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Wednesday, April 29th, 2009WomenSpeak is for You
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Have you ever:
- Felt that as your number of birthday candles increases your self-esteem decreases?
- Considered lying about your age?
- Felt embarrassed about a hot flash?
- Felt dismissed or “invisible”?
- Worried about your health, finances or relationships as you get older?
Join the Women Speak Project for access to all of the articles and blogging. Plus, get regular updates with e-newsletters.
Let us know what you think:
Frustration Turns Proactive
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009While Dr. Nancy addressed women’s concerns one-on-one through her practice, she decided it was time to take the information to a broader audience. This includes:
- 10 years of groundbreaking research with over 1200 participants from age 20 to 80+
- Book, “Timeless Women Speak: Feeling Youthful at Any Age”, with inspiring stories, age group concerns, practical tips
- Weekly Radio Show, “Timeless Women Speak” at www.webtalkradio.net, interviewing amazing women
- www.womenspeak.com website with value articles and information
- E-Newsletters for the most current tips and timely stories
Knowing that other women feel the same validates our experience. Even better, we can learn from each other how to cope with the challenges and opportunities of aging.
Lack of Info on Successful Aging or “Saging”
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009As a baby boomer struggling with the reality of her own aging process, psychologist Dr. Nancy became frustrated by the lack of candid information available to help women deal with their aging issues. Available resources seem to fall into three types:
- Fountain of Youth Myths: These deny that we have to age, as long as we take a certain supplement, follow a particular diet or practice the author’s technique.
- Disease: Physicians often “medicalize” the process of aging as if it was a disease. They focus on what can go wrong.
- Crone stories: New age authors celebrate the sags and wrinkles while mourning the loss off respect for old women in our society today.
None of these materials speak honestly about women’s concerns about getting older, nor do they help women deal with these fears. Dr. Nancy decided to find out what women think are the real issues they face and how they feel.
Growing Older Is Great
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009But the truth is, in our youth-oriented society, many of us don’t feel good about it at all, and we’re scared to admit it! Sure, we try to accentuate the positive, but before we can adopt upbeat lifestyles, we have to admit and face our fears. And there’s nothing like talking with girlfriends to make a woman feel a lot better.
At last, here is a website – Womenspeak.Com – where we can let down our guard and admit, even to ourselves, that we have concerns. You can learn about the numerous ways other women have learned to be courageous about living and loving longer.
Maintaining Our Mantra
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Successful women believe…
- We are strong, vital women who won’t be limited by our shallow society.
- We are smart and have the life experiences to prove it.
- There are no limits to what we can do — or be! We have strength in NUMBERS!
- We will ignore stereotypical thinking about age, size, and race.
- We are not fooled by the notion that women of this century “have it made”.
- We will keep fighting for personal rights.
- We are important no matter the number on our scales or the wrinkles in the mirror.
The Perfect Storm
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009“I am surprised at the number of people who think women have it made,” says Dr. Nancy. “Are we on the same planet?”
For years, psychologist Dr. Nancy has worked with women to overcome problems…workplace, family life, purpose, health issues, and personal challenges. As a baby boomer struggling with the reality of her own aging process, Dr. Nancy became frustrated by the lack of candid information available to help women deal with their aging and other issues. Today, millions of women suffer emotionally and physically due to veiled self-image problems of growing older in a society that idealizes beauty and youth and inflicts guilt on those who lose it.
“Our foremothers went through a lot to get women to this point. But, we’re far from being done with the struggle. While media focuses on the young and beautiful, women of all ages have plenty of other issues,” says Dr. Nancy. “Young women still cope with balancing career and family. As women pass childbearing age, they still too often feel dismissed by physicians, employers, even society at large. Older women are even more ignored and get little respect for their continued abilities. Unfortunately, when women are rejected they turn this rebuff inward. We turn our backs on what is yet to be done.
Share the Site
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Invite your girlfriends, mothers, daughters, and co-workers to join the WomenSpeak Project.
We are women from all walks of life. We are best friends, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and women who want to have more, regardless of our age. We want great relationships, lots of fun, and expect to have wonderful and rewarding challenges. We are not afraid of re-inventing ourselves.
When you find information you’d like to share with friends and family, invite them to join us.
Dr. Nancy Activities
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
If you’d like more information on Dr. Nancy’s activities, presentations, and education, click here. Follow the most current information in blogs, radio shows, and media room.
Dr. Nancy News Release
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Aging Fears Linked to Higher Heart Disease Risk.
Clinical psychologist found fear in women of all ages.
Negative attitudes toward aging in young people increase the likelihood of suffering a heart attack or stroke later in life. That’s why it’s so dangerous that nearly half of women say they are afraid of getting older, says clinical psychologist Nancy D. O’Reilly, Psy.D.
Dr. O’Reilly’s research with more than1,000 women showed that fear of aging is highest in women ages 20-39, and that women who feared aging were more likely to diet and less likely to exercise to control their weight. This is bad news, because exercise is widely regarded as the single most important step to heart health.
People with negative stereotypes about aging were nearly twice as likely to suffer heart attack, stroke, or other heart problems when they grow older compared to those with more positive images of aging, according to an article appearing in the March issue of Psychological Science. A Yale news release said researchers at Yale believe this happens because people with negative ideas about aging were less likely to engage in healthy behaviors, which confirms Dr. O’Reilly’s findings.
Dr. O’Reilly’s research is summarized at http://www.womenspeak.com/professionals/research-results. Her work also reveals that women who lack a support system and positive role models often fail to develop a positive perception of their aging process, and that concerns about health, finances and relationships contribute to aging worries.
“The aging process can be lonely and depressing for women of all ages, especially if their beauty and looks have been their main calling card to the world,” Dr. O’Reilly says. “A quick review of print and electronic media shows the pressure on women not to let their age show. This causes women to feel guilty about losing their youthful beauty.”
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O’Reilly is founder of the online resource WomenSpeak.com, which is based on a decade of research about women’s issues and concerns. Her groundbreaking research exploring women’s perceptions of aging has been published in the American Journal of Health Behavior. A member of the American Psychological Association with more than 25 years of experience, Dr. O’Reilly counsels others on everything from mental health and stress to aging, relationships and careers. She is author of, “Timeless Women Speak: Feeling Youthful At Any Age,” and hosts a radio program on WebTalkRadio.net, called “Timeless Women Speak.”
For more information on the book or to schedule an interview, contact Maggie Castrey, mcastrey@att.net, 417-631-9964.
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