Anxiety in Men
Anxiety is a physiological and emotional experience that can range from a typical and normal response to more debilitating and persistent experiences that may indicate a mental health diagnosis.
Typical response to everyday stressors such as changes in relationships, giving a public talk, or adjustment to loss or even gain, give us anxious feelings in the body and mind and typically go away with time or employing simple coping strategies. More debilitating responses to stress like chronic worry, interruption of day to day functioning, or behaviors that cannot be thwarted or stopped in response to stressors may require a higher level of intervention including psychotherapy, significant changes in lifestyle and/or prescribed medication by a qualified mental health practitioner.
Some of the signs of anxiety include the following:
Restlessness
Difficulty concentrating
Muscle tension
Sleep difficulties
Sudden periods of intense fear
Pounding heart
Sweating
Trembling
Shortness of breath
Chronic Worry
Feeling of impending doom
Panic Attacks
Negative assessment of future outcomes
Feeling “keyed up”
Anxiety for men in particular, may take the form of believing there is something weak or significantly deficient about you or your mind. This is not true and unfortunately, that idea can prevent you from seeking help, furthering the anxiety symptoms. For some men, the idea of talking about fears, feelings, and emotions is tantamount to increasing the anxiety or becoming weak an ineffectual. Instead, what we know about effectively dealing with anxiety informs us of the opposite—that learning how to communicate and express your fears and emotions, decrease the symptoms of anxiety itself.
Examples of possible stress, worry & anxiety:
You received a frightening, health diagnosis
You are having a financial setback
You have a deadline that you just cannot meet
An important relationship in your life is in trouble or has ended
A global pandemic is disrupting your day to day life.
You feel frozen in fear about one or more things in your life.
Your work is on your mind 24/7.
The first steps toward a way out of anxiety is to acknowledge, accept, and communicate what is going on. Asking for help from a loved one or a professional mental health practitioner will help you have a place to communicate and leave behind, many of you fears and concerns. You might also benefit from understanding what you can expect and what is normal with regard to your responses. Even writing down your fears and worries each day has been show to help decrease anxiety.
Men Who Are Anxious (but can apply to anyone as well):
Admit your fears
Seek help from a psychotherapist
Write down your anxious thoughts and worries
Take action over thought. In other words, when you are on the fence, take action to address your feelings (ie; go to gym, take a walk, listen to music, pray, tell a loved one how you are feeling, distract yourself, etc).
Focus on 3-5 things that you are grateful for each day (do first thing when you wake, and last thing before you sleep).
If you are someone with faith, or would like to be, focus on praying to God for peace of mind and heart.
Resources:
Stress, Worry & Anxiety, FT Beacon
What is Anxiety, by re:MiND
From Stressed To Centered: A Practical Guide To A Healthier And Happier You, by Dan Guerra
