#however. I have social anxiety

[pinkhairandpokemon]

I’m never going to Levincia again I stepped out onto the streets for five seconds and Iono dragged me into one of her streams

If you saw me on Iono Zone no you DIDN’T

-Blake

[faysgeekystuff]

Francesca Bridgerton has SAD

This new season of Bridgerton has been absolutely amazing with Polin, Eloise scenes, Violet being Violet, and, of course, Francesca Bridgerton. She is such an interesting character to me, and extremely relatable to many people. She has become my favorite character in the franchise due to how much I relate.

I think everyone agrees that she is an introvert, it's been confirmed by Julia Quinn and everything. Having her social battery run out, enjoying solitary activities such as piano forte, being overstimulated by crowds, needed time to herself, preferring to be a wallflower, sitting in companionable silence ect. She is very different from her sibling, and it's refreshing to see an introvert in the Bridgerton family.

One thing I couldn't help but notice is the anxiety she has when she's social. Now someone isn't necessarily neurodivergent or has a mental health issue if they're an introvert but there is a higher likelihood because of how many signs overlap. Francesca is a character that I've noticed many people, introverts or nuerodivergent people especially, relate to. I honestly think it's amazing! But I haven't seen many people talk about the clear signs of anxiety she has.

She fidgets a lot in social situations, avoids eye contact, anxiously follows social situations until she's told by someone it's okay to take a break or to go play piano. Avoids being social but will mentally prepare herself if she has to go to events. She wants to be done with these situations as quickly as socially possible, which we see when she leaves multiple balls early. There are so many signs but the biggest one for me is the faces she makes.

Hannah Dodds has done an amazing job showing the rich internal life of Francesca. The faces she makes show clear thought and internal dialogue without any of it having to leave her mouth. The anxiety she has before meeting the queen and having everyone look at her, the panic when she is surrounded by multiple suitors who don't follow her practiced dialogue (they went off script!), the relief when she finally has time for herself and can get away, the nervousness when she's dancing with a suitor because if she messes up everyone will see and judge her. All of it leads me to believe that she is a very socially anxious person.

All in all, I see her as an introverted person with Social Anxiety Disorder and relate to her so much because of it. It's something more people should talk about. When we see Social Anxiety on screen or in TV it's almost always someone who never leaves the house or has a panic attack when people start talking to them. It's almost always portrayed as debilitating and generally becomes the personality or quirk of the character. There definitely are some people like that but SAD is often fairly functional. We can go to social events, talk to people, be in a crowd, ect.

A lot of the time an underlaying anxiety throughout the interaction and you have an internal monologue telling you to not to mess up. To avoid judgement. Asking if this is okay to do? Do i look weird doing this? Are they laughing at me? When is it okay to leave? Can I go to the bathroom now or is the timing weird? Am I making eye contact too long or too little? Can i find somewhere away from people? Most of that stays internal but it can have few outwards signs. Things like avoiding eye contact, or figeting, making a face, trying to find a way to escape a conversation. All things we see Francesca do. It's so nice to see a mild form of social anxiety on screen for a change. Someone who can live their life despite the anxiety and is so much more than just their disorder.

Even if you don't agree with me and you think she's just an introvert, or she's shy, or she's on the spectrum, or anything else. I find it amazing how many people see themselves in her. That she can be seen in so many different ways, and have so many people love her without being a loud or gregarious person. She's quiet and has a rich internal life, and so many of us love her for it.

[th3finalboy]

when no one gaf about your ocs

[luvuomi]

yuzuha and sethomi content making is official chat hehe :3

[horridgoblin]

ok, serious lore implications aside. but why does tav look like theyre saying "he said no PICKLES"

[minweber]

Since everyone is posting Rooks, wanted to show off mine:

Yarina "Found In a Crypt, Raised In a Cave, Who'd Have Thought That Human Connection Is Something I Crave" Ingellvar, who is apparently the protagonist in a story about a sheltered introvert forced to interact with people, only to suddenly find out that this shit is actually pretty easy.

[vanweezer]

being extroverted must be awesome imagine feeling nothing after telling someone "wow youre REALLY quiet". im going to talk less around you now 🫶

[stinkrascal]

i could write a 2 hour video essay on why the stardew valley fandom is wrong for hating clint

[everyday-is-brighter-with-you]

to all my active followers

If even one person is reached by my reblogging right now then that's an impact however small

You can do the same

Please do whatever is in your ability wherever you can

Do not look away

And if you are ignoring everything then just unfollow me. How could you?

I needed to say it. No one should get too comfortable around here because I am reblogging instead of posting directly but there I said it.

Read my tags. This holds as my view for now and for- god forbid- any other tragedy that occurs.

If you KNOW me and want to talk personally about this or anything than DM me. I'm opening them up.

[garden-ghoul]

you seen that comic about how you shouldn't expect the worst outcome bc then it's happened in your head no matter whether it happened in real life? it's full of shit. constant anxiety and relentless self-policing allowed me to go by plane to a conference with hundreds of unmasked people who had also been on planes and not get covid

[bravevolunteer]

1:30am. plagued by thoughts of michael and everything going on in his tiny 10-13 year old head :(

[seilon]

you know im realizing now. with the exception of a few resident psychiatrists, ive had like. no good experiences with mental health professionals

[chwejongho-archive]

hellaur °3°

[curseofpower]

I just want everyone to know you don't have to be afraid to talk to me. Send me an ask. Message. whatever you want.

[agayconcept]

.

[bread-tab]

Re: that last post I reblogged with the worst case/best case/realism; some thoughts from what's happening in my life these days

Somehow in the last few weeks I have stumbled into a leadership position, which has happened before but this time it's In Real Life and I'm sitting there (in real life in a conference room) moderating a group of 10-20ish people in discussions

I'm an autism with severe social anxiety. I might have decided to do something like this on my own initiative, eventually, after a lot more therapy. But it's uh... not something that comes natural. The previous group leader was having some hard times and I was like "hey, if you need someone to fill in for a couple sessions I can do that" and they were like "oh thank god, take over forever" and I was like "um okay sure" so here we are

And I'm not kidding myself into thinking I'm good at this, but. Sometimes there's a group of people who need someone to do the admin work, and in an ideal world that person would be charismatic, full of energy, and an organizational genius. But it's not an ideal world and I'm the one who stepped up, sooo... I'm doing my best

Part of that is keeping myself from having any socially anxious "aaaaa wtf am i doing" meltdowns. So, I've been avoiding thinking about worst case scenarios, because good lord, can I ever catastrophize. I've thought a little bit about best-case scenarios, because you gotta have goals, but... obsessing over ideals can make you lose sight of the good things that are actually happening in front of you.

That's what I've been focusing on, in the end. What good is happening. What little choices can I make to grow that good.

And when I'm sitting in that conference room, sometimes it's awkward, but mostly everyone's just there, seeing each other and feeling seen, making connections, making community.

In the end it's not about me and my anxiety. It's about showing up, turning on the lights, and bearing witness to the magic