How Are The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Different For Women Than For Men?

Everyone diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder — which can be described as an anxiety disorder, a memory disorder, or a disorder of non-recovery — has to be plagued by certain symptoms after exposure to a trauma. But the exact symptoms and the way in which they manifest can vary greatly in different people. Some will be hardest-hit by reexperiencing symptoms like flashbacks or nightmares, for instance, while others really struggle with hypervigilance and angry outbursts.

Do men and women tend to suffer from different symptoms when they have PTSD — and if so, why? 

Men vs women: Who is more likely to develop PTSD?

Research has shown that men are slightly more likely than women to be exposed to trauma — probably in part because they are still more likely to choose professions in which traumatic events pose an occupational risk. Women, however, develop PTSD at twice the rate of men after living through a trauma. Their symptoms also tend to take longer to subside. 

Several factors may explain this:

• One would be that men and women tend to be exposed to different kinds of trauma, with women having a higher risk of assault, including sexual assault.
• Another would be that women  are more likely to respond to trauma, as it's happening, by dissociating. This coping mechanism has been shown to increase the risk of PTSD. 
• It is also interesting to note that the odds of post-traumatic stress disorder rise when trauma victims believed that their life was at great risk as the trauma was happening. Perhaps men have greater confidence in themselves when it comes to assessing their self-defensive capabilities in violent situations. 

Are PTSD symptoms and coping styles different in women vs men?

Men with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to:

• Display externalizing behaviors — that is, "acting out" rather than "bottling up". These would include aggression (among which the desire to hurt people) and attempting to cope with symptoms through substance abuse. 
• Become emotionally numb — unable to experience positive feelings. 
• Develop PTSD symptoms as time passes, rather than immediately after the trauma.
• Have an aversion to seeking medical and psychological attention for their symptoms. 
• Have have more severe symptoms than women after sexual abuse.

Women with post-traumatic stress disorder, on the other hand:

• Have a higher risk of being plagued by self-blame, in other words, falsely holding themselves responsible for the trauma.
• Tend to have more negative views of themselves, and also see the world at large as more dangerous after a trauma. 
• Have bigger odds of also developing major depressive disorder alongside PTSD. 
• May experience intrusion symptoms — that is, intrusive memories, flashbacks, and nightmares — more intensely than men. 
• Are more likely to talk about their trauma than men are — but when they don't, this predicts more severe PTSD. 

What does this mean?

Research into gender differences in coping styles, predictors of PTSD, and symptoms is not only fascinating, but may in future help mental health professionals gain insights that allow them to better tailor treatment to the individual. This could, perhaps, improve treatment outcomes. 

It's not possible, then, to make blanket statements about the way in which men or women experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Current findings don't have to mean anything for any individual person with post-traumatic stress disorder.

I am, for instance, a female who was diagnosed with PTSD after childhood sexual assault. I didn't talk about the trauma with anyone for a very long time. My avoidance symptoms were pretty strong, which minimized intrusion symptoms for a time. I was pretty reactive — that is, likely to lash out when startled — and emotionally numb. At first, I was an emotional "zombie", and PTSD symptoms emerged only later. All of these symptoms are more associated with men if we look at the list above.