The WSJ has a good look at classic anxiety symptoms in men: Anger/Irritability, trouble sleeping, muscle aches, substance abuse.
Women, on the other hand, are more likely to verbally worry and say, “I’m anxious.”
So we often assume women are the anxious worriers, while men are the solid, strong quiet types. But researchers suggest men could be as prone to anxiety as women.
Yes, statistics suggest about 20% of men will have some kind of anxiety disorder during their life, as opposed to 33% of women.
However, there’s the obvious caveat to that disparity.
Researchers think that societal pressures and internal attitudes make men far less likely to admit and get help for their anxiety than women, which leads to significant underreporting.
One clue is that male suicide mortality rates are higher, and interestingly, research has shown that anxiety is a stronger predictor of suicide than depression. Particularly, anxiety mixed with conduct problems and substance abuse.
So the reasonable (though not empiric) inference is that if there are more fatal suicides among men than women, they might be more anxious than statistics suggest.
Of course, women attempt suicide, at a higher rate, so it’s a tricky thing to untangle.
But the point is that, whether you measure these things as either fatal or attempted suicide, the true rate of anxiety between the two genders are probably pretty comparable.
There’s a pretty sizable stigma for men with depression, but there’s an enormous one for men with anxiety.
Anecdotally, I know so many guys who might acknowledge they have depression, but would never say, “I’m a worrier,” or “I’m anxious.” It just seems too weak.
Personally, as well, it’s been so much harder for me to say, “I worry a lot” than “I’m depressed.”
A lot of cool guys we admire (the artists, writers, singers etc) have battled depression, so it seems manly enough. But we rarely read about men with anxiety.
Things are slowly changing, though.
Here’s a quick list of current male celebrities who’ve spoken about their anxiety.
Stephen Colbert (panic attacks), actor Clark Gregg (panic attacks), Ryan Reynolds (severe anxiety), Carson Daly (Generalized Anxiety Disorder –GAD), Michael Phelps (depression and anxiety), basketball player Royce White (GAD), tennis player Mardy Fish (“severe anxiety disorder”), basketball player Kevin Love (panic attacks, anxiety).
