People who like things neat and tidy often say they have OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The easily distracted sometimes complain of “being” ADD, or attention deficit disorder. And those of us who are introverted may complain of feeling social anxiety at a party. But, most of the time, these people are simply having normal reactions to everyday stressors.
When people misdiagnose themselves or feign mental illness because they see it as a desirable quirk, it detracts from those who are legitimately suffering. According to Stefan G. Hofmann, director of the Social Anxiety Program at Boston University, social anxiety isn’t about feeling uncomfortable when meeting new people.
“The definition of a mental disorder is that it causes either significant distress and/or significant interference in one’s life,” Hoffman told The Atlantic.
“So you might be able to perform normally during daily life, but you’re terribly distressed around these social situations, such as meeting people, giving speeches, or doing things in front of people,” Hoffman said.
Bothered by the number of people who seem to wear their nervousness as a badge of honor, YouTuber Jessie Paege took to Twitter to show what social anxiety disorder actually feels like.
The powerful tweet has garnered over 250,000 favorites and over 77,000 responses at the time of this article. Most importantly, though, it empowered thousands of people to share their harrowing experiences with social anxiety.
Share image via JessiePaege/YouTube and Jessie Paege/Twitter.