Addressing Anxiety Disorders

Women are more than twice as likely as men to have an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, according to the Office on Women’s Health. Common physical symptoms of an anxiety disorder include hot flashes, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, and nausea or an upset stomach. A person with an anxiety disorder may also have difficulty sleeping, concentrating or controlling their anxious feelings.

Anxiety is part of your body’s response to stress that helps you stay alert and do things like cope while navigating heavy traffic, asking for a raise or running into your ex. Typically, when the threat passes, so do your symptoms.

An anxiety disorder, however, is when you experience excessive anxiety over nonthreatening things to the point that it interferes with your daily life. Here are three types of anxiety disorders:

• Generalized anxiety disorder causes difficulty sleeping, upset stomach and muscle tension with excessive worry about family, health, money and work.
• Panic disorder describes terror when there is no threat, causing sufferers to feel impending doom or that they are having a heart attack, losing control or dying.
• Phobias include fear of specific things, such as heights, enclosed spaces or spiders, or social anxiety disorder (sometimes called social phobia), which can cause people to have panic attacks in social situations or feel they are being watched and judged.

What Women Can Do

While more research is necessary to fully understand why, hormonal changes during menstrual cycles may contribute to anxiety, according to the federal Office on Women’s Health.

Researchers also found that treatment with testosterone functioned similarly to antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications in women, suggesting men’s higher levels of testosterone may also play a role in their lower rates of anxiety disorders. For both men and women, stressful events or environments, such as abuse or trauma, can cause anxiety disorders.

Speak with your doctor about concerning symptoms of anxiety. Treatment options will vary but often include medication, cognitive behavioral therapy or a combination. Some women find that meditation or physical activity helps treat their symptoms of anxiety. Your healthcare provider can help you choose the best treatment for you.

Explore the Outdoors

Reducing your stress levels could be as simple as sitting in a park or other green space. One small study shows that spending as few as 20 minutes surrounded by nature can effectively lower stress and anxiety levels.

When you are feeling stressed or anxious, try walking in your neighborhood or on a tree-lined trail. Your goal does not even have to be exercise: Just the act of being in nature is enough. Sit in a leafy spot near work, enjoy a picnic in the park with your family or go camping for a weekend.

Has it been a while since your last check-up, or do you need a new physician? Call us at 317.565.0535 to request an appointment.

Sources: womenshealth.gov, nimh.nih.gov, psychiatry.org, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, heart.org, heart.org, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, sciencedaily.com, nami.org