Today, nearly one in five Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder (Howard). However, only a third seek help because of the social stigma surrounding mental illness (“Facts & Statistics). Those with a disorder, especially men, often feel too ashamed and like a social pariah to admit to their anxiety so that they can get the help they need. Unfortunately, when people do not receive treatment for an anxiety disorder, it often leads to a plethora of other dangerous health issues like eating disorders and substance abuse. Western society unrealistically expects men to be strong, macho individuals who show no weakness. Any demonstration of vulnerability is perceived by society as less than masculine. On the contrary, society associates vulnerability with femininity. Women are thought of as more emotional and less rational than men. But comporting with stereotypical definitions of femininity carries with it another form of mental stress. Whereas men experience social pressures to be strong, women are expected to be unattainably beautiful and have no physical flaws. As a result, when women are unable to match the “perfect” beauty portrayed in the popular media, they experience selfdoubt and anxiety. While we, as a society, are becoming more progressive and beginning to abandon these unrealistic stereotypes, failure to comply with these outdated gender roles can still make the individual feel inadequate and anxious about their places in society. The competitive and cut-throat nature of our society has raised anxiety rates among both men and women significantly in recent years. Modern Western society causes men and women to experience anxiety differently, more intensely, and develop various other health issues if left untreated.

In the United States alone, more than forty million people have an anxiety disorder (“Facts & Statistics”). According to CNN Health writer, Jacqueline Howard, and in accordance with the rest of the mental health community, nearly 20% of Americans are burdened with constant anxiousness, obsessive thoughts, and panic attacks that often debilitate and hinder those affected from doing simple things like going to work or school (Howard). While it is possible to manage anxiety, only one-third of those with an anxiety disorder decide to seek treatment (“Facts & Statistics”). Rather, the vast majority suffer in silence rather than living their lives to the fullest and having a chance at finding happiness. Anxiety wreaks such intense havoc on the body, especially if left untreated, that anxiety-sufferers are “three to five times more likely to go the doctor” and also “six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders” (“Facts & Statistics”). Setting aside those who are fortunate enough to not suffer from an anxiety disorder or have a loved one who does, the economic costs of these disorders impacts society as a whole.  It is estimated that “anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year” in tax dollars (“Facts & Statistics”). As a country, we all have the potential to benefit from a decreased rate of anxiety in the United States.

The competitive and cut-throat nature of American society has raised anxiety rates among both men and women significantly in recent years. In Lindsay Holmes’s article, “13 Things Men with Anxiety and Depression Want You to Know,” she identifies an “obnoxious stigma” that exists regarding men’s mental health that makes them feel as though it is socially unacceptable for them to share their feelings with others (Holmes). Our society urges men to be unrealistically strong and brave and to conceal any aspects of themselves that could be portrayed as weak or feminine. Fearing emasculation, men tend to keep their emotions to themselves and suppress them, so when they experience anxious or depressing thoughts, they usually do not express how they are feeling because they have not been taught how to do so effectively or, more likely, they are too ashamed to. Because men often do not seek or proper treatment for their anxiety, they tend to cope by drinking, smoking, or taking illicit drugs (Vesga Lopéz). Thus, they have a higher risk of developing dependence on alcohol, drugs, or nicotine than women do. In addition, men with anxiety disorders are much more likely than women to develop an “antisocial personality disorder” and avoid social interactions because they feel alienated and misunderstood by a society that expects them to be “masculine” (Vesga Lopéz).

While society discourages men from being emotional and rather urges them to conceal their anxious thoughts, women are permitted – even expected – to be sensitive and constantly express their feelings. This aspect of the female gender role likely contributes to the much higher reported rates of anxiety in women than men. While women are statistically twice as likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder than men, the reliability of this data is suspect (Howard). There is a strong possibility that this information is inaccurate because of the number of men who do not seek treatment for their anxiety disorders. Many men are too ashamed or uncomfortable to report that they are suffering from an anxiety disorder. By the same token, because women seek counseling for their anxiety, they are more likely to have a “family history” of mental illness (Vesga-Lopéz). Women with anxiety are much more likely to cite “family history” as a basis for their condition, while men typically associate anxiety with a life event rather than a genetic predisposition. Furthermore, because emotional turmoil is more socially acceptable in women than men, at least in this country, women are more likely to seek help and receive support from friends and family, as well as mental health professionals.

Gender differences in anxiety expression begin to emerge in early childhood. Emily Anderson states in “Brave Men and Timid Women” that “by age six, girls are twice as boys likely to have experienced an anxiety disorder” and that these changes continue into teenage years as “adolescent girls report a greater number of worries” and are also “six times more likely to develop generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) than adolescent boys.” While studies have found that female youth are overall more anxious than their male counterparts, “childhood obsessive compulsive disorder is three times as common among boys until puberty” (Anderson). In adulthood, women tend to have certain anxiety disorders including PTSD and GAD while “gender differences appear to be least pronounced for social anxiety disorder (SAD) and OCD” (Anderson). Men and women’s contrasting societal roles play a significant part in why each gender is predisposed to certain anxiety disorders.

The combination of anxiety and the social pressures regarding female body image causes many women to develop an eating disorder. Typically, people with eating disorders have a “coexisting psychiatric and physical illness” like anxiety, depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that lies at the root of the problem (“Eating Disorders”). A study from 2004 revealed that “two-thirds of peoples with eating disorders suffer from an anxiety disorder” and also that “42 percent had developed an anxiety disorder during childhood” predating their struggle with an eating disorder (“Eating Disorders”). While it is more socially acceptable for women to come forward and seek treatment for anxiety or any other mental disorder, “only about one-third of those suffering” from anxiety actually do so while the rest of anxious Americans – nearly twenty-seven million people – remain untreated because of the shame caused by the stigma surrounding mental health regardless of gender (“Facts & Statistics”). In addition, many women do not seek treatment for anxiety disorders or eating disorders because they have not been taught to recognize when medical help is necessary like we have been with physical illnesses. For this reason, too many women leave their anxiety untreated and allow more problems like eating disorders to develop.

While women who do not seek treatment for their anxiety are more likely to develop an eating disorder, men are more likely to succumb to substance addiction or abuse. According to the traditional stereotype, men are expected to be stoic and strong. Displays of emotion are perceived as weak. Because therapy for anxiety typically begins with talk therapy revolving around the patient’s feelings, many men avoid seeking treatment for their anxiety. Men are simply uncomfortable discussing their feelings in the manner that women are accustomed to and have not been taught how to express themselves effectively. Without treatment, these men with undiagnosed and untreated anxiety disorders will continue to suffer, and their conditions will worsen over time. To relieve the pain, many men turn to substances like alcohol and other drugs to self-medicate and, eventually, become dependent upon these substances to function. Addiction creates another set of mental health problems for which men may or may not seek treatment.

If social expectations of men and women could be modified so that they did not encourage men to have no mental flaws or weaknesses and women to perfect bodies with no physical flaws, these extremely dangerous disorders would be far less likely to develop in people with preexisting anxiety disorders. However, because that is the current state of our society and will likely not change in the near future, we should, at the very least, take strides towards making mental health less taboo and encourage those suffering to seek help so that more problems do not develop. Once issues do emerge, treatment is much more difficult and complicated because “recovery from one disorder does not ensure recovery from another” and both illnesses will need to be addressed separately (“Eating Disorders”).   

Although society plays a large role in why men and women experience anxiety disorders differently, there are some genetic factors that also contribute on a smaller scale to this gender divergence.  “Genetic factors are estimated to account for up to one third of the total variance” of phobias in people, especially phobias involving animals (Anderson). In addition, women are much more likely than men to site a genetic factor to play as the cause of their anxiety while men tend to develop anxiety based on environmental like stress at work, for example. Also, “research with child and adolescent samples consistently shows higher heritability estimates for fear and phobias for girls than boys” which further proves the genetic heritability of anxiety disorders in women (Anderson). While social issues in today’s America have a larger effect on the gender differences in anxiety disorders than genetic factors do, they “correspond with a differential genetic predisposition to anxiety disorders or their vulnerability factors” (Anderson). In order to reduce anxiety rates in America, we need to focus on resolving the problems within our society, but we must also recognize the other factors like genetics that cause anxiety that we do not have the ability to change.

Not only do Western sexual stereotypes cause men and women to suffer from anxiety in different manners, they also create a toxic environment that perpetuates anxiety in both genders.  “People younger than 35 in North America and Western Europe” are more likely to experience an anxiety disorder than any other place in the world because of the nature of our societies (Howard). The increased stresses of the last several decades “such as ongoing economic recession, wage inequality, political polarization, and environmental pollution” have caused the American population to experience higher rates of anxiety than ever (Bourne). The fast-paced, high-stress societal condition of our country has had a disastrous impact on the mental health on more than 20% of the United States (Howard). In her TED talk, “Anxiety: Hibernate, Adapt, or Migrate,” Summer Beretsky, an anxiety sufferer herself, discusses the poisonous environment created in our country in recent years that promotes intense competition, unrealistic beauty standards, and a plethora of other harmful stereotypes and prejudices. Beretsky proposes that, if we, as a society, place more importance on being supportive and accepting of individual differences, we could significantly reduce anxiety and stress among people in the United States.  While it is true that competition is an important aspect of the American identiy, she posits that it is entirely possible to be competitive while still maintaining respect and showing consideration for the well-being of other member of society.

As human beings, we subconsciously perpetuate and worsen anxiety for both men and women in various ways. Fortunately, we have the power as a society to significantly decrease anxiety in both men and women if we become sensitized to how we create anxiety through our stereotypical views. Clinging to outdated social expectations has wreaked havoc on the mental health of both men and women alike. We must resist the temptation to place the blame on “society” as a whole without accepting the blame and responsibility ourselves as individuals who make up that society. Luckily, as members of Western society and American citizens, we have the power to alter and ameliorate the social conditions in which we live. Once we recognize the role we play – although often unwittingly – in perpetuating toxic stereotypes and prejudices about each gender, we can make strides towards eliminating the anxiety that is fed by failure of men and women to meet those expectations. Even minor behavioral changes could make a huge impact.  For example, we could focus less on women’s outward appearance and pay more attention to their intellect and compassion. By doing so, we could reduce the likelihood that women would develop anxiety about their inability to control their appearance, and thereby, reduce the incidence of eating disorders. We could also encourage men in our lives to open up about their feelings rather than suffering in silence. Most important, we could teach children at a young age how to talk about their feelings effectively and to recognize that there is no single “right” way to feel or to look. If we can eradicate unhealthy gender roles and, instead, consciously decide to be supportive of each other’s individuality, we can lift the burden of “correct” behavioral expectations in women and men and decrease the rate of anxiety disorders in this country. In doing so, we have the power to save our government billions of dollars and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans.

