Understanding Anxiety in Women
Anxiety, sometimes called an anxiety disorder, is more than everyday stress. It is persistent, excessive worry or fear that interferes with daily life, sleep, relationships, or work. It can also manifest as panic attacks. At Lilac Psychiatry, anxiety is evaluated and treated by Natasha Massoudi, MD, MPH, a physician who specializes in women's mental health, so your symptoms are understood in the full context of your life rather than brushed aside as simple stress.
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety shows up in the mind and the body. You may recognize some of these:
- Persistent worry that is hard to control or turn off
- Restlessness, feeling on edge, or a sense of dread
- A racing heart, tight chest, shortness of breath, or nausea
- Trouble concentrating, or a mind that goes blank
- Irritability and difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Avoiding situations, people, or tasks that trigger the worry
Why Anxiety Can Look Different in Women
Anxiety is more common in women, and it is closely tied to hormonal shifts across the lifespan. It can flare with the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and through perimenopause and menopause. Many women are also told they are simply overextended or too sensitive, and their anxiety goes unnamed for years. Care that understands these patterns leads to a more accurate diagnosis and a more effective plan.
How We Treat Anxiety
Treatment is collaborative, evidence-based, and built around you. Dr. Massoudi is not a pill-pushing provider. As a physician who also provides psychotherapy, she may draw on talk therapy, practical coping strategies, lifestyle adjustments, and, when it is the right fit, medication. For some women that is therapy alone; for others, a thoughtful combination. The goal is lasting relief, not a quick prescription.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
Your first appointment is an unhurried 90 minute evaluation. Dr. Massoudi takes time to understand your history, your triggers, your goals, and the rest of your health before recommending a plan. Care is delivered entirely by secure telehealth across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida, so you can meet from wherever you feel most comfortable.
When to Reach Out
If worry is interfering with your sleep, your relationships, your work, or your sense of yourself, that is reason enough to reach out. You do not have to be in crisis to deserve support. There is space for your story here.
What to Expect in Care
A few things set Lilac Psychiatry apart, and you feel them from the very first visit:
- A physician who sees the full picture. Every visit is with Dr. Massoudi, so your anxiety is read in the context of your life, not treated as a checklist.
- Expertise built for women. Fellowship-trained in women's mental health, attuned to how anxiety shifts with hormones and life stage.
- No fifteen-minute rush. First visits run 90 minutes, so your worries get the airtime they deserve.
- Relief, not just a refill. Therapy, coping tools, and medication only when it fits. Medication is one tool, never the whole plan.
You do not have to keep pushing through it.
Physician-led anxiety care for women, from wherever you are.
FAQs
Anxiety usually comes from a mix of factors, including genetics, life stress, past experiences, and hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause. A thorough evaluation looks at all of these together rather than assuming a single cause.
Common signs include persistent worry that is hard to control, restlessness, a racing heart or tight chest, trouble concentrating, irritability, sleep difficulty, and avoiding situations that trigger fear. Anxiety affects both the mind and the body.
Research consistently finds anxiety is more common in women, in part because of hormonal fluctuations and in part because of the combined demands many women carry. This is exactly why care designed around women's mental health can make such a difference.
It depends on you. Some women do well with therapy and coping strategies alone, others benefit from medication, and many do best with a combination. Dr. Massoudi builds the plan around your needs rather than defaulting to medication.
Yes. Dr. Massoudi evaluates and treats anxiety entirely by secure telehealth for women in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida, including therapy and, when appropriate, medication management.