Men and Women Cite Different Life Stressors

A new study reveals that although stress is a normal part of everyday life, what men and women find most emotionally-taxing can be very different.

Polaris Marketing Research, a research company specializing in consumerism, polled 1,200 U.S. adults about their sources of stress. They found that men felt the most angst about work issues, while women were more likely to cite financial concerns, a lack of time, family problems, living situations and relationship issues.

Both groups said their number one way of unwinding is watching television, but from there, things were again split along gender lines — men were more likely to play video games, exercise or have a drink to help relax. Women tend to sleep, listen to music, surf the internet, socialize, pray, read a book, write in a journal or eat their favorite comfort foods to relieve stress.

As a whole, women perceive themselves to be more stressed than men overall, but reported reduced stress levels compared to a year ago.

The news wasn’t as good for men — they said they’re just as stressed-out now as they were last year.