Do Men And Women Tackle Resis tance Differently?

Do Men And Women Tackle Resistance Differently?

You may be surprised to find out that mental strength, defined as a combination of resilience – the ability to bounce back from setbacks and failures; and confidence – the ability to spot and seize opportunities, is pretty much gender neutral.

However, scientists have discovered approximately 100 gender differences in the brain between men and women and there may be one sex with a marginal edge to coming out the other side of life’s trials and tribulations.

Psychology Today explains how the two sexes are very different. It seems as though men and women are capable of being equally mentally strong, with women tending to be more resilient and men being more confident overall.

So, what makes us so different?

Male brains use seven times more grey matter for activity, while female brains use ten times more white matter.

Grey matter areas are informationand action-processing centres of the brain, translating to a kind of tunnel vision when males are busy doing something. Once they are engaged in a task or game, they may not show much sensitivity to others and what’s going on around them.

You might say, men are able to shut down and focus, once they are in that mindset, more than women. When coming up against resistance and blocks, it may be true that men can dig in and do what needs to be done without being distracted.

“Male’s unwillingness to talk about failure and frailty can be seen within the animal kingdom, too. Sick male animals hide because it’s threatening to show illness.”

White matter is the networking that connects the brain’s grey matter and other processing centres with one another. This is why girls tend to more quickly transition between tasks than boys do.

Both sexes have different ways of processing neurochemicals. Serotonin, helps us sit still; testosterone, is our sex and aggression chemical; estrogen, is the female growth and reproductive chemical; and oxytocin a bondingrelationship chemical.

Males testosterone levels tend to make them less inclined to sit still for as long as females and tend to be more physically impulsive and aggressive. Additionally, males process less oxytocin than females, so they need different strategies to manage stress to women.

Women absorb more sensory and emotive information than males do. This can lead to overwhelm or sensory overload (sometimes shown as emotional). Males reflect briefly on an emotive memory and then move onto the next task. They may also change course and do something active and unrelated to feelings rather than analyse their feelings at all.

This is why we often hear that men ‘avoid feelings or move to fixing things too quickly.’ But, it’s how they are wired.

It’s not as simple as ‘women are more resilient than men.’ One could argue ‘til the cows come home which sex is under more stress and who can cope better. Studies have shown that women do actually ‘worry’ about a larger variety of things than men do. Especially in recent years, where women are holding so many more responsibilities such as child rearing, career, household and more of the emotional load within families. As well as what society loads on women.

Women, however, appear to gain more resilience than men because they develop richer social networks, which are supportive and very open. They discuss things like their relationships and their children, whereby men prefer to discuss that are easy to speak about. This is the pivotal component to women finding more resilience in their life stresses.

“Male’s unwillingness to talk about failure and frailty can be seen within the animal kingdom, too. Sick male animals hide because it’s threatening to show illness.”

Different strategies

A complex study on the sexes reactions to stress by The American Psychological Association, shows that both groups manage their stress in very different ways.

Women are far more likely than men to say they read to manage stress or spend time with friends or family, when stressed. Women are more likely to eat and feel that they ate too much or eaten unhealthy foods when stressed. Significantly more women exercise only once a week or less and say it’s because they are too tired, when stressed.

Both genders cite lack of willpower as the No. 1 barrier to change.

Women are more likely than men to cite lack of willpower as a barrier preventing them from making the lifestyle and behavior changes, such as diet and exercise, recommended by a healthcare provider, so when it comes to resistance of a physical nature, women tend to fall short on the willpower here.

Women say less fatigue/more energy and more confidence in their ability to improve their willpower would be the reason to combat blockages, as well as encouragement from friends or family.

Six times as many women as men say that having more help with household chores would allow them to improve their willpower to overcome challenges.

Men are more likely to play sports or listen to music as a way of managing stress. They are also more likely than women to do nothing to manage their stress. Men are far more likely to exercise when stressed

So, what does all that mean?

Females are great multi-taskers, bigger worriers, better at socialising to get past blockages and challenges life throws at them and don’t manage stress too well when they are struggling with it. Overeating, a sedentary lifestyle and lying in bed thinking about everything, enduring emotional outbursts are fairly typical responses to women facing difficult challenges.

Men excel in highly task-focused projects. Naturally have tunnel vision and detach from emotional issues easily, perhaps dont bounce back from their struggles so well, due to a lack of social openess and a willingness to admit frailty. They do manage stress well, while in it by keeping physical, but can feel angry and isolated.

However, both genders are capable of rising to the resistance they may encounter in life. Women, however, come out on top by having a stronger ability to talk, share and find help to navigate the path toward their goal. Their natural social skills and need for open communication and sharing their thoughts mean they reach out to family, friends and trusted advisors without hesitation, which is shown to be the ost effective way of managing challenges.

Get talking, men!