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While still catching-up to men in some spheres of modern life, women appear to be way ahead in at least one undesirable category.

在现代生活中女性就算是在某些领域可以追赶上男性，但至少在一个方面是领先的，尽管是她们不太想要的。

“Women are particularly susceptible to developing depression and anxiety disorders in response to stress compared to men, ” according to Dr. Yehuda, chief psychiatrist at New York's Veteran's Administration Hospital.

纽约的退伍军管理医院精神科首席医生 Yehuda 博士说：“和男性相比，女性面对压力时，更容易受到影响，导致抑郁和紧张。”

Studies of both animals and humans have shown that sex hormones somehow affect the stress response, causing females under stress to produce more of the trigger chemicals than do males under the same conditions.

对于动物和人类的研究都显示出性激素会在某种程度去影响面对压力的反应，导致在同样的条件下，女性产生更多的致病化学物质。

In several of the studies, when stressed-out female rats had their ovaries (the female reproductive organs) removed, their chemical responses became equal to those of the males.

在几项研究中，当受到压力的雌鼠的卵巢（雌性的生殖器官）被拿掉后，它们的化学反应变得和那些雄性的一样了。

Adding to a woman's increased dose of stress chemicals, are her increased “opportunities” for stress.

对于女性来说，除了产生更多的导致压力的化学物质外，她们产生压力的"机会"也更多。

“It's not necessarily that women don't cope as well.

“并不是女性要处理的事情太少，

It's just that they have so much more to cope with, ” says Dr. Yehuda.

而是她们有更多的事情要处理。”Yehuda博士说道。

“Their capacity for tolerating stress may even be greater than men's, ” she observes,

“她们对于压力的承受能力有时候甚至比男性的还大”，她观察到，

“it's just that they're dealing with so many more things that they become worn out from it more visibly and sooner. ”

“她们只是需要处理的事情太多，看起来会更容易精疲力尽。”

Dr. Yehuda notes another difference between the sexes.

Yehuda 博士注意到了另一个男女之间的不同点。

“I think that the kinds of things that women are exposed to tend to be in more of a chronic or repeated nature.

“我认为，女性通常要做的事是慢性的，重复的。

Men go to war and are exposed to combat stress.

而男人去战场，承受的是格斗的压力。

Men are exposed to more acts of random physical violence.

男性面临的更多的是随意的身体上的暴力。

The kinds of interpersonal violence that women are exposed to tend to be in domestic situations,

女性面对的人与人之间的暴力是在家庭环境中的。

by, unfortunately, parents or other family members, and they tend not to be one-shot deals.

不幸的是，她们与父母还有其他的家庭成员之间不是能够一次性解决的问题。

The wear-and-tear that comes from these longer relationships can be quite devastating.”

这种长期的关系的磨合是更有破坏性的。”

Adeline Alvarez married at 18 and gave birth to a son, but was determined to finish college.

Adeline Alvarez 18 岁结婚并生了个儿子，但她决定完成大学学业。

“I struggled a lot to get the college degree.

“我尽了很大的努力拿到大学学位，

I was living in so much frustration that that was my escape, to go to school, and get ahead and do better.”

因为我在实际生活中有很多的挫折，而这就是我的逃避，去学校，争取上游，做到更好。”

Later, her marriage ended and she became a single mother.

不久后，她离了婚成为一个单亲母亲。

“It's the hardest thing to take care of a teenager, have a job, pay the rent, pay the car payment, and pay the debt.

“除了照顾一个十几岁的孩子，还要工作，付房租，养车，还债是最难的事情了。

I lived from paycheck to paycheck.”

我的生活就是不停的支付自己的账单。”

Not everyone experiences the kinds of severe chronic stresses Alvarez describes.

不是每个人经历着和 Alvarez describes 一样的长期的压力，

But most women today are coping with a lot of obligations, with few breaks, and feeling the strain.

但是大多数女性都在处理着太多的责任，很少得到喘息，从而感到了压力。

Alvarez's experience demonstrates the importance of finding ways to diffuse stress before it threatens your health and your ability to function.

Alvarez 的经历表明了当压力威胁你的健康和正常生理功能之前，解压是非常重要的。