Anxiety Symptoms in Women Ages 30 to 50: Common But Often Missed

Anxiety affects both men and women, children and adults, but tends to look different across the lifespan and depending on gender. Research shows that children and young adolescents tend to experience anxiety in the forms of phobias and excessive worrying, PTSD peaks in young adulthood, and panic disorders and generalized anxiety tend to rise towards late adulthood.

For women, anxiety is twice as common as for men, although men absolutely experience anxiety. Unfortunately, men are frequently overlooked in treatment and validation of their anxiety symptoms. Of the anxiety disorders – Generalized Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Phobias, PTSD and Social Anxiety – women are often found to experience all of these more commonly than men.

But what does it look like for women between the ages of 30 and 50? Are there symptoms you may be missing?

Anxiety Symptoms in Women Ages 30 to 50

Women in midlife tend to experience an increased propensity towards anxiety disorders, specifically panic attacks, generalized anxiety, and PTSD. There are several possible causes for this. Some researchers believe this to be related to hormonal changes brought on by motherhood, pre-menopause, and menopause.

The ages of 30 to 50 also create a unique time of life for women in which social and familial demands are at their highest. Many women succumb to the prevalent social expectation to be able to “do it all,” including raising children, maintaining homes, careers, and social lives. This expectation can lead to negative thought patterns commonly associated with anxiety.

For example, women often find themselves thinking, “This other woman looks like she has it all together, so should I.” Women are also more likely to have experienced some form of sexual or physical abuse or violence, which can lead to latent anxiety or PTSD symptoms.

Below is a breakdown of the symptoms for Generalized Anxiety, Panic Disorder and PTSD.  Highlighted are some symptoms you may not realize go along with these diagnoses and what you might be missing.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

• The presence of excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of topics, events, or activities.
• The worry is experienced as very challenging to control.
• The anxiety and worry are associated with at least three of the following physical or cognitive symptoms: restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge, being easily fatigued, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep), difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.

* If you are experiencing at least 3 of these symptoms on more days than not for at least 6 months, you are likely to be diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Commonly Missed Symptoms: 

Difficulty Concentrating

Many of my clients are aware that worrying about many different things often makes them a likely candidate for having “anxiety.” But often the physical and cognitive symptoms are missed, overlooked, or seen as “normal.”

My clients will often report that they just can’t seem to focus on what’s going on. They get started on a task and then a few minutes later they may realize, “Hey, I’ve been thinking about something else completely.” This can be very frustrating because it makes it difficult to get things done.

You may be finding your thinking actually distracted by worrying thoughts. But you may also just be unable to maintain focus through to the completion of tasks. Either of these could be signs that you are experiencing anxiety.

Sleep Troubles and Disturbances

For women and mothers, sleep is often one of the first things to go. With the list of things to do and people to take care of seemingly endless, women often get used to sleeping little.

However, here are some things to look for if your sleep issues are potentially anxiety-related: Your sleep is interrupted by internal thoughts or nightmares. You lay down at night and falling asleep is simply not coming at all due to an inability to shut off thinking. Or finally, you feel tired enough to sleep and your mind isn’t running but sleep is elusive. These are all possible signs that you’re experiencing anxiety.

Panic Disorder Symptoms

• Recurring panic attacks that include 4 or more of the following symptoms: Palpitations, pounding heart or accelerated heart rate, sweating, trembling or shaking, sensations of shortness of breath or smothering, feelings of choking, chest pain or discomfort, nausea or abdominal distress, feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint, chills or heat sensations, paresthesia (numbness or tingling sensations), derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself), fear of losing control or “going crazy,” fear of dying.
• At least one panic attack is followed by one month of: persistent worry of having more panic attacks and persistent behavioral changes related to avoiding an attack, including avoiding the situation that caused the attack or similar situations that could mimic the attack.

* A panic attack shows up abruptly and intensifies to a peak within minutes. It is diagnosed when four of the above symptoms are met and often can be missed because the symptoms mimic heart disorders, breathing issues, and other health problems.

Commonly Missed Symptoms

Accurately Identifying Physical Symptoms as Anxiety

When you are experiencing a panic attack, it’s hard to miss. The physical arousal symptoms are very noticeable and can be very frightening. However, interpreting them accurately is often more difficult. You might be experiencing chest muscle tension for days and be wondering if your heart is healthy. But having anxiety might not have crossed your mind.

The Fear of Recurring Panic Attacks

Another easily missed symptom is the fact that once you have a panic attack, you fear having another, and another. Clients will often mention to me that they find themselves afraid that they will experience the heart-stopping, loss of control feelings associated with panic attacks. They often feel terrified by this type of thinking, however, this is incredibly normal and part of the anxiety experience of a panic disorder.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

• Being exposed to death, injury, or violence in the following ways: Direct exposure, witnessing the trauma, learning that a relative or close friend was exposed to a trauma, indirect exposure to aversive details of the trauma, usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, medics)
• Reexperiencing the event in one of the following ways: Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, emotional distress after exposure to traumatic reminders, physical reactivity after exposure to traumatic reminders
• Avoiding thoughts, feelings, or reminders of the traumatic experience
• The following negative thoughts or feelings that began or worsened after the event: Inability to recall key features of the trauma, overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself or the world, exaggerated blame of self or others for causing the trauma, negative emotions, decreased interest in activities, feeling isolated, difficulty experiencing positive emotions

 

* Not all symptoms listed in each of the above categories have to be met in order to be diagnosed with PTSD, however they must have lasted for one month.

Commonly Missed Symptoms

Self-Blame

Women tend to take on more responsibility than they should for many things in life. This is often what leads them to be more likely to experience anxiety in general. However, this common tendency is often what puts them at higher risk for experiencing PTSD when they are exposed to a traumatic event. Feeling overly responsible for what happened, women tend to minimize their own pain or symptoms. This can often cause them to miss the fact that what they are experiencing is, in fact, PTSD.

Getting the Help You Need

If you are a woman in your thirties, forties, or fifties and you’re finding yourself struggling with any one of these common but easily missed anxiety symptoms in women, help is out there. You do not have to walk through this alone.

The decision to get counseling can be daunting as you battle the pressures to have it all together and be able to tough things out. My clients have often expressed how difficult it was to know whether counseling was right for them, and the majority have concluded that it has been helpful on so many levels.

Anxiety is such a treatable issue and an experienced counselor will help you figure out what symptoms are most important to focus on and equip you with the tools you’ve been looking for.