Men or Women

[olderfella]

Is anxiety and panic attacks more common in men or women a quick look at profiles tells me there are far more women sufferers on here than men is that because its women who are affected more or is it that men dont like to come to forums like this and admit they have anxiety.I must add when i first started having anxiety and panic attacks i was afraid of people finding out thinkin they may label me a looney but know i dont care who knows,my gp said that here in the uk we tend not to talk about mental illness as openly as they do in other countries.Anyway back to the original question is this illness more common in women or men:)

[Anxious_gal]

well from what I have read agoraphobia is 4 times more common in women.

theres so many different sub category of anxiety too,

personally I find my male friends to be very calming n seem to get less stressed out.

Also I feel PMS and hormones changes play a bit role in woman and anxiety.

http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/genderwomen/en/

"Depressive disorders account for close to 41.9% of the disability from neuropsychiatric disorders among women compared to 29.3% among men.
Leading mental health problems of the elderly are depression, organic brain syndromes and dementias. A majority are women.
An estimated 80% of 50 million people affected by violent conflicts, civil wars, disasters, and displacement are women and children.
Lifetime prevalence rate of violence against women ranges from 16% to 50%.
At least one in five women suffer rape or attempted rape in their lifetime."

[PoppyC]

I think you get to hear more about women suffering because men tend to not express their emotions as much - not all men, but a lot . As Mishel says PMT and female hormones do make anxiety and mental health issues worse. I know when I have 2 weeks of PMT, than by the time comes around I am almost insane. I have PMDD (Pre Menstral Dysphoric Disorder)and anti depressants help.
A lot of men equate showing their emotions as a sign of weakness, which I think personally is mad.
I did read that women do tend to have agoraphobia more than men, but then if men don't reveal how they feel, then maybe those figures are not so true.

[caz1625]

From what I have read it is more common in women.

I agree with you about the being labelled a looney...........it used to really bother me what people thought. Now the older I get the less I care. My family and friends know I am a good person so what does it matter what a stranger thinks of me :D

I do think that woman are more likely to talk about their problems than men which is probably why there are more women on the forum.

Carol xx

[Martin Burridge]

Very true. Men do seem to be embarrased about their anxiety.

Anxiety problems after childbirth are quite common so may explain some of the reason for the gap.

[Anxious_gal]

I would assume the suicide rates in men is high because.
some men don't like asking for help and could get actually get less support because they are male.

[Vixxy]

I would imagine a man would feel like a wuss for admitting they have a problem, so they dont come forward in case people laugh at him. Totally not the case, but I can totally understand where that comes from.
Of all the support groups Ive been to, there were usually a 50/50 mix of men and women. Although the women were of all ages and the majority of the men were older.

[Xavier]

I'm a man with panic disorder, and I don't really tell anyone much about it, because I feel too embarrassed.
I generally make a lot of effort to hide it which probably makes it worse.
Do most people normally tell other people?

[Vixxy]

I tell people because Im a very open person. Which is code for talks too much :p
Ive just found it easier to tell people then I dont have to worry about them fussing if I start acting wierd.

[caz1625]

I never used to tell anyone............but as I have got older I do now and you know what it's amazing how many people say "oh my mum, aunt, sister, brother etc suffered from that". They actually don't look at you as if you are a looney :yesyes:

Carol xx

[Xavier]

I never used to tell anyone............but as I have got older I do now and you know what it's amazing how many people say "oh my mum, aunt, sister, brother etc suffered from that". They actually don't look at you as if you are a looney :yesyes:

Carol xx

I am definitely gonna start telling people more because it might actually help it.
Because I worry about what people think if I act weirdly because of the panic it makes me more stressed and I have occasionally made up things to cover it up.

[olderfella]

PoppyC you link some of the illness to pmt etc which one would assume indicates hormonal inbalance,then Vixxy says at support groups the men are usualy older,this leads me to the conclusion that the men could be suffering from andropause,which is acknowledged in the states but was dismissed by one of my doctors as unproven, as men age we produce less androgens and testosterone its common knowledge and cant understand why the british docs dont open their eyes and minds women can get hormone replacement therapy im sure alot of men suffering from depression,anxiety and panic would benefit mentaly from recieveing androgen replacement.Can i ask have any of the older ladies had hrt and felt mentaly stronger after recieveing it?:)

[Jaco45er]

I read somewhere that it's 50/50. But women are 4 times more likely to seek help and recover.

[European]

Yes, I should think that women are considerably more open about it, which means they feature higher within the statistics, but that men are generally very embarrassed and quiet about it. After all, an anxiety disorder doesn't really do much to affirm one's masculinity, no matter how ridiculous and unrealistic this ideal of 'masculinity' might be in the first place....

I remember telling a few assorted people when I came down with the panic disorder almost 15 years ago, and there was a lot of prejudice and lack of knowledge, empathy and understanding. Even one of my professors at university, when I answered his question why I was always sitting at the rear of the class next to the door of the lecture theatre all the time, just laughed in my face: "What?! Panic attacks?! A big bloke like you?!"
Which was uttered with a good degree of derision, and needless to say not very helpful apart from that.

I have to admit I struggled a lot with this, and felt ashamed and embarrassed for years and years because of it. I can totally understand why other men keep quiet about it and suffer in silence, or turn to drugs and alcohol, thus multiplying their problems manifold. Or if they indeed turn to suicide, rather than a therapist, as a last resort....

It's only recently that I've come to terms with my panic disorder and started to believe that suffering from panic attacks doesn't make me any less of a man.
Because, looking at it rationally and realistically on an everyday basis, it just doesn't!

[Meewah]

Hi I did a pole sometime ago as I felt a little lonley when it came to anxiety. Here is a link to it.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24400