Anxiety is described as one’s anticipation of a threat real or imaginary.
The Diagnostic Statistical Manual 5 (DSM 5), (a clinician’s bible) lists a number of anxiety disorders. The prevalence rates between genders for many are listed as equal or higher among females. Social anxiety disorder is no exception.
Yet, an interesting fact about social anxiety disorder is that during research in clinical trials more males appeared to have social anxiety versus females.
The highest area of social anxiety for males is interacting with individuals they are attracted to.
Why the discrepancy? One reason for this could be that men are less likely to use medical services such as a mental health therapist. Mostly likely because of the associated stigma of mental health therapy. It could be that experiencing social anxiety is normalized in our culture of men. Continue reading “Understanding and Managing Social Anxiety”