Nature or Nurture? Do Men and Women Handle Stress Differently?
Everybody reacts to stress in various ways. Some people, regardless of gender, handle it better than others. The beauty, and sometimes frustrating part, of the human experience, is that we are all made differently. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences. Different genetics and medical histories. All of these things can be a factor in how well or not someone responds to stress. But I bet you may be surprised that men and women generally react differently to stress.
What Men And Women Have In Common When It Comes To Stress
Key hormones cause men and women to respond to stress differently. However, there are hormones that every single person has, regardless of sex. Both men and women have a hormone called cortisol in their bodies.
Cortisol is a stress hormone. This hormone is released into the body when it detects that there is a stressful situation. You can think of it almost in the same way that a fire alarm sounds off. A fire alarm can go off even when only a small amount of smoke is detected. Cortisol is extremely similar. Even when only small amounts of stress are detected, your body will release cortisol as a response to this. Too much cortisol in the body, over time, can cause someone to experience chronic conditions such as anxiety disorders.
Every person on the earth has been programmed with the fight-or-flight response. Originally developed by our ancestors bodies as a way to deal with life or death situations, it is not exactly useful for us in modern society. But still, the body retains this response system, regardless of gender. When the fight-or-flight response is activated in our nervous system, it responds to a stressful situation. When this response happens, cortisol is released—leading to feelings of anxiety, sweating, muscle tension, racing heart, and rapid breathing. However, how each gender responds to the fight-or-flight mode is pretty different.
How Men Respond To Stress
When men encounter stressful situations, they respond differently to the fight-or-flight response. For instance, men are more likely to become angry or argumentative, in other words, fight. Others will respond by reacting to stress through flight. When they are overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, they will try to escape by either being in a bad mood or sleeping it off. In other words, they try to flee from the situation. Both of these responses increase cortisol and blood pressure levels in a man’s body. This is where nature comes into play with reactions to stress.
How Women Respond To Stress
In general, women are programmed to respond differently to stress due to key hormones in their bodies. One of these hormones is oxytocin. Oxytocin is responsible for producing anti-stress feelings in the body and actually helps to reduce cortisol levels and decrease blood pressure. Here is where nurture comes into play with responses to stress. Life experiences such as pregnancy, nursing, and being primary caregivers for their children cause them to have a nurturing or caring response to their stress levels.
Are Men And Women Treated Differently For Stress/Anxiety?
The biological differences may cause different responses to anxiety and can’t really be changed. However, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Even though men and women respond differently to stress, treatment of stress and anxiety remains the same for each gender.
Receiving help for issues such as anxiety and depression is important. Instead of just masking the symptoms, it helps everyone get to the root of what is causing them to feel overly stressed time and time again. Let’s connect soon so I can show you how anxiety therapy can help both men and women thrive.
