The gender divide is more noticeable when it comes to dealing with the stress — or even admitting to it.
Stressed women know it, live it and spend time trying to do something about it while men who are under the gun — not so much.
“I honestly think women are more attuned to it,” Pat Chang of Indianapolis, among those surveyed says. “I don’t think they really feel it more, but men bottle things up more and are less likely to express their real feelings.”
Stress happens when people perceive that the demands they face exceed their ability to cope. Some stress on occasion can be beneficial because it produces a boost that can fuel the drive and energy to get through tough situations.
An extreme amount of stress can be detrimental to health, leading to anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. Research has also proven that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity.
Men report being less concerned about managing stress. Women conversely think it’s more important to manage stress and believe they aren’t doing a good job of it, the survey finds.
“Men don’t place as much value on stress management as women. They don’t feel it impacts their health as much as women,” clinical psychologist Norman Anderson, the APA’s chief executive officer says. “Consequently, they’re not doing the things to help them manage it as well.”
“We know from many, many studies that social support is very, very beneficial for health, cardiovascular health and longevity,” Mara Mather, a professor of gerontology and psychology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles notes. “It could be that under stress, women engage in strategies that are more beneficial for health than men do.”
Women are generally more comfortable reporting stress. But he also says it’s possible that women just have more stress in their lives. “In terms of certain societal issues – gender discrimination, sexual abuse, traumas – women experience them to a greater degree,” Anderson says. “It may be true women are experiencing more stressful events and more of the things that lead to stress.”
In addition, more women than men use stress-reducing strategies such as reading, exercising or being with friends and family.
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