New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- Anxiety disorders are those that affect our capacity to respond to the angst they cause in a normal manner. Even though anxiety can affect anyone, research consistently finds that it makes women more vulnerable than men, both to its presence and its intensity. This increased vulnerability is not due to a single cause but rather the dynamic interaction of biological, psychological and social factors.

We know not just one, but more than a dozen factors that determine how women experience and cope with stress-hormonal fluctuations, genetic susceptibilities, life histories and cultural expectations. After all, anxiety in women is much more than a mere statistic; it affects their lives personally as well, affecting ever...