Anxiety and anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health challenges for men. At least one in five men will experience an anxiety disorder. And that is considered an underestimate as many men often do not seek assistance and push through and find other coping.
My hope by providing this specific page for men, that there is more awareness of the symptoms and toll anxiety can have on men.
Anxiety can encompass a spectrum of disorders. Please see my page on Anxiety Disorders for more information.
What are common signs and symptoms of anxiety in men?
Most people feel anxious or nervous over things like making public speeches or tests, etc. (although I do have some nice treatments for those situations)
When anxious feelings or nervousness become so severe, they interfere with your ability to work, maintain relationships and get a decent night’s sleep, and decrease your sense of wellbeing and quality of life, it is time to get help.
Physical signs of anxiety may include:
- pounding or racing heart
- excessive sweating
- muscle tension
- restlessness or agitation
- dizziness, vertigo, wooziness, or feeling shaky or unstable on your feet
- shortness of breath or choking sensations
- insomnia
- panic or anxiety attacks
- Stomach pain and/or diarrhea
- Tremors or shakiness – internal feeling or externally seen
- Chest Discomfort or tightness
- Sometimes numbness in extremities or transient sensations
- Physical pains like stomach pains, jaw pain from clenching in sleep, and muscle spasms.
Emotional signs of anxiety may include:
- frequent worry about what could go wrong in the future or rehashing what went ‘wrong’ in the past
- feelings of dread, panic, or chronic worry
- concentration problems
- avoidance
- catastrophic thinking
- irritability, anger, or edginess or crankiness
- being overly cautious or vigilant towards danger of self or loved ones
- absentmindedness
- fear of losing control.
- Feel the need to check things like the door lock to ensure safety
- Fear of not being in control
- Depression
Anxiety and Depression often go hand-in-hand and it is difficult to separate the two. They often feed off of each other.
Please see the page on Men and Depression for more information.
My approach to helping men with anxiety and other mental health issues?
The goal is to improve your day-to-day quality of life, to be able to function better at home and work. This doesn’t happen overnight, so there are a number of steps.
- I do a deep dive into what may be causing your depression and other mental health issues. I conduct a thorough evaluation of present symptoms, medical history, labs, and imaging, and take the time to find out how your depression is showing up and affecting you in the present and past.
- I take a multi-systems approach and look at the genetic, biological, neurological, biochemical, hormonal, environmental, medications, nutritional aspects of what is going on for you and address whether they are contributing to your symptoms.
- I will address both the acute symptoms and the underlying root cause of the symptoms. This way you can get some more short-term relief while uncovering and treating the underlying cause of the problems.
- I integrate the best of both natural and conventional medicine for individualized treatments and care.
- I see you and treat you as a person, not a set of symptoms or a diagnosis!
If you or someone you know is in immediate distress or is thinking about hurting themselves, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You also can text the Crisis Text Line (HELLO to 741741) or use the Lifeline Chat on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.
Washington, California and across the US • tel: (425) 457-7799 •
Dr. Lara Litov | Online Doctor | Telehealth | Naturopathic Doctor | Integrative Medicine