Like the stress response , anxiety is a feeling most women recognize. Anxiety may seem to warn of threatening situations or possible danger. However, unlike the stress response, anxiety is what we feel when there is no real danger or threat . The mind and body cannot distinguish between threat and safety and will then mistakenly cue the sympathetic nervous system to start the body's stress response. According to the Harvard Women's Mental Health Watch , two to three million women experience frequent panic attacks.
Panic attacks are sudden, isolated periods of fear or discomfort.
From Panic Attack to Anxiety Disorder Millions of women experience an episode of intense anxiety or even a panic attack in their lifetimes. However, a few experiences don't automatically mean that a woman has an anxiety disorder. Women experiencing anxiety disorders undergo severe, even disabling episodes of anxiety for prolonged periods of time. There are several different types of anxiety disorders. A few that seem to affect women more than men are generalized anxiety disorder , panic disorder , and social phobia .