Hi guys,
I've been posting on DS for a month or so and have noticed through many of the posts I've read that the majority of posters are women. This is consistent with current research that shows us that anxiety-sufferers are disproportionately women - some research says women are twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety disorders.
Since I am male, I would like to start a group that is specifically targeted at other men who suffer from anxiety disorders. I feel that our experience as men living with anxiety will show a common thread as we help one another through this challenging journey.
I've been down this road for the past 15 years or so - not as long as some, but long enough to be able to share some insight, lend an ear, and learn from those who've lived with it much longer.
Hope I get to hear from some of my fellow guys and hope that I can in some small way help someone else.
According to some statistics I've read suicide among males is increasing over women and a big reason for this in my view is the fact that men often times have to deal with emotional pain and issues like anxiety alone.
For men admitting to hurting or being vulnerable can invite criticism not only from other men but even women. Men are supposed to be the strong ones and be thick skinned but from my experience this is often not the case.
My father who was a Vietnam vet had many issues from the war and couldn't or wouldn't talk about it, that's what led to his suicide attempts which in turn affected me as a child.
I agree that as a culture, men aren't supposed to talk about all this "personal" stuff. Unfortunately, this culture is hindering recovery for a lot of guys.
I self medicated for years with alcohol before I would admit I had a problem with anxiety.
I was that guy at one point who pwas too proud to go to the therapist because then I was admitting I had a problem that I couldn't handle on my own.
I'm glad I looked past that, as the time I was in therapy helped me immensely. It taught me eventually to help myself via Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and learning to open up and share.
I suspect from having worked in the healthcare field that the number of Male anxiety sufferers is probably much higher because men won't seek treatment as often.
I've come to accept that sharing is part of the healing process and possibly enduring criticism is a risk that you have to take for the sake of recovery.
Keep on looking up. Thanks for sharing.