More than 40 million American adults and nearly 264 million people globally suffer from an anxiety disorder. What makes it worse is that it is one of the most frequently diagnosed mental health disorders today. Additionally, anxiety affects men and women distinctively in terms of symptoms, causes, and types of anxiety.
This article provides you with detailed information about anxiety symptoms in men, its causes, and treatment options.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is the constant anticipation of fear, dread, and feelings of uneasiness. It might cause side effects like restlessness, increased heartbeat rate, and sweating. For example, a person may experience stress at work when dealing with a complex case, before taking the exam, or before making a decision.
Learn More: A Comprehensive Guide To Anxiety And Schizophrenia
What Are The Anxiety Symptoms In Men?
When understanding anxiety, a lot of people associate it with nervousness, heart palpitations, or even sweating. However, anxiety is much more than just feeling anxious and worried about the state and frequency of the anxious state. Furthermore, anxiety symptoms affecting males are not simply being worried or fearful. This kind of mental condition affects males in the following ways:
The physical anxiety signs in men include:
- Headaches
- Extreme sweating
- Agitation
- Restlessness
- Tension in muscles
- Lack of sleep
- Panic attack
- Breath shortness
- Vertigo
- Anger Issues
Emotional anxiety symptoms in men:
- Dread feeling
- Constant worrying
- Irritability
- Anger
- Persistent fear of losing control
- Fear of things going wrong
- Lack of concentration
- Avoidance
What are the types of anxiety that affect man?
There are five most common types of anxiety disorders:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD):
General anxiety disorder includes extreme worry, anxiety, and stress about ordinary daily events. There is no rational reason to be worried about, but males with GAD always try to foresee the future major disaster in life. They have anxiety over their financial well-being, their health, family, their association with individuals, and careers.
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD):
Recent studies show that men suffer from anxiety and associated signs more as compared to women. Additionally, males tend to develop social anxiety, which leads to significant disruption in their daily routine. Males diagnosed with SAD are more likely to avoid all forms of social contact and interactions to prevent the feelings of fear and panic that develop each time the patient is in social conditions.
Panic Disorder:
Panic disorder is characterized by clusters of episodes that are typically untimed and often seem to occur randomly or without prior warning. Such situations are always accompanied by intense fear and usually manifest physically as palpitation, chest discomfort, tremors, giddiness, Dyspnoea, or abdominal pain.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):
Post-traumatic stress disorder also referred to as PTSD, is a mental health condition that develops from a person going through a very traumatic event in their lifetime. This kind of psychiatric disorder appears in men as a result of exposure to severe accidents, natural disasters, war or combat, extraordinarily violent and unexpected death, or other traumatic event.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):
Obsessive-compulsive disorder results in compulsions and obsessions or repetitive thoughts and feelings that are so compelling that they compel men more than women into fulfilling the compulsion over and over again.
What are the causes of Anxiety symptoms in men?
Although how men might present anxiety symptoms is not the same as women’s, the causes of the anxiety are similar in both. Common risk factors for developing anxiety disorder include:
Genes:
If an individual has someone in the family with an anxiety disorder, then it becomes more probable that person also develops anxiety.
Stressful life events:
Anxiety can be caused by some life-changing events, such as the effect of trauma, the loss of a beloved one, a divorce, pressure at the workplace, and financial collapse.
Health problems:
Chronic or severe health issues may lead to anxiety. For instance, diabetes, cancer, lupus, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome are a few examples.
Lifestyle:
The cycle of stress and worry creates a chain of stressful events that never end, so chronic stress and worries could lead to improper diets, lack of sleep, inadequate amount of exercise, and substance abuse.
What is the difference between anxiety in men and women?
Anxiety is one of the most widespread mental health illnesses that can be observed in both males and females; nonetheless, it might develop differently in males and females. Recent studies indicate that it has not yet been fully assessed; however, specific disparities have been identified.
For instance, women within the society are diagnosed with nearly all sorts of anxiety disorders than men within the society. The only condition where this is not the case is social anxiety disorder, whereby the prevalence is almost equal for both genders. Women diagnosed with an anxiety disorder are more likely at some time in their lives to be diagnosed with another mental disorder.
Another significant difference lies in the way both genders deal with their anxiety. As per recent research, men tend to develop substance abuse behavior. In contrast, women tend to develop agoraphobic avoidance.
Learn More: The Effects of Depression on Mental Health
What are the best treatment options to treat anxiety in men?
The symptoms of anxiety in men, if left untreated, are very unpleasant and can significantly limit a man’s functioning. This raises some concerns, but there is good news for you. Anxiety is treatable. The cure can be in therapy, medication, a change of lifestyle, or even a combination of all these.
Medication:
Medication can be applied successfully for many men experiencing anxiety. However, before anything is given, it is also usually advisable for a doctor to check the testosterone levels of a man to determine if treatment with the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is effective for men with hypogonadism. In this case, if the testosterone levels are reasonably average, there are three basic categories of drugs for the management of anxiety in men.
- Antidepressants
- Benzodiazepines
- Buspirone
Likewise, for many mental health conditions, anxiety medication can sometimes take time before they get stabilized. Many times, a combination of psychiatric medicines will be most effective. Sometimes, medication alongside the therapy can result in the best outcomes.
Psychotherapy:
Specific kinds of psychotherapies are more effective than others in the management and treatment of anxiety in men. Each type of anxiety disorder requires a different kind of psychotherapy. Usually, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy are essential in the relief of anxiety symptoms in males.
How to help a man with anxiety?
There is a list of things you can do to help men with anxiety. The following is the list of some dos and don’ts:
- Live a healthy lifestyle. Healthy eating habits and regular exercise can help men overcome anxiety symptoms.
- Empathize with the affected person to ensure that they feel you are there for them to provide mental support.
- Help the sufferer to seek professional assistance to get rid of distressing signs of anxiety.
- Avoid putting excessive pressure on the sufferer.
- Accept the fact that anxiety takes time to go away. No mental health treatment can provide instant results.
- Avoid ignoring the sufferer as they can quickly develop negative feelings of isolation.
Concluding Remarks!
Anxiety is a mental health condition. It affects more than 40 million adults. The signs of anxiety in men are arguably different from those in women, and they include headaches, panic attacks, irritability, constant worrying, and many others. All these include GAD, SAD, PTSD, and OCD, and have different effects and causes, such as genetic and stressful life events. Even though it may be the case that men are more likely to develop a substance dependence to improve their quality of life. One of the essential steps is to find a professional who can help and ensure that constant care and attention are delivered to dealing with anxiety in men. Therefore, Solid Foundation Psychiatry is an ideal choice for getting rid of the rigid anxiety symptoms in men. We have a team of proficient mental health experts with ample knowledge of treating anxiety signs in men. So, wait no more and get in touch with our mental health platform to regain your mental stability.