My phone is always ringing, whether it's my cell phone or my desk phone. People constantly need my time and my help with things, and just pulling at me from all sides. That's really difficult, trying to meet everyone's expectations." Sound familiar?

Angela Small is a software company executive, but she could be any American woman. Whether it's phones, beepers, kids, co-workers, family, friends, or more likely, all of those things, many — perhaps most — women are feeling a lot like Angela.

Stress may seem like just a specter hanging over modern life; we're so used to it we're often not even aware it's there. But as researchers continue to map the mind-body connection, it's becoming increasingly clear that stress can do some very tangible damage to our physical and mental health. And guess which sex is likely to be both under greater stress and more severely affected by it? That's right, ladies first. But the good news is, most of the damage can be reversed or prevented by learning ways to short-circuit stress before it does the same to you.