What are the most common behavioural disorders in women?

Behavioural disorders can affect any type of person – women, men and children. These types of mental health problems can sometimes go undiagnosed as sufferers are unaware that they are suffering from a diagnosable and treatable condition, thinking instead that what they are experience is linked to their normal personality.

Nevertheless, these types of conditions can have a knock-on effect on your personal wellness and recognising what they are is key to improving your wellbeing. The first thing to be aware of is that some types of disorders are more common in women. While men are more prone to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and schizophrenia, women are more likely to develop things like anxiety, panic disorder, depression and substance abuse.

Anxiety and panic often go hand in hand, and affects around 2.4 million people in the United States of America alone. They can be quite debilitating, as can depression which one in eight women will suffer from at some stage during their life. Post natal depression is a form of depression which affects women who have given birth.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common in both men and women and causes anxiety symptoms. It usually occurs after a traumatic event such as an accident, the loss of a loved one or being involved in a violent incident or subject to abuse.

More general anxiety disorders are less easy to pinpoint and often seem to be related to nothing at all. Women are twice as likely to suffer from this type of anxiety.

Eating disorders are also more common in women than in men, and can have a devastating effect on both mental and physical health. Anorexia, binge eating and bulimia are types of eating disorder.

Alcohol and substance abuse is on the rise in women, too. Due to the stigma attached to these (and all) types of behavioural issues, women often don’t seek help, when in fact medication and other forms of treatment can be highly effective.

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