Reality Versus Social Anxiety: A Comic of Everyday Situations

Two-panel comic "Answering the Phone": a ringing desk phone in reality, and a blaring alarm in a panicked office as it feels with social anxiety

Like many mental health conditions, social anxiety can change how you perceive situations, yourself and other people. In this comic, the artist illustrates how social anxiety can involve fear of scrutiny or negative judgment in social situations. As a result, social situations make you feel extremely uncomfortable and sometimes even panicked. For some people, an everyday interaction such as making a phone call or greeting a neighbor can provoke considerable anxiety; experiences vary. Some people avoid situations they find distressing, while others experience anxiety mainly in particular settings.

How common is it? The 2016 version of this article said almost 15 million people worldwide live with social anxiety and that it is the third most common mental health problem in the United States. The 15 million figure is in fact a US estimate: the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, citing NIMH data, says social anxiety disorder affects about 15 million American adults (7.1%) and typically begins around age 13. The ranking came without a dated source and is not repeated here. Even so, many misunderstand social anxiety and its sufferers, confusing it for shyness or being a snob. Well, like it usually happens, people are too fast to judge before they even try to understand.

Sometimes, it can be really difficult to explain what it is like to live with social anxiety to people who do not share that experience even if they know you better than anyone, like your loved ones or family members. “How can a simple phone call make you so nervous?” they ask, or “Stop acting like a freak, they’re not gonna bite you,” etc. How to make them see that you can’t simply stop? The 2016 version said the problem arises from the subconscious mind and usually has its roots in childhood experiences, leaving you feeling that people will judge you and laugh at you whatever you do. The research picture is less tidy. NIMH describes several factors under investigation, including genetic, environmental and brain-related influences. The condition often begins during childhood or adolescence, but that does not establish a single childhood cause or mean every person experiences it in the same way. This deep fear of being judged and rejected is what causes those disturbing feeling of anxiety and nervousness, sometimes even leading to physiological symptoms like trembling and sweating.

To make people who do not share that experience better understand what social anxiety is and how it feels to live with this disorder, the artist Shea Strauss has created a hilarious comic titled Reality Versus Social Anxiety. The comic depicts six common situations and the differences between the reality and the way socially anxious people perceive them. If you can relate to social anxiety, I bet that most of these will remind you of yourself.

Two-panel comic "Answering the Phone": a ringing desk phone in reality, and a blaring alarm in a panicked office as it feels with social anxiety

Two-panel comic "Going Out to Eat": a cashier asks "Would you like anything else?", then in the anxious version laughs "you can't even order food right!"

Two-panel comic "Going to a Bar": a friendly tavern front, and the same tavern on a cliff above lava in the anxious version

Two-panel comic "Going to a Party": friends chatting with drinks, and the same people as a judging panel behind a bench

Two-panel comic "Running Into an Acquaintance": a woman waves hello, and appears as a sphinx challenging the viewer to a "duel of social interaction"

Two-panel comic "Coming Home": a plain bedroom with a laptop, and the same room decorated with balloons and a "Welcome to Freedom" banner

Image credit: College Humor

Source: Learning Mind

For a separate comic perspective on everyday frustrations, see Natalya Lobanova's Comics About Everyday Annoyances.

Reading the space between the panels

A conversation can look ordinary from outside and feel exhausting from within. That contrast gives this comic its emotional force. Notice how the imagined response differs from what another character actually says: the drawing makes uncertainty visible without requiring the reader to share every detail of the experience. Treat recognition as an invitation to listen, rather than a label to attach to someone else.

Source for the correction: NIMH: social anxiety disorder.

A conversation starter for the reader

Shea Strauss's title, Reality Versus Social Anxiety, establishes a comparison before the first scene is read. The reader is asked to hold two versions of an encounter in mind. That is a distinctive strength of comics: a panel can place an ordinary action beside an imagined judgment, making the difference immediate without a long explanation.

Try describing one scene in three layers. First, write only the action that an outside observer could see. Next, identify the thought the comic assigns to its character. Finally, describe how the drawing communicates that thought through expression, spacing or exaggerated detail. Keeping those layers separate can make a discussion about the work clearer, especially between readers who recognize the experience and readers who do not.

The comic can be funny and uncomfortable at the same time. A reader may laugh because the scenario is familiar, while another notices how little of the character's experience would be obvious to a bystander. Neither reaction requires treating the drawing as a complete description of social anxiety. It is one artist's way of giving an internal experience a visible form.

Explore the related article: Thin Slices of Anxiety: Catherine Lepage's Illustrated Perspective.

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