Stress and its Influence on the Well-Being and Quality of Life of Rural Women in Nigeria

Abstract

Everyday experience of most rural women in Nigeria is a worrisome
burden on their mental health. These women are either directly involved
in farming activities or operate a small business they are always faced
with frustrating challenges. Most times they experience fatigue, emotional
and social isolation, compounded with lack of basic necessities of life.
This implies that they virtually have to deal with hardships such as
financial strain, social isolation, long working hours and reduced access
to health and social services that could improve their quality of life.
These experiences enable stress and easily ignite stress with the ever
presence of environmental stressor(s) that influence negatively on the
psychological well-being of the rural women. This work reviews the
consequence of stress, its implication on women and how to manage it to
enhance good quality of life. It is believed that an individual’s satisfaction
or happiness does not depend only on his or her level of living but also
on his or her expectation and perception of reality. Therefore an
individual is considered to be the best judge of his or her situation and
state of well-being and not an external person.