Taking stress is quite normal after encountering any stressful situation. It’s a kind of inbuilt mechanism that urges the individual to show a response through stress or anxiety. If you are taking stress for a limited period then it’s not a big deal and there is nothing to be afraid of. However, if the stress persists for a longer period then it’s absolutely an alarming situation. Women are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorder as compared to men. After reaching puberty and till the older age, they are more susceptible to developing anxiety symptoms.
After reading this article, you will get a closer look at the anxiety symptoms in women and why anxiety is more common in females. Moreover, you will also get familiar with whether there is any link between women and anxiety disorders and what are the symptoms of stress in a woman. You will also get familiar with strategies that help a woman with anxiety. So don’t wait any longer and read this article to find some amazing facts.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a common but severe mental state in which individuals experience fear, uneasiness, and emotional intensity. Moreover, during the anxiety, individuals are unable to maintain their normal life routine. They prefer to stay alone and feel fear in social interaction. Moreover, if the anxiety gets severe then they can also experience panic attacks. Panic attacks make life more hectic.
What are the common Anxiety symptoms in women?
When a female is suffering from an anxiety disorder then the following signs of anxiety in women appear:
- Sense of tiredness or fatigue
- Preference of isolation
- Fear
- Extreme emotions
- Sense of shyness or embarrassment
- Sweating
- Headache
- Trembling
- Elevated cardiac rate
- Elevated respiratory rate
- Headache
- Body ache
- Numbness
- Muscular tension
Why do women suffer more from anxiety as compared to men?
Various researchers have explained the fact that women are more prone to suffer from anxiety disorders as compared to men. There is a varied brain chemistry that is responsible for this. The activation of fight-and-flight response is more rapid in women as compared to men. In addition, the response also stays longer in women as it exhibits the differences in women. Moreover, women are also more affected by other common mental issues including depression, mental as well as panic disorder.
Furthermore, the serotonin that is responsible for the onset of anxiety symptoms in women also has more impact on women. Likewise, the processing of serotonin in women is not as rapid as in men. Similarly, women also exhibit increased sensitivity towards the low levels of corticotropin-releasing factor hormone that is majorly involved in the stress response.
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What are the common types of Anxiety disorders in women?
Although, there are various types the most common types of anxiety disorders in women include:
Generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that involves the constant state of worrying and feeling fear. In most of the cases, there is not any apparent reason for the intrusive thoughts and excessive state of fear. Major causes of generalized anxiety disorder include personal or financial stress or any sudden or unexpected loss.
Panic disorder
As the name indicates, this involves the occurrence of panic attacks. Their occurrence occurs randomly and completely disturbs the mental state of each individual. Common symptoms of panic attacks involve the shaking of hands, excessive sweating, uneasiness, and the occurrence of intrusive thoughts.
Specific phobia
Specific phobia is a fear of a specific thing, object, or situation. Different people have different kinds of phobias which affect their day-to-day functioning. Some individuals have a fear of heights while some panic by being exposed to fire or any other object.
Social anxiety disorder
This type of anxiety involves the fear of social interaction. Individuals suffering from social anxiety disorder prefer to stay alone instead of interacting with others in any social community. They feel fear that they will get judged by others and therefore they feel an extra sense of embarrassment.
Prenatal and postpartum depression
Most of the women also experience depression during and after the depression. Although pregnancy and motherhood are pleasant periods, affected females have to experience various psychological issues that not only affect their mental peace but also destroy their relationship with their baby and loved ones.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is also a common type of mental issue that involves the onset of anxiety symptoms in women. They experience obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior. Affected women are majorly involved in repeated cleaning activities as compared to normal women.
Selective mutism
During this type, individuals having a certain fear prefer to stay quiet in certain situations. They don’t quarrel and keep quiet instead of discussing with others. This type of anxiety is more common in teenagers. However, adults are also susceptible to this type of anxiety disorder. Women not only differently experience anxiety but also respond differently to each therapeutic intervention. Moreover, they also employ coping strategies in different ways as compared to the men.
What causes Anxiety in women?
The following are the common causes of trigger factors of the anxiety symptoms in women:
Hormonal fluctuations
Estrogen and progesterone are the two major hormones that control various functions in women. Estrogen is responsible for various reproductive functions while progesterone maintains the pregnancy. The fluctuation in any of these two hormones can also act as a trigger for anxiety symptoms in women. However, the rate of fluctuation is more common in stages of puberty.
Trauma
Females who have experienced any stressful situation in the past can get traumatic symptoms at any stage of their lives. Whenever they think about those traumatic events, they get the anxiety symptoms.
Domestic stress
Those women who do not work in any office or any organization and stay at home also have to fulfill various responsibilities. They have to cook food for their family, clean their home, and take care of their entire family. Therefore, they take more stress to make their family happy and acquire stress in the race to become perfect.
Threat factors
Men have the power to make themselves secure as those who have been victims of any sexual abuse also suffer anxiety in their teenage or adult stages. Likewise, those women who face domestic violence are more susceptible to anxiety disorder as compared to other women. Women have to bear different kinds of stress factors related to this trigger.
Career stress
In this era, numerous females are more concerned about their careers as compared to men. They take more pressure than men and think more about strategies to elevate the ratio of their professional growth. However, when they compete in society, they face various issues at the workplace and therefore suffer from anxiety that not only affects their personal but also their professional life.
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Emotional Expression in Women
Women have to face more societal pressure as compared to men. They sometimes express their emotional instability while most of the time they hide their emotions. Due to the pressure of society, men also exert pressure on women and suppress their emotions. Most of the females self-evaluate the anxiety symptoms and then adopt the coping strategy accordingly. In most cases, those women who have strong financial aspects overcome their anxiety by engaging in different activities such as shopping and grooming themselves. By doing this, they feel pleasure, divert their mind from anxiety, and make efforts to live a happy and normal life.
Furthermore, women are also more conscious about their looks as compared to men who usually don’t consider their physical appearance. They think more about their duties and get anxiety from different sources.
Different studies have also reported that there is a greater ratio of women who have a fear of aging in their late 30s. They think more about society and that they will be judged by society based on their look or appearance. This factor can also be treated by removing such a stigma from society.
How to treat the Anxiety symptoms in Women?
Women can not get rid of the anxiety symptoms on their own as effective treatment and mental health support is essential to prevent the onset of anxiety symptoms in women. The following treatment options are considered useful in treating anxiety in women:
Medications
No medication provides a complete cure for anxiety disorder. Medications are just useful in managing and improving the symptoms of anxiety so affected individuals can live with mental stability. Moreover, experts recommend the following medications to treat the anxiety disorder.
Antidepressants
As the name indicates, antidepressants work against their depression but these medications can also treat the symptoms of anxiety. Moreover, they specifically regulate the neurotransmitters in the brain that can cause the development of anxiety symptoms. Most common antidepressants include tricyclic antidepressants and SNRIs as well as SSRIs.
Beta-blockers
Beta-blockers play a significant role in alleviating the physical symptoms of anxiety which include increased heartbeat and respiratory rate. However, these medications are not used to treat the psychological symptoms as they only work best for the physical symptoms of anxiety.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of talk therapy that plays a significant role in creating a balance between cognitive functions and behavior. Women suffering from anxiety experience numerous cognitive impairments as compared to mentally healthy women. They are unable to think, focus, and behave normally. Moreover, they do not have any control over their thoughts and remain busy with their intrusive thoughts.
Cognitive therapy works significantly to diminish anxiety symptoms in women. Affected women interact with the cognitive experts and initiate the process of cognitive restructuring. They first evaluate the anxiety symptoms in women and then develop a strategy to overcome the symptoms of anxiety.
Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy
Exposure and response prevention therapy is also a common and highly significant type of psychotherapy. This involves the exposure of individuals to their fears and making them capable of avoiding their fears and situations. This therapy specifically works on behavior along with mental health. Women who are suffering from any social anxiety disorder are more sensitive toward fearful situations. Therefore the main goal of this therapy is to alter their behavior and desensitize them. Women communicate with mental health experts and share their feelings with them. Experts first identify the triggers of anxiety symptoms in women and then ask the women to make a list of all their fears. They ask them to rank their fears and gradually face them. Then they are instructed to think about their fear and imagine that in reality, they are facing that situation. Women first exhibit the response whale while with time, they stop responding to their fear and their mind adapts to the problem. So when they encounter the same situation next time, they avoid that and do not feel any kind of fear.
How to help a woman with Anxiety?
The anxiety symptoms in women are more evident as compared to the men and they require more support and effective solutions to overcome the anxiety symptoms. If you know any female who is suffering from anxiety then immediately prepare your mind to support her from each aspect. The first thing that you should do is to develop a secure, friendly and non-judgmental space so each affected woman shares her thoughts out and feels mental peace.
Encourage her to identify her real inner personality and implement strategies to reduce anxiety symptoms in women. Guide her on which strategies she can use to control or prevent the signs of anxiety in women.
Last thoughts
Anxiety is a common but major mental issue that can disturb the mental peace of women. Women with anxious thoughts and beliefs face difficulty in doing their everyday tasks normally. Moreover, they think that they are unable to confront their fears or unexpected situations. Women are more affected by anxiety as compared to men. Various factors are responsible for the onset of anxiety in women as compared to men. However, with effective therapeutic or preventive strategies, women can smartly and perfectly deal with the common anxiety symptoms in women.
Furthermore, Inland Empire Behavioral Group is one of the renowned mental health platforms that offer phenomenal treatment as well as support for anxiety symptoms in women. Our mental health professionals understand the mental health requirements of each woman and then guide them to cope with the anxiety symptoms in women.
