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Why Are Women 60 Percent More Likely To Experience An Anxiety Disorder?

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If you've ever felt the familiar pounding, racing heart, dizziness and shortness of breath that comes with a panic attack, you're not alone.

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions, affecting almost 20 percent of the U.S. population — and women are 60 percent more likely than men to experience an anxiety disorder over their lifetime.

That's what health reporters Carey Goldberg and Rachel Zimmerman focused on for the latest episode of "The Checkup" — the health podcast WBUR produces in partnership with Slate.

Guests

Carey Goldberg, co-host of WBUR's CommonHealth blog. She tweets at @commonhealth.

Mohammed Milad, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Behavioral Neuroscience Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

More

CommonHealth: Why Do So Many Women Have Anxiety Disorders? A Hormone Hypothesis

  • "Why do so many women suffer from anxiety? Is it something inherent in being female, are we more attuned to our moods? Or is that breath-clenching feeling of impending doom hard-wired?"

On Point: Medication And Female Moods

  • "Are American women being prescribed psychiatric drugs — anti-depressants, anti-psychotics — for normal emotions? We’ll hear out one psychiatrist’s bold claim."

This segment aired on April 27, 2015.

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