#anxiety representation

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! Sorry if this is a silly question, but is it possible for a characters triggers to, for lack of a better term, cancel each other out?

My character Thomas has PTSD and some of his triggers cause flashbacks, but some of them only cause other things, like nightmares or stress/anxiety.

One of his triggers is water, and another is watching a loved one die. The water trigger falls more into the category of "I have nightmares about it sometimes and swimming stresses me out but I don't have flashbacks" whereas the watching a loved one die trigger falls into the category of "I'm going to completely fall apart and become inconsolable".

In the story, he and his 10 year old brother Sam are exploring and Sam falls into a small river. He ends up clinging to a log because he's NOT a strong swimmer.

Tom however is a strong swimmer and used to swim a lot before he almost drowned.

Would it make sense that the fear of his little brother dying sort of "overrides" his fear of water and he would be able to get into the water, swim over, and help his brother out of the river?

I just don't want it to come off as "His trigger is magically gone and he's suddenly fine because Plot Reasons".

Maybe later I could establish that he's still upset by water, and Sam can help him with his trigger? Like maybe inviting him to splash around and play in a shallow creek behind their house?

Hello,

Very interesting question. Short answer- yes, it is possible. Actually, this is basically a textbook example of the fight response from my psychology classes. Quite literally.

Fear is a weird thing, you never know how it's going to effect someone or manifest. It's irrational and unpredictable, even those who specialize in the science of it are unlikely to be able to do more than make an semi-educated guess predictions. Anything is possible, even paradoxical fearlessness reactions. Even with phobias in the mix, there's no predicting how someone is going to react to a particular scenario. So yes, this is absolutely a real reaction someone can have. It's not "it's magically gone because of plot reasons," it's just one of the many ways someone can react to fear.

I've actually been in a potentially similar situation. I have a similar phobia of the deaths of people I'm close to and also a previously unrelated phobia of rabies. When my brother and I were walking the dog a few years back, the dog found a raccoon in a storm drain during the day. Raccoons being a massive rabies vector where I live. My brother had been holding the leash, I was maybe five meters away, and he told me there was a raccoon in the storm drain. My reaction was to run to him, thus close to the raccoon in the drain, to grab him and drag him and the dog away from the raccoon. It's not that the fear of rabies vanished, it just interacted with the fear of my brother dying in a way that most probably wouldn't expect. You just never know how these things can interact.

One thing that situation did with me is it gave me a lot of nightmares that were specifically about the people I loved dying from rabies and I needed treatment that was specific to that new manifestation of both phobias. If you want, you could incorporate something like that in the aftermath. Both anxieties have mixed and a new manifestation could mix them- maybe he develops a specific anxiety of his family around water or dying, for example, or maybe the previous water trigger and the phobia made him more susceptible to being traumatized in that situation and now he has PTSD over this.

And yes, Sam could absolutely be part of the healing process there. Part of my healing process was that my brother got a (ten-year-old-appropriate) talk about rabies and the vectors of it, and how if he ever got bitten by any animal that he didn't know for a fact was vaccinated, he needed to tell our dad immediately. Knowing my brother understood the danger and that appropriate measures were taken to protect him from death by rabies really helped me. Maybe Sam could take (very safe, like in a pool) swimming lessons to improve his swimming ability, he gets educated on safety around bodies of water, if he does Boy Scouts he could sign up for lifeguard patches, that kind of thing.

Of course, the healing of the brother should not be completely on Sam. Anything Sam is doing should be more of an added bonus, all of the major work should be done with a responsible adult and hopefully a medical professional like a psychologist. The role of the brother in this should be optional- he should be taught water safety anyways, especially after an incident like this, but his role in helping his brother should be optional to avoid accidental parentification-like issues. Splashing around in the creek might need to wait until the brother has already started with professional help, depending on how badly this impacts the brother, and added measures like an adult who knows how to swim being present at least in the beginning, just for added reassurance. And to maybe keep an eye on the brother, make sure that if it starts to get to be too much for him, quits are called so that this doesn't accidentally add another traumatic experience there.

But yes, that interaction of anxieties absolutely is a possibility. Human psychology is weird, fear is irrational and unpredictable, it's one of the few things we know is a stone-cold fact for all humans, and this is basically like those scenarios where someone gets pinned under something super heavy and someone who loves them reacts to the fear and adrenaline by picking up the object. Sometimes this is just how it works.

Mod Aaron

[the-lion-guard-88]

I can’t believe I didn’t say this before, but I actually need to point this out in “SMG4 Movie: Guns N’ Puzzles”

After seeing @starteas’ behind the scenes storyboard of this scene, I actually needed to talk about the scene in question

The Gas Station Scene

Now this scene is known mainly for the GunShow stuff, but I kinda wanted to go deeper into it

The representation of anxiety struggles and/or disorders was represented hugely here

As we know, Anxiety disorder is cause by genetics, childhood development issues, or traumatic experiences and given how much this man has for anxiety. I can see him being an individual with anxiety disorder. I can’t confirm or deny this, it is simply my viewpoint

As an individual who was diagnosed with anxiety disorder, the representation of Puzzles in this scene felt pretty accurate to what can happen to me if I’m in a huge rush of anxiety: Getting angry/embarrassed over small things (In Puzzles’ case, anger), the uncontrolled heavy breathing with hands gripping on your arms and your shoulders tensed up, the ability of not knowing what to say (In this case when he says “…Yes, right. Of course” which I BELIEVE is him not knowing what to say in some kind of way? I might be wrong though) and it felt representative for him feeling better after someone talks to him with any inch of kindness. It all just…drops. That’s kind of the case with me. One single kind comment could reduce my anxiety at the speed of light. I’m sorry, but the scene his arms just “fell down” kinda struck something that was like “…this feels like anxiety disorder representation”. It just felt all the more reason to empathize with him and the team did a very fantastic job displaying anxiety in this. Especially in the later part where he nearly has a panic attack and swerves off the road or in PrisonVision when he has that said anxiety/panic attack. It was very spot on and I want to thank the SMG4 team for making him an EVEN MORE empathetic character in this show with this episode (Which also includes the ending: Messing up and knowing you messed up and knowing you won’t be forgiven by said person…I’m sorry, but this character is literally the embodiment of me and I feel like many people who relate to Mr. Puzzles think the same way about themselves)

YET AGAIN! I cannot confirm or deny that Mr. Puzzles has anxiety disorder. I personally see it as a headcanon same with him being on the autism spectrum given how I can relate to him so much

[amethystmoons]

Shout out to once I Was a Beehive for being the first movie I ever saw (and still one of few) with a protagonist who has an anxiety disorder without it being a joke or punchline. I grew up with anxiety and undiagnosed autism and that movie made me feel so seen.

[autisticzenitsu]

How to write anxiety: Look at Zenitsu Agatsuma

It's not uncommon for a character to have a high level of anxiety, and have their arc and character development focused on overcoming that anxiety. It's been done numerous times.

However--speaking as someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder--these attempts at writing anxiety usually fall flat, for a couple of reasons.

One--When this kind of character development is attempted, it's usually an 'instacure'. The character usually gets over their anxiety in the span of a single episode (or 2 or 3 max), typically with the help of people they just met. This is not how anxiety works--it's not that easy to "get over" it or push past it. It takes time and effort. This route actually kills realism and believability, and outright hurts my ability to connect with the character. The idea that anxiety is so to move past and can be "cured" just like that or with the right people (even if you barely know them) is honestly insulting.

Two--The anxiety is frequently portrayed as cutesy and sanitized. It is surprisingly rare to see it portrayed as actually disabling, and to see its portrayal include the uglier and non-cute parts of having anxiety. Frequently, anxiety is loud meltdowns. It's panic attacks. It's getting sick or passing out. It's catastrophizing. It's irritability. It's something that needs to be managed. It is not just cutely stuttering or hiding away. It is not something that a friend, loved one, or acquaintance can comfort you over and cure you of.

However, in the case of Zenitsu Agatsuma, both of these problems are avoided. It takes time and a lot of effort for him to push past his anxiety, only managing to fight awake when he confronted Kaigaku and on. While he took steps to become braver before that, it wasn't an instant fix--it was a work in progress. And while his anxiety doesn't go away, he does learn to function despite it and learns to manage it better. And that's incredibly realistic, authentic, and earned.

As for Zenitsu's arc itself--while some people in the fandom claim it's out of nowhere, rushed, sudden or had no build-up, that's actually not the case. It's actually well-crafted and well paced--and he steadily grows and takes steps to try and push past and manage his anxiety.

When we're introduced to him, we are not given a flattering picture. He's in the middle of a meltdown and pathetically begging a woman to marry him because he's genuinely convinced he'll die on his next mission--and he's so stuck in his own head that he fails to pick up on the fact that she's not interested in him and was actually trying to turn him down.

After Tanjiro (rightly) gives Zenitsu an earful and pulls him away from that girl, he asks Zenitsu why he's even in the Corps to begin with if he's begging for protection:

And while Zenitsu tries to explain, he promptly flies into another panic attack:

We're shown that Zenitsu's anxiety is extremely debilitating.

And later on, at Tsuzumi Mansion, we're shown this:

And this:

He passes out from anxiety, and sleep fights.

(Additionally, this is a form of sleep disruption. While Zenitsu's sleep fighting is obviously an exaggeration with a fantastical edge, sleep disruption is a well documented symptom of GAD/anxiety disorders).

Additionally, prior to passing out, his immediate instinct was avoidance. He asked Tanjiro to protect him, then when he was separated from Tanjiro, he wanted to grab Shoichi and leave Tsuzumi Mansion entirely. This is an incredibly realistic anxiety response.

His anxiety is portrayed as genuinely disabling. It's not meant to be seen as cute, or quirky. Sometimes it is played for laughs, but attention is also drawn to the fact that Zenitsu is a person who's suffering, given that Tanjiro (despite chewing him for begging a woman to marry him moments before) stops to ask if he's okay during their first meeting.

If he were just an object of ridicule and we were meant to see him as such, that moment wouldn't exist.

And during his introduction, we are also shown he has self-esteem that compound his anxiety:

And even before this, he called himself weak numerous times.

So yes--his anxiety is very realistically portrayed, and it isn't made into something that's meant to be seen as cute and quirky. In his case, it's made clear it's genuinely disabling. As we can see when he sleep fights, he's very lethal, so he's not actually incapable (far from it). It's his anxiety and extremely low self-esteem that are holding him back.

However, it's something he works on--he doesn't like being terrified and anxious, and dislikes how his anxiety overwhelms and controls him:

It's made incredibly clear that what he wants more than anything is to become a person who's brave enough to protect people.

And shortly after we're introduced to him during the Tsuzumi Mansion arc, he does start to take steps to do exactly that.

Look at the difference in him from Tsuzumi Mansion to Mt. Natagumo:

During Tsuzumi Mansion, Tanjiro had to pressure Zenitsu into going inside.

However, during Mt. Natagumo:

He goes up Mt. Natagumo--a mountain that he knows has at least one demon--and straight into danger because he was worried for Nezuko's safety.

This is a small step, but it is still character growth.

After Mugen Train, Zenitsu is stated to not be complaining as often, even when sent on solo missions.

And, despite being terrified, he joins Tanjiro and Inosuke in trying to protect Aoi and Naho and stands up to Tengen:

This is another step forward; he doesn't retreat, doesn't back down, and stands his ground.

And later on during the Red Light District arc, he stands up to Daki:

And he does this, knowing full well she's a strong demon:

He knows how strong she is, knows she's dangerous and could easily kill him. He's scared.

But he couldn't stand the way she was abusing that girl, and he intervened. This is a huge display of character growth.

Compare it to his Mt. Natagumo fight; there, he only snarked a bit at the Brother Spider Demon from a safe distance, and repeatedly tried to scale up a tree to get away.

Compare it to Tsuzumi Mansion, where he tried to take Shoichi and exit the mansion with him.

He does neither of those things here; here, he draws closer to her, grabs her hand (making physical contact) and demand that Daki let go of that girl.

A girl he doesn't know personally, and thus has no direct personal attachment to. And he still found the strength to push past his fear and anxiety to defend her and stand up to Daki for her.

This is huge step forward, and is a vastly underrated moment in his arc.

Yes, he isn't fighting awake (yet), but that doesn't mean this isn't growth. It very much is--in fact this is the clearest and most obvious sign yet that he's changing.

During the Swordsmith Village arc, Zenitsu is off on a separate mission, further cementing the fact that he's grown enough to handle missions separate from his friend group now.

But his anxiety keeps him from fighting awake until he gets the final push he needs:

He receives news of a personal tragedy; his older adoptive brother Kaigaku became a demon, and his adoptive grandfather Jigoro committed sepppuku because of it.

This is the catalyst that lets him act on the growth that he's already been building towards; he knows it's up to him to redeem Jigoro's legacy, and he knows that to do that he'll have to confront Kaigaku.

So he begins mentally steeling himself to do exactly that, despite Tanjiro worrying about him.

And it pays off--when he confronts Kaigaku, he fights him awake.

This is one of the most rewarding and hard-earned moments in the series.

Because Zenitsu's arc has been building up to this from the moment of his introduction.

But anxiety just isn't that easy to push past, especially when it's as debilitating and disabling as it is for Zenitsu. So he had to take smaller steps in order to get there.

That is incredibly realistic. This is an authentic portrayal of anxiety and just how hard it is to push past and manage it effectively. It's not something you can do overnight, and that is beautifully reflected with Zenitsu and his struggles.

And this development is never reverted--when Zenitsu fights Muzan during Sunrise Countdown, he's wide awake there, too:

And one of the things that makes his arc so good is that Zenitsu's anxiety doesn't just vanish after this.

He's still anxious (resulting in such behavior like unintentionally shouting his proposal). He still gets overwhelmed. He still cries.

But he's learned to manage it more effectively. His fear doesn't leave him, but his anxiety is no longer a barrier stopping him from keeping others safe. He is finally the person who is brave enough to protect others that he always wanted to be.

And that is why Zenitsu's arc is so, so good. That is why his development is so hard-earned and real and why his arc resonates so strongly. It's an excellent portrayal of anxiety, and I am so glad it exists and wish more attempts at portraying anxiety were like this.

[thesaddesttoothless]

telling people with social anxiety that they're bad people for having social anxiety actually makes the anxiety worse btw

' thinking that if you do xyz your friend will dislike you is actually kinda evil to do because you're assuming things about them :/ ' do think you're helping with the social anxiety??? you just made it ten times worse

we still think they'll hate us for xyz but now we're to scared to tell them that because we think they'll hate us for thinking that

it just makes us bottle up our feelings and refuse to open up about our anxiety

the best way to learn how to deal with anxiety is to open up and talk about your worries so you can get some reassurance and feel better if you're demonizing opening up and talking about your anxiety you are actively harming people

the only way i learned to be less anxious was other people consistently being patient and reassuring me about my worries but now im anxious again and im too scared to try to get patience or reassurance because im to scared that they'll think im a bad person for having anxiety

you're not helping you're just making it worse.

[jepperonipizza]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64903777/chapters/166826806

He was feeling particularly sorry for himself this morning. He had felt like he had been doing better with his anxiety in the last few years. This setback had really rattled him. It was disappointing on top of being exhausting.

Chapter 3 of my Canon Sakuatsu fic. Featuring a panic attack, an unlikely friend and Bokuto "Nice to everyone he meets" Kotarou

[finnicksannie]

Charlie Spring + anxiety disorder symptoms

+ bonus:

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Name (full): Hestia Anastasia of House Ferguson

Story Role: Love Interest/Protagonist, the Lost Princess, the Beast

Age: 15 to 16 yrs

Appearance: Naturally curly, light brown hair. Light brown skin with pink undertones. Warm, honey brown eyes. Nowadays wears an old, tattered, dark red dress that was once elegant and grand. Crackling fireplace in the middle of a blizzard vibes. Or, alternatively, wildfire in a forest in the middle of winter vibes.

Strengths: deeply cares, selfless, gentle with other's love for her

Weaknesses: self isolates and self destructs- especially when she hurts someone, trust issues, deathly afraid of herself and her powers

Additional Notes: anxiety disorder that manifests as anger, fire powers, plus size, self destructs after making a mistake, living in an abandoned castle

Story: Handsome and the Beast, Fractured Stars Falling series