My dear fellow females, I’m sorry to inform you of this, but . . .
You are twice as likely to have an anxiety disorder in your lifetime as men.
This is probably no surprise to you, and if you’ve dealt with anxiety before, just reading about your predisposition to it might make you feel, well, anxious. I’ve had several episodes of intermittent and (ugh) persistent anxiety, and the symptoms you experience are formidable. I’d rather have the flu for a month than experience anxiety for a week.
Everyone feels anxious from time to time — waiting for test results, prior to a big speech, or interviewing for a job. But this post is about anxiety gone rogue — anxiety that knocks you flat on your butt and makes you want to jump out of your own skin. This is the foot-shaking, sweat producing, breath stealing miscreant who reduces you to a shadow of your pre-anxiety self.