[ SECRET POST #2636 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2636 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Pinocchio]













Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 086 secrets from Secret Submission Post #377.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

I'd never even met anyone with an anxiety disorder until I encountered fandom, and then it was like 90% of the population suffering from it are on Internet or something. I've only ever witnessed one anxiety attack in my life, and that was in a hospital.

It's gotten even worse now with Tumblr, because it's like everywhere I turn, there's someone with an anxiety disorder. The way they describe it sounds so traumatizing, too. I mean, breaking down in tears or yelling uncontrollably every time people start speaking loudly around you? I've worked in extremely stressful situations, often involving hundreds of people having to be together for months at a time working 12-18 hours a day, with tempers flaring explosively almost on a daily basis, and never once have I seen any meltdown like that.

I guess I'm just a little spooked. Back on LJ I knew a few friends who confessed to having problems with anxiety, but now that I'm on Tumblr it feels like nearly everyone I follow has it to some degree. It makes me wonder if there's any rhyme or reason to this.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

People with real anxiety disorder will feel more at ease online, spend more time there and be more open.
But on Tumbr some people will exagerate their anxiety or even fake a disorder for attention...

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

But they label themselves as Aspies or "non-neurotypical" (fucking weak weasel word to imply assburgers) in order that you know they are faking something. Its handy that way. Generally on Tumblr they also label themselves as Mens Rights Campaigners too, just in case they meet one of the fools that actually believe aspergers is a real thing.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

I feel like it's a combination of legitimately anxious making spaces where they feel comfortable and other people co-opting trigger warnings to mean "thing that makes me kinda uncomfortable."

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Don't even get me started on the frivolous use of "triggers". What's that, this thing grosses you out slightly and you don't want to see it on your dash? Not a fucking trigger.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I for one don't talk about those issues in real life.

But I think a lot of it is tumblr culture, too.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

What is tumblr culture, exactly? Do you have to show that you have some issues to fit in?

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

People with bad anxiety disorders often won't talk about it in reality, I am this way, I still don't talk about it on tumblr (too public) but I have used the internet to talk about my issues before because I'm horrible at verbalizing unless I'm having a complete meltdown (and then the tears and hyperventilating prevent it from all coming out.)

There's also a small amount of people who are so badly off that they aren't even capable of leaving the house, so again the internet is where they go to chat.

I don't know that you could always recognize an anxiety attack if you saw one, there are different levels of how bad it can be, and most people try to remove themselves from where ever they are when they have one.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Hmm, but I think the point is if all the people who claim to have it as badly as you are telling the truth, it'd be pretty easy to notice in RL.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[pantswarrior]

Yeah, my attacks tend to take the form of extreme nausea choking me up and making me unable to talk without gagging, so I basically just get even more quiet than usual and start looking around for a bathroom, exit, or somewhere that I can at least be alone without fear of anyone trying to talk to me so I don't come off as rude for refusing to answer them. If I catch it early enough and need to escape I just tell people I'm feeling sick (not a lie) and need to go get some air/find a bathroom.

If most people could actually spot that as an anxiety attack, I'd be really surprised.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Personally, when I'm having one it usually doesn't show in a way that would fit most people's mental image of anxiety- even when it literally feels like dying, I just kind of freeze up and go all Stepford Smiler until I can retreat to somewhere that's safe enough to fall apart.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[forgottenjester]

1) Because a lot of people on the internet are self-diagnosed and think being worried about something is OMG ANXIETY DISORDER!

2) Because it's safer for those who really do have it to talk about it online. There's no stigma that will get them fired there.

3) Because it's fucking tumblr half those people are making it up for oppression points.

4) Because a lot of people will not tell you in real life because it's really none of your business.

Those are all the reasons I can think of.

Edit: I just realized the odds and evens are like the same point. Fuuuuucccckkk me.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Given the environment I work in, I do wish people would tell me if they have bad anxiety that could lead to a serious breakdown, even if it's not my business. Particularly now that I'm often in a supervisory capacity; it could be dangerous if I can't react properly due to lack of foreknowledge. This is probably part of why I find the ubiquity of serious anxiety disorder on the Internet so unsettling.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Eh. I guess tumblr kind of helped me realize I might have an anxiety disorder? My whole life everyone just told me I was shy so I always thought the way I acted was just normal shyness. And then I realized my complete avoidance and ridiculous panic over certain social situations probably wasn't normal.
Anyway, social anxiety is super embarrassing to me, so I would never discuss it offline. On tumblr though, when everyone is talking about their issues, I don't feel like I'm standing out from the crowd if I just need to quickly vent about some mildly traumatizing mishap that happened to me that day.
Some people get way out of hand with it, though.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[caecilia]

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18% of U.S. population).

Source: http://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[forgottenjester]

Aw yeah! bringing facts down into this shit.

Love you.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I'm not American and currently don't live there. I used to live there for almost a decade, though. From my experience, it does seem to get brought up for in American spheres.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

I'd never even met anyone with an anxiety disorder until I encountered fandom

You'd be surprised. Most people who aren't very close to me just think of me as shy and quiet - sometimes even aloof and snotty - and they have no idea that there's any anxiety diagnoses attached to that. And really, none of them need to know and start doing the But You Don't Seem Fucked Up song and dance. The whole point of me managing my issues is so I don't have to tell people so they can deal with me. I want to pass by their notice entirely, so I don't factor into posts like these when normal people say they're spooked by that shit.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

While Anxiety disorders *are* a very real thing, I think that a lot of what's going on with tumblr is the whole "tumblr culture" thing. It kind of makes it "Cool" to have/it's an easy way to be a part of the group, while also making it into something you can whip out in an argument to make the other person look bad [at least, I've seen it used that way] and an easy way to excuse your behavior.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[elaminator]

I find it highly doubtful that you've never met anyone with anxiety disorder outside of fandom. More than likely you have but they never mentioned it. Not all people are comfortable talking about it or want others to know.

However, some people are more open online. Either they have an easier time talking to people over the net or the (potential) anonymity appeals to them.

And everyone's anxiety is different too, some people have more severe cases than others.

That said, if someone says they have an anxiety disorder, I tend to believe them. There's no reason for me not to because even if they don't, believing them isn't hurting anything. It isn't really my business anyway (unless they want it to be). I'm sure some people lie about it, but there's nothing to be done about that.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[caerbannog]

IDK, as I've got older I've realised many people have/or had problems - some diagnosed while others just rather high on the anxiety/depressed/whatever scale - and I think on tumblr people are just way more at ease with mentioning it because it is a place they can talk about it.

Holy fuck I rambled sorry about that

[ryttu3k]

Tumblr is this... interesting environment where people can connect to others like them extraordinarily easily. Anxiety? Has a tag. Autism? Has a tag. Nonbinary? Has a tag. Pansexual? Has a tag. There's a lot of sharing of information in a relatively safe environment, where you don't have to 'act normal' - I wouldn't disclose that I'm autistic to anyone in a real-life environment, and only did at uni when it was getting beyond my ability to handle it and needed accommodations, but I'm much more open about it online (including, yes, Tumblr), since that's not likely to have major ramifications like not getting internships or jobs.

Additionally, you can actually gain new insights. Actual example - I've had mild joint pain for pretty much my entire life, and do things like throw my neck out on a regular basis. I had assumed it was another random body dysfunction. Only a few days ago, someone on the actuallyautistic tag mentioned that a lot of autistics have both low muscle tone (something I did know) - and hypermobility, linking to images of hypermobile joints. I instantly recognised a few of them as things I could do as well, and reading up on hypermobility made me realise that I fit the diagnostic criteria for it (6/9 on the Beighton score, plus joint pain).

Now that I know that? I can work out exercises that won't fuck up my joints, and I'm looking in to getting a brace for my left knee, which is the most mobile and thus the one that hurts the most. (I lock it too much when I walk, it extends slightly backwards, and it has sideways movement that means my feet end up all over the place.) I'm also trying to work out how to stabilise my shoulders, which are also pretty messed up and hurt most of the time.

So, that's one example of an insight I got off Tumblr, which explains that there's a medical reason for something I thought was just kind of shit, AND it's given me techniques to be able to manage it better and actually potentially get rid of my joint pain.

This very long anecdote does actually have a point, heh. The thing is, someone on Tumblr, especially someone who spends a lot of time online because the real world is pretty goddamn unpleasant, might learn about anxiety disorders from Tumblr, either from their dash or by reading tags or whatever - the 'how' doesn't actually matter. If they've never come across the concept before, like how I had never realised that my joint pain and weird and random flexibility was called hypermobility and was associated with being autistic, then yeah, they're going to get on to sites like Tumblr, discover that the description fits, and take it on board.

Also, my god this is not a new or Tumblr-exclusive phenomenon. EVERY internet community has that, and it tends to fit waves of awareness. When you have a community that exists entirely online, then no, you're absolutely not going to be getting a representative sample of the people you'll see offline. It's a skewed sample - Tumblr and other sites tend to attract people who spend more time online, AND people are more open on Tumblr.

If you have a stressful workplace? Yeah, someone with an anxiety disorder is NOT going to thrive in an environment like that and would be 'weeded out' pretty quickly. What's left are the people who have no such anxiety disorders. It's a skewed sample, too.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[caffeine_buzz]

I think some of it is that so many people on Tumblr seem to have very dramatic Issues that they must make multiple Important Posts about, so even people who do actually have anxiety disorders but are managing them may feel the need to go overboard describing their own issues just because they want to fit in.

Also I know I shouldn't judge and everyone is different and all, but I have to admit, I have social anxiety issues and sometimes I see people on my dash who talk about their terrible social anxiety while they make a ton of personal posts and chat with other people in fandom all the time and have a bunch of fandom friends and are really super active in fandom in general, and I'm over here barely able to reply to comments on my fics half the time because I get too nervous about messing something up and I wonder, "So how can trade in my social anxiety for the kind that person has?"

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

I think a lot of people online experience what is a completely normal level of anxiety over something potentially stressful and then self-diagnose themselves with an anxiety disorder as a result.

I know someone who doesn't want to get a job because she's never had a job before and she's ~scared~, completely ignoring the fact that everyone gets nervous about a new job, particularly their very first one. And of course her family coddles her and lets her sit at home doing nothing, so what incentive does she have to go get a job when people are happy to take care of her?

In fact, I think the real problem is parents or friends who enable that sort of thing. Was I scared when I got my first job? Hell yes, I don't know a single person who wasn't. But my parents wouldn't let me back out on it and guess what, everything was fine. When people enable it, it just becomes a self-perpetuating feedback loop and there's no reason for the person to want to try anything even the most remote bit difficult.

Re: Fandom and Anxiety

[(Anonymous)]

Because Tumblr. I've been in fandom for quite some time, and mental disorders were never at the epidemic levels they're at on Tumblr.