In an article published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research , experts conducted research into the gender differences in anxiety disorders. The authors acknowledged the higher rate of incidence in women and sought to dig deeper into how it affects women and men differently. In addition, researchers found that emergency room, urgent care and doctor visits were more common for both women 1. Women with anxiety also missed significantly more days of work 2. Jones says that employing healthy, familiar coping strategies can be helpful in managing anxiety.
Most of us have already been successful in managing anxiety-producing situations. Reviewing and re-adopting healthy coping strategies from the past can provide a practical road map for facing current challenges.
Jones explains that people with anxiety should focus on helping themselves be the best version of themselves so they can best deal with the disorder. Therefore, getting adequate sleep, eating healthy and getting regular exercise each week places our immune system in the best position to support the cognitive energies we need to rationally sort through anxiety. Anxiety Disorders.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention.
Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness, and involve excessive fear or anxiety. But anxiety disorders are treatable and a number of effective treatments are available. Treatment helps most people lead normal productive lives. In any given year the estimated percent of U.
Anxiety refers to anticipation of a future concern and is more associated with muscle tension and avoidance behavior. Fear is an emotional response to an immediate threat and is more associated with a fight or flight reaction — either staying to fight or leaving to escape danger. Anxiety disorders can cause people to try to avoid situations that trigger or worsen their symptoms. Job performance, school work and personal relationships can be affected. There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder.
Generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities. This ongoing worry and tension may be accompanied by physical symptoms, such as restlessness, feeling on edge or easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension or problems sleeping. Often the worries focus on everyday things such as job responsibilities, family health or minor matters such as chores, car repairs, or appointments.
The core symptom of panic disorder is recurrent panic attacks, an overwhelming combination of physical and psychological distress.
During an attack several of these symptoms occur in combination:. Because the symptoms are so severe, many people who experience a panic attack may believe they are having a heart attack or other life-threatening illness. They may go to a hospital emergency department. Panic attacks may be expected, such as a response to a feared object, or unexpected, apparently occurring for no reason.
The mean age for onset of panic disorder is Panic attacks may occur with other mental disorders such as depression or PTSD. A specific phobia is excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, situation or activity that is generally not harmful. These fears cause such distress that some people go to extreme lengths to avoid what they fear.
Do not stop taking your medicine without talking to a doctor or nurse. Your doctor may adjust how much medicine you take and when you take it. Sometimes symptoms of an anxiety disorder come back after you have finished treatment. This may happen during or after a stressful event.
It may also happen without any warning. Many people with anxiety disorders do get better with treatment.
But, if your symptoms come back, your doctor will work with you to change or adjust your medicine or treatment plan. You can also talk to your doctor about ways to identify and prevent anxiety from coming back. This may include writing down your feelings or meeting with your counselor if you think your anxiety is uncontrollable. Some women say that complementary or alternative medicine CAM therapies helped lower their anxiety.
Learn more about CAM therapies for anxiety disorders. If you are on medicine to treat your anxiety disorder, talk to your doctor. Some medicines used to treat anxiety can affect your unborn baby. It depends. Some medicines used to treat anxiety can pass through breastmilk.
Certain antidepressants, such as some SSRIs, are safe to take during breastfeeding. Do not stop taking your medicine too quickly. Talk to your doctor to find out what medicine is best for you and your baby. Learn more about medicines and breastfeeding in our Breastfeeding section.
Researchers are studying why women are more than twice as likely as men to develop anxiety disorders and depression. Changes in levels of the hormone estrogen throughout a woman's menstrual cycle and reproductive life during the years a woman can have a baby probably play a role.
Researchers also recently studied the male hormone testosterone, which is found in women and men but typically in higher levels in men. They found that treatment with testosterone had similar effects as antianxiety and antidepressant medicine for the women in the study.
Other research focuses on anxiety disorders and depression during and after pregnancy and among overweight and obese women. For more clinical trials related to anxiety disorders and women, visit ClinicalTrials.
For more information on anxiety disorders, call the OWH Helpline at or contact the following organizations:. Department of Health and Human Services. ET closed on federal holidays. Anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders Anxiety is a normal response to stress. What is anxiety? What are anxiety disorders? What are the major types of anxiety disorder? The major types of anxiety disorder are: Generalized anxiety disorder GAD. People with GAD worry excessively about ordinary, day-to-day issues, such as health, money, work, and family.
With GAD, the mind often jumps to the worst-case scenario, even when there is little or no reason to worry. Women with GAD may be anxious about just getting through the day. They may have muscle tension and other stress-related physical symptoms, such as trouble sleeping or upset stomach.
At times, worrying keeps people with GAD from doing everyday tasks. They also are more likely to have a family history of depression. Panic disorders are twice as common in women as in men. Panic attacks may cause a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control.
People having panic attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks, losing their minds, or dying. Social phobia. Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is diagnosed when people become very anxious and self-conscious in everyday social situations. People with social phobia have a strong fear of being watched and judged by others.
They may get embarrassed easily and often have panic attack symptoms. Specific phobia. A specific phobia is an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobias could be fears of closed-in spaces, heights, water, objects, animals, or specific situations. People with specific phobias often find that facing, or even thinking about facing, the feared object or situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety.
Some other conditions that are not considered anxiety disorders but are similar include: Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD. People with OCD have unwanted thoughts obsessions or behaviors compulsions that cause anxiety. They may check the oven or iron again and again or perform the same routine over and over to control the anxiety these thoughts cause. Often, the rituals end up controlling the person. Post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. PTSD starts after a scary event that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm.
The person who gets PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, or the harm may have happened to a loved one or even a stranger. Who gets anxiety disorders? What causes anxiety disorders? Researchers think anxiety disorders are caused by a combination of factors, which may include: Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle Genetics. Anxiety disorders may run in families. Traumatic events.
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