of business development in the automotive products division at...

Got Stress?

Work and finances are among the top stressors in the American Psychological Association's annual Stress in America survey....

Size Doesn’t Matter

Lisa Tealer no longer cringes when she encounters office furniture that won’t accommodate her size—she just asks for an armless chair if she needs one. When ordering lunch at the company cafeteria, she signs her ticket “Lisa, AKA Queen Diva,” a playful gesture that nonetheless makes a statement about how she sees herself. “It’s just a small thing,” she says, “but it’s my way of creating my own space.” As the diversity manager for a California biotechnology firm, Tealer has used her considerable talents to create a discrimination-free environment that does not penalize plus-size workers like herself. She knows that prejudice aimed at large employees—who are routinely abused, belittled, and held back because of their body size—is a national problem that has only recently been recognized. Last year, researchers at Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity declared that discrimination against plus-size individuals, especially women, is “as common as racial discrimination.”