Hi there,

I am very new to this board, but I have noticed that most of the posters are female. Alot of us are young (in our 20s) as well.

I wonder what makes women so much more anxious than men? My husband never seems to worry and he gets so sick of me thinking I have some disease all the time.

Are we just more in tune with our bodies? Do we maybe feel more pressure to be perfect all the time and it makes us anxious? I don't know.

Just a thought.

Don't know, but statistically many more anxiety sufferers are female. At least there are more men with the so-called "major psychiatric disorders" such as schizophrenia. Women are also more likely to seek help and be diagnosed than men. As for the age, anxiety disorders tend to manifest in the late teens to early twenties. People who have had anxiety disorders for longer or who are much older are likely to be dealing with it in some other way. I'm 31, and my anxiety waxes and wanes, but I always like to talk with others to 1)pick up new tips and suggestions 2)not feel so alone with this stuff and 3)offer any help or knowledge I may have.

I don't believe that more women suffer from anxiety than men. I do believe, however, that more women come forward and admit it, and seek help. Society tells men to be strong, not show weakness, not share feelings, this in itself can create anxiety in the same way that society telling women to be thin can cause eating disorders.

As jeffster said men just dont want to admit it as they seem to think they look weak. I must say though I have noticed a lot of girls post here, also a lot of christians. I am a christian and have noticed a lot more on this forum, this has also got me wondering why

I agree that its probably because men just dont come forward, but i still think women would be more susceptable because of all the social pressures put on them. My anxiety disorder has become agoragphobia now and it was interesting to see that that too has more women, and one thing that sufferers generally share is a idealistic or perfectionist parent environment or personality with alot of pressure to perform. Given that females are constantly bombarded with image and marketing in just about every area of our lives I think its no wonder the ratio is higher for women.

I agree that its probably because men just dont come forward, but i still think women would be more susceptable because of all the social pressures put on them. My anxiety disorder has become agoragphobia now and it was interesting to see that that too has more women, and one thing that sufferers generally share is a idealistic or perfectionist parent environment or personality with alot of pressure to perform. Given that females are constantly bombarded with image and marketing in just about every area of our lives I think its no wonder the ratio is higher for women.

You know, this discussion is slightly off topic, but still relevant. I completely disagree with this. There are just as many social pressures put on men. Yes, women are pressured to be thin, to be all the things that you stated above and more. Men have a lot of the same, and a lot of different pressures. We're "supposed" to provide for our family at any cost, protect them in every way, we are supposed to be physically and emotionally strong, we are supposed to play sports and be good at them, we're supposed to dress well and expensively just like women. This doesn't even cover what we're pressured to do less "publicly" like protect our pride (stick up for ourselves, friends, and women) which can sometimes lead to things like violence etc.

These are all as stupid as the pressures placed on women, but I think this misconception has gone on too long that there is some kind of gaping difference between what is expected of a man and what is expected of a woman.

Edit: Not to mention sexually. Men are expected to perform well sexually, this leads to all sorts of anxiety for men.

Men have a stupid pride and try to be tough at times. I once thought I could capture the world if I wanted too and after my 1st anxiety attack I became a little mouse. Generally speaking women are stronger than men but they are also more sensitive. Man or woman this is a nasty thing to have.

The only anxiety disorder that women have been proven to have two-three times more often than men is panic disorder, but most other disorders are equal. There is no difference in percentages between men and women having OCD for example, and that's the most severe of the anxiety disorder; men and women have the same chance of getting it. Yes, women get depressed much more often- that's been proven, too- but other than panic disorder, men and women are the same. The others may be right about men who have Generalized Anxiety Disorder not coming forward about their fears, but believe me, men who have OCD admit it- they'd be foolish not to, and have to live that hell...
-GatsbyLuvr1920-

Calling it "stupid pride" is the exact same as calling an eating disorder in women a "stupid self image"