Men are hardly braced in the current society, with the assumption of representing sexual hunkiness and supremacy obscuring their manhood. Men are forced to restrain their emotions and live with anxiety while accepting social taboos.
The modern lifestyle in particular has become enormously stressful. While it is true that the modern world has witnessed many unfathomable things turning into a living reality, it has also seen a rise in stress levels that have escalated. The pressure that comes with ensuring financial stability and loads of other factors have pushed men to such an extent that anxiety cases are continually on the rise. It comes as no surprise to see lots of men these days feeling overwhelmed all the time as a result of the expectations that come with modern life.
What are the common causes of anxiety in men?
Lifestyle factors and events
A major incident or a series of stressful life events, such as work stress or continuing financial worry cause excessive anxiety. Being subjected to rejection or humiliation, be it in work or a relationship can make you disconnected and worry a lot which again induces anxiety. Furthermore, other unpleasant life events, such as family conflict, trauma, or abuse, also trigger anxiety and a feeling of uneasiness where you can’t really speak your heart out.
Lack of sleep due to a hectic schedule
A stressful and hectic life often impairs sleep by increasing the time it takes to fall asleep and fragmenting sleep. In turn, lack of sleep can exacerbate panic attacks and anxiety symptoms. Lack of sleep might cause a biological reaction that makes you feel stressed and nervous. In fact, studies claim that tension and stress can create a neurological system reaction that causes you to take short, shallow breaths, resulting in carbon dioxide retention.
Hormonal imbalance
If your hormone levels become imbalanced (too high or too low), they can disrupt the body's regular processes, resulting in a number of issues, including anxiety. Anxiety can be triggered by a hormonal imbalance in two important hormones, serotonin, and cortisol. Imbalance in these crucial chemical messengers tends to disrupt or disrupt the mutual functioning of the brain and nervous system, which govern our moods, stress levels, and emotions.
How can anxiety prove to be a big challenge for men?
Anxiety can significantly and detrimentally impact a man’s everyday life, job, relationships, and general satisfaction. It can also emerge as an irritated, restless, and incapacitating stress response that can persist from a short span of minutes to even days.
Severe toll on mental health
Anxiety can have a negative impact on a man's behavior in general. You might feel like retreating from friends and family, find it difficult to go to work, or avoid going to specific places. An apprehensive feeling sets in and a sensation that the world is speeding up or slowing down accompanies that.
When anxiety creeps in, it can make it difficult for a person to focus and concentrate on daily tasks as well as cause social isolation and severe depression. You might feel like there is a sudden influx of something that causes the head and brain to feel flooded all of a sudden but without having the heart to speak it out.
Affects physical health
Not only does anxiety affect the mental health of a man, but it can also take a toll on the body in the long run as well. Anxiety has a substantial impact on the body, and prolonged anxiety raises the chance of acquiring chronic health illnesses. During times of anxiety, a person's breathing might become uncharacteristically quick and shallow, a condition which is often known as hyperventilation. You might feel as though you are not getting enough oxygen and may gasp for air when this happens.
In addition to this, blood circulation and heart rate can fluctuate as a result of periods of sudden bursts of anxiety. Long-term anxiety can pose a threat to the heart and circulatory system.
How can men overcome anxiety?
Get moving and exercising
Make it a point to be physically active on most days of the week. Exercise is an excellent stress reliever. It can boost your mood and keep you healthy in the long run. It is advisable to begin carefully and then gradually increase the quantity and intensity of your activities.
To get rid of anxiety, just move around, walk, jump, or lunge. Exercising or even dancing can aid in the release of the happy hormone named endorphins.
Meditate
Meditation is fantastic for slowing down and giving yourself time to compose yourself, especially if you're trying to control emotions like impatience and rage. It can also help you become more aware of how you feel and where you carry tension in your body.
Focusing on your breath is a simple approach to help your body relax, even if your mind and heart are racing. Slow abdominal breathing, or deep breathing, engages the part of your neural system that turns off the fight-or-flight reaction.
Talk it out
Feel free to a dear one about whatever is triggering your anxiety since keeping things to yourself just doesn't work. Sometimes the anxiety-causing stress that has been building up and plaguing you might be relieved simply by talking about it.
Talking through your problems might help you cope with things like stress and anxiety. Social integration enhances social support, which might reduce ill behaviors that follow stress, such as drinking.
Should men turn to therapy to cope up with anxiety?
Therapy is arguably one of the most effective ways to cope with anxiety. While this might certainly raise a few eyebrows, you have to understand that therapy offers relief in a way that you rediscover yourself and get to the bottom of what is bothering you. Therapy can assist you in identifying the underlying causes of your worries and fears, learning how to relax, viewing circumstances in new, less terrifying ways, and developing stronger coping and problem-solving abilities. Therapy equips you with methods for relief from anxiety and teaches you how to use them. There are two common forms of therapy that men can go after to attain relief from anxiety.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a sort of talk therapy that focuses on problem resolution and the achievement of particular goals. The problem-solving skills you will learn in treatment will assist you in identifying and addressing challenges caused by ordinary circumstances. This theory is made up of sessions that educate men on how to interrupt and change unpleasant or troublesome thoughts and behaviors that contribute to mental health problems.
Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy is based on the idea that sensations of fear and anxiety are produced by inaccurate thinking and avoidant behaviors and that learning to access more accurate thoughts and healthier behaviors would help to shift the feelings. The purpose of exposure therapy is to decrease a person's fearful reaction to an unpleasant memory or event. Overall, exposure therapy works effectively for anxiety that is associated with lots of tension.
Conclusion
Men are frequently expected and ought to be mentally strong and suppress their feelings. As a result, men these days fail to express what they go through in regard to mental health problems. Men are fearful of appearing "weak" if they seek help.
Your anxiety may make you feel as if no one knows what you're going through, but it's critical to realize that you're not alone in this battle. Talking to a therapist or reaching out to a trusted friend or family member can make all the difference in the world in terms of how you feel. For all the men out there, remember that anxiety can always be effectively treated and it is in your hands to speak it out to your near ones or a therapist to find the right cure.