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Anxiety Symptoms in Men

If you often feel anxious, you may have a generalized anxiety disorder. This is far different from the nervousness or anxiousness you might feel in a tense situation. With an anxiety disorder, these feelings manifest without basis or go beyond the scope of the circumstances. Sometimes, anxiety can be so intense that it becomes debilitating. For men, an anxiety disorder is not unlike those in women, as both sexes often have the same signs and symptoms.

  1. Cognitive Disruptions

    • For most men, an anxiety disorder causes some sort of cognitive disruption. It may be nervousness or anxiousness; it may also be a fearfulness, irritability, impatience or edginess. However it manifests, it won't be appropriate for or warranted by the situation alone; this anxiety is often excessive and usually focused on certain facets of your life. While this psychological state can come and go, it frequently distracts a man's thoughts and hinders his level of concentration, affecting day-to-day activities.

    Sleep Disruptions

    • An anxiety disorder can also cause sleep disruptions. When a man feels heightened nervousness, anxiousness or edginess directed toward his life, his thoughts will be occupied and racing through his head. This makes it difficult to relax, causing restlessness and insomnia.

    Fatigue

    • When a man is having an emotional response to his anxiety disorder, he often begins to feel fatigue or exhaustion, partly because of his inability to sleep but also from the toll the actual emotion is placing on his body. Normally, some sort of stimulus triggers an emotional response, causing hormones such as adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol to be released into your body. This prompts a rise in blood pressure, a racing of the heart and a tensing of the muscles, all in preparation to fight or take flight. With an anxiety disorder, the preparation never ends, which wears you down.

    Digestive Disturbances

    • It is also common for a man to have digestive disturbances while dealing with an anxiety disorder. For some men, it means an upset stomach and a loss of appetite. For others, it involves nausea and diarrhea. These responses are reactions to stress and hormonal changes caused by his psychological state.

    Respiratory Disturbances

    • Men with anxiety disorders frequently have respiratory disturbances, especially at the height of the emotional response. As blood pressure and heart rate change, a man can feel the effects in his lungs: a shortness of breath or an inability to catch his breath. Short of oxygen, he may feel lightheaded, dizzy or even faint.

    Other Common Symptoms

    • If you think back to a point where you were extremely nervous, anxious or scared, you most likely sweated a little. Now multiply that feeling by 10, and think how much perspiration that means. It's excessive. A man with an anxiety disorder also commonly gets headaches directly after the emotional response.

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