Persistent and unrelenting stress is called anxiety. Anxiety is an emotion often accompanied by various physical symptoms. These can include twitching or trembling, muscle tension, headaches, sweating, dry mouth, or difficulty swallowing. Some people also report dizziness, a rapid or irregular heart rate, increased rate of respiration, diarrhea, or frequent need to urinate when they are anxious. Fatigue, irritable mood, sleeping difficulties, decreased concentration, sexual problems, and nightmares are also common.
Major depression and dysthymia affect twice as many women as men. This two-to-one ratio exists regardless of racial and ethnic background or economic status. The same ratio has been reported in ten other countries all over the world.12 Men and women have about the same rate of bipolar disorder (manic-depression), though its course in women typically has more depressive and fewer manic episodes. Also, a greater number of women have the rapid cycling form of bipolar disorder, which may be more resistant to standard treatments.
