Do Men and Women Worry Differently?
You worry too much” is a phrase women often hear from men. However, recent studies using new imaging techniques have identified different patterns of worrying. It seems that women DO NOT worry more than men. They just worry differently. When women worry, they tend to use both the right and left side of their brains. Men tend to stay within the left hemisphere, the analytical side of the brain. Dr. Vesna Pirec, a psychiatrist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago says, “With both hemispheres activated in women, there are many more types of emotional reactions. And women, in times of stress, also tend to remember many more details than men would.” It is tough to argue about “what really happened” with a women under stress. Therefore, women tend to express their worries differently than men. “Women have a greater tendency to brood, with a lot of [emotions] engaged in it,” says Dr. Joan Lang, chairwoman of the department of psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine. “Men
You worry too much is a phrase women often hear from men. However, recent studies using new imaging techniques have identified different patterns of worrying. It seems that women DO NOT worry more than men. They just worry differently. When women worry, they tend to use both the right and left side of their brains. Men tend to stay within the left hemisphere, the analytical side of the brain. Dr. Vesna Pirec, a psychiatrist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago says, With both hemispheres activated in women, there are many more types of emotional reactions. And women, in times of stress, also tend to remember many more details than men would. It is tough to argue about what really happened with a women under stress. Therefore, women tend to express their worries differently than men. Women have a greater tendency to brood, with a lot of [emotions] engaged in it, says Dr. Joan Lang, chairwoman of the department of psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine. Men have a
Men and women tend to worry about the same things and about the same amount, but it ends up hurting men more because they keep things bottled up, whereas women talk about it. What do children worry about? Adolescents worry about their personal appearance, their grades and achievement. Younger kids worry about personal security—robbers, kidnappers. The world has its dangers, for sure, but I think we have gone too far in telling 6-year-olds about rape, carnage, AIDS, war, disasters. Kids hear these stories and think it’s going to happen to them tonight. What steps can people take to control their worrying? The most important rule is to never worry alone. It’s very rare to get into a state of toxic worry when you’re talking to someone. When you feel toxic worrying coming on, pick up the phone, walk into the next room, find a colleague, a spouse, a friend. Second, get the facts. Very often toxic worrying is based on a lack of information or on misinformation. You imagine that the boss disa
