Anxiety in Young People

How is anxiety different in boys and girls?

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health disorders among young people. Unfortunately, they are stigmatised, with boys often seeing themselves as 'weak' instead of mentally not well. Research has shown that adolescent males are not provided with enough options to seek help discreetly, which makes the problem worse.

Boys are more likely to experience initial symptoms such as headaches, nausea and muscle pain. They often deny and distract themselves from admitting they are struggling, which can be unhelpful in the long term.

What are some common experiences for young people with anxiety?

Many boys with anxiety have openly spoken about how difficult the stereotype of males is, that ‘if you are suffering from one of those [mental health problems] that you are weaker than everyone else’. Often, these boys have said they had struggled with anxiety symptoms for a long time before they realised it was anxiety. People first noticed their ‘heart beating really fast’, being ’nauseous all the time’ and ‘feeling very worried, just unnecessarily’.

A lot of young boys and adolescents also dismissed their symptoms initially until they got to a point where they couldn’t be ignored, saying that they ‘thought it’d go away’ and they ‘just went along with it’.

How significant are the social pressures for young people?

Anxiety is a common issue faced by children and teenagers. It has been observed that boys find it more challenging to seek help and support for their anxiety, particularly when dealing with social anxiety. On the other hand, girls tend to rely on standard coping mechanisms such as social support and problem-solving. This difference is attributed to societal pressures that discourage boys from expressing their emotions openly. Boys may bottle up their emotions because they fear being told to “forget about it” when they do try to open up to their male friends. Unfortunately, this normalisation of symptoms often makes it harder for boys to seek help in the future. 

What coping strategies do young people use, and what has been most effective?

Most boys in extensive studies have said that they found it most accessible to start talking to friends and family first and accessing information through websites like this before feeling comfortable enough to speak to a GP. Teen boys have said, ‘Seeking help is the toughest thing to do’ and it wasn’t until the people around them encouraged them to get the help that they began to consider it. It was also helpful to a lot of boys to start asking their friends or male figures in their lives if they had similar symptoms, as it helped them see anxiety as an important part of their lives and accept how they felt.