Why do you feel that women are more anxious than men?

Hello, "Women are more anxious than men", although it is not absolute, it is also quite extensive. The reason for my analysis is:

1, mode of thinking

With the same education, the same economy, the same occupation and the same region, women tend to think emotionally, follow feelings and emotions easily and be delicate; Men tend to think rationally, and emphasize data, logic, facts and roughness relatively.

2. Physiological characteristics

Endocrine and so on will not be detailed one by one.

3. Socialization factors

Family division of labor, career choice, etc.

It doesn't matter how we feel or why we are more anxious. What matters is how we do it. Suggestion:

1, correctly treat the value of anxiety itself, and anxiety urges us to do something to change the status quo.

2. The underlying mechanism of anxiety is fear. What are we afraid of? Find it, analyze it, and take concrete actions.

3. Improve communication and win the support of more people.

4, anxiety is easy to cause sleep disorders, when anxiety expands into neurosis, please seek professional help in time.

The above is for reference only.

1

Are women more anxious?

We have discussed anxiety many times, and now it is called "the disease of the times", which is closely related to the uncertainty of our times. Compared with our parents, our life is faced with more choices and unknowns. What we feel in it is not more freedom, but often a negative and endless feeling. As Professor O 'Connor (20 17) said, anxiety is the result of uncertainty between "reality and possibility" and "present and future".

Each of us has experienced anxiety to some extent, but different people have very different experiences of anxiety.

Some people feel anxiety is physical discomfort (WHO, 2009; Testa et al., 20 13), such as nervous system symptoms such as dizziness, dizziness, or digestive system symptoms such as stomachache and diarrhea, as well as heart discomfort such as rapid heartbeat and palpitation. Others feel more anxious, such as fidgeting, easily angered, and always fall into unhealthy nostalgia, unable to concentrate (Smith, 2008).

In life, we always seem to hear more women complain/describe their experiences about anxiety. So, are women really more likely to experience anxiety? Many research data show that the answer may be yes.

In 20 16, the American Association for Anxiety and Depression (ADDA) showed that globally, the probability of women being diagnosed with anxiety was twice that of men. 20 1 1 a study on generalized anxiety (GAD) in Britain shows that women are more likely to feel anxious than men, and women have more anxious thoughts, including anxiety about health, anxiety about body and anxiety about social interaction. "They think that many worries are beyond their control, and they also think that they need to avoid worry and anxiety." In addition, many studies in the United States, Brazil, Europe and other countries show that the prevalence of social anxiety disorder in women is significantly higher than that in men (Sun&; Wang, 20 15).

2

Why are women more anxious?

1. Physiological reasons

Many studies have shown that men's and women's brains may respond differently to stress, and the latest research on stress response provides new evidence for this. Researcher Dr. valentino said that experiments have proved that the brains of female mice are much more sensitive to corticotropin releasing factor (ORCRF) than those of male mice, and CRF affects the norepinephrine system in the brain. "it will be activated when it is under pressure, thus awakening people.

In addition, the difference between male and female hormones is also the reason why women are more likely to feel anxious. Some studies have shown that anxiety is related to the hormone progesterone. For women who feel uneasy before menstruation, the increase of progesterone changes the normal function of anxiety inhibition receptors in the brain (zuckerman, 20 1 1). For postpartum women, the drastic changes in hormones after the birth of the child may also be the root cause of anxiety.

However, physiological differences are not the whole reason for the differences in anxiety levels between men and women, and social and cultural environment and family education also play an important role.

2. Social and environmental reasons

A. Stereotypes of women in society

Stereotypes refer to "generally accepted fixed impressions and prejudices against a group". There are four types of stereotypes about women and men in society (Family Planning, 2007):

The influence of stereotypes in these societies on women's lives is often beyond our imagination. People hold stereotypes to make "natural demands" on women around them, which often becomes the source of women's anxiety (not only others, but also many women themselves will use stereotypes to make demands on themselves).

For example, in an interview we did about women's workplace anxiety, several female interviewees said that they were worried that they could not take care of their career and family at the same time during pregnancy, pregnancy and childcare, and felt very anxious. At present, the requirements of society for women in the workplace are almost the same as those of men, but at the same time, family responsibilities will still fall more on women.

In addition, the impact of a good career on women's social evaluation is not as positive as that of men, but extremely subtle, such as "a strong professional woman, then her family must be very unhappy", and we can still hear many similar evaluations.

B. Gender discrimination puts more pressure on women.

In addition to stereotypes, gender discrimination in social life also brings more pressure and uncertainty to women's lives.

In the 1990s, in order to get the manuscript published, Joanne Katherine Rowling agreed to the publishing house's request and changed the name to be more masculine. Since then, J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter series have become household names. Until today, cases of discrimination against women in university enrollment and workplace recruitment are still common.

It is worth mentioning that the situation of workplace discrimination does not change with the change of female education. 20 16 the wall street journal surveyed the income of 446 occupations in the United States, and found that the average income of many female elites in the workplace was much lower than that of their male counterparts, especially those with high academic qualifications.

These discriminatory policies, events and even "hidden rules" have become obstacles to women's growth, and women have to face more (potential) pressures and produce more thoughts of worry and anxiety.

C. Social influences such as cultural idols

Compared with those female idols who are truly independent and confident, today, more cultural idols still conform to the traditional gender stereotypes and even "objectify women". For example, a large number of female idols and cultural celebrities in the media advocate that "men cheat because women are not beautiful/virtuous/patient", which has influenced many women to have almost harsh demands on themselves. Once such a requirement is difficult to achieve in daily life, it will become a conflict between "reality and ideal" in many women's hearts, and they will worry about "the negative impact that failing to meet the requirements will bring to themselves".

3. The influence of family education

In the family, parents often teach girls that "the world is terrible and full of danger". For example, when children want to play, parents will encourage boys to explore freely, but will tell girls to "pay attention to safety".

In addition, when children are very young, parents often underestimate the ability of girls and think that girls need help and protection more. Research shows that mothers spend more time watching boys play alone when they are with boys, and spend more time hugging girls when they are with girls.

This parenting model has an important influence on the coping mechanism of girls in adulthood. As an adult, I don't know how to face the pressure, and gradually I feel that the world is dangerous and I have no ability to cope with it, and I become more self-doubt and anxious (Romm, 2017; Sandberg, 20 13).

At the same time, many girls have been taught to be obedient, gentle and obedient since childhood. In the process of growing up, their inner real needs have been suppressed for a long time, and it is easier for them to conflict with reality and fall into anxiety in adulthood.

three

How should women deal with anxiety?

1. Try to label anxiety correctly.

Find your true thoughts

When you have anxious thoughts, first classify your thoughts and label them.

You need to distinguish whether this idea is imposed on yourself/your female identity by society or from your heart. For example, as an "older unmarried young woman", you may think that it is your personal choice to get married late, but in the surrounding voices of forced marriage and discrimination, you feel extremely anxious because you have no marriage partner. At this time, you need to calm down and tell. What are you really worried about? Are you eager to find a marriage partner imposed on you by the outside world, or are you really thinking?

Don't tie your mind. Think of your thoughts as a lot of data passing through your brain. It will be influenced by many different factors. We should selectively trust our own ideas. This process can help you avoid being trapped by the ideas themselves and make you more aware of the process of "what am I doing" and "why do I have these ideas". So you may realize whether there are other more objective and peaceful ways to look at the current situation.

2. Allow yourself to have anxious moments

When you feel anxious, don't simply and rudely say to yourself "Stop worrying and thinking" at once, but write down the anxious things and make a list (Smith et al., 20 16). When writing, don't judge your own thoughts, just simply write them down and tell yourself: don't be busy with anxiety first, and then read this list later. The advantage of this practice is to interrupt your state of being immersed in anxiety, and at the same time, it is not to suppress your anxiety blindly, but to express it appropriately.

Besides, you can also have a list to record your peace of mind and write down things that make you feel at ease and calm. When reviewing different lists/diaries, tell yourself that different emotions have their reasons and functions, and allow yourself to have these different moments.

3. Find important companions, especially real female role models.

In a society where gender stereotypes can be seen everywhere, women especially need to establish their own social support system and choose the right people to accompany them, rather than those who support gender discrimination and blindly demand women according to stereotypes.

For women's growth path, a truly independent and confident female role model is particularly important. The sense of faith brought by idols/role models helps women to strengthen their own path, believe in their own strength and not be affected by excessive external pressure.

Finally, we also want to appeal to everyone, including families, schools, enterprises and even the whole society, to adopt a more open attitude and create more friendly objective conditions for the birth of more female role models. In this way, more women have greater power to fight anxiety and realize greater self and social value.

Because women are more emotional than men, their understanding of things is more of a sense of self. In other words, the starting point for women to understand the problem is "what do I think", not "what should have been". The advantage is sensitivity, but the disadvantage is lack of rational analysis. Therefore, whether it is sensitive or emotional, it is more about touching one's own spiritual field than thinking field, and it is more likely to be anxious than men, which is reasonable.

For scientific reasons, men are more logical than women. Face the problem more rationally.

From the perspective of social factors, men and women have wider contact, wider shooting fields and richer experience, so they are more stable when encountering things.

From the family point of view, men are more responsible for giving care and love, so they are more tolerant and tolerant.

Emotionally speaking, men are easier to satisfy and compromise than women, and they are not as delicate as women, so they are simpler.

Materially speaking, men are less demanding and more purposeful than women, so they will not hesitate.

In terms of wealth, men are braver, more decisive and stronger, so they are more likely to succeed.

Ideologically, men are more creative, developed in constructive thinking, and have more foresight and vision.

In terms of achievement, men are more likely to be seen and recognized, so they are more likely to be proud and confident.

Of course, many women are better than men, but under social conditions and various constraints, women have to work harder to raise their offspring, which makes them more anxious.

Generally speaking, women are more sensitive, that is, more sensitive to perceptual feelings, while men are more rational and less sensitive to feelings. This is because men and women have different cognition and requirements in the whole social division of labor and social culture. Men should take on more responsibilities and be responsible for supporting their families, so the requirements for boys from an early age are strong, crying is worthless, not men, but gentleness, humility and consideration for girls.