Anxiety in Men Is More Common Than You Think

For many of us, the concept of anxiety in men is a bit unfamiliar — after all, our society loves to perpetuate the narrative that men are ‘too strong’ to have negative emotions, that the more likely problem with men is the difficulty their partners often have getting them to open up.

The implications of toxic masculinity aside, it is true that men experience anxiety less than women, according to statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health: while 23.4% of women experienced anxiety in the past year, only 14.3% of men had anxiety symptoms.

But there are two important things to note from those statistics:

1. 14% is still a lot of men experiencing anxiety, especially given how rarely we as a culture associate anxiety with men, and
2. These are just the reported cases of anxiety — anxiety can be difficult to identify in oneself, which means many people don’t seek treatment until their symptoms escalate dramatically, and even diagnosed cases of mental disorders are often underreported.

Both men and women can experience anxiety, and there’s absolutely no shame in seeking treatment. In fact, the sooner you can get help, the better. It’s estimated that around 31% of adults in the United States will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, so if you’ve been feeling anxious, you’re not alone.

Types of anxiety disorders

The broadest anxiety diagnosis is generalized anxiety disorder, which is characterized by excessive nervousness or worry for most days over a period of six months or longer. Often, when people refer to anxiety as a mental illness, they’re referring to generalized anxiety, but there are some more specific diagnoses that it’s worth being aware of as well.

Social anxiety disorder, formerly known as social phobia, is the diagnosis for people who suffer from intense anxiety around gatherings, performances, or social situations. People with social anxiety are plagued by worries that others will judge their behavior negatively, and their fear can be so strong that they avoid social situations altogether.

Panic disorder is marked by recurrent panic attacks — sudden, intense moments of fear that often cause heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and sweating (among other symptoms). People who suffer from panic disorder not only experience the panic attacks themselves, but also often feel anxious about when the next attack will hit.

All of these anxiety disorders (and more) can just as easily occur in men as in women or nonbinary people. Depression and anxiety, just like other mental health conditions, don’t discriminate. If you’re concerned about your mental health, check out the symptoms below to see if you might need to seek treatment. 

Anxiety symptoms in men

Common symptoms of anxiety across all genders include:

In addition to the above symptoms, because of social pressure to seem ‘tough,’ men may be more likely to experience their anxiety in other, more socially acceptable ways, such as:

It’s worth noting that anxiety doesn’t always show on the outside — one of the major signs of high functioning anxiety is a disconnect between how happy and successful you appear on the outside and how anxious and distressed you feel on the inside.

Seeking help for your mental health is difficult enough without added social stigma in the way, but it’s always worth improving your quality of life. Therapists created Youper to make mental healthcare accessible to everyone. Youper is a mental health chatbot that guides you through interactive CBT Therapy exercises to help you calm anxiety, improve your relationships, be more productive, and improve your mood. Youper is available on your own time and schedule wherever and whenever needed.