School

[Bluebear]

1. Are you unhappy with how your SA symptoms were responded to by teachers when you were at school?

I wasn’t sent to a “special school” or anything like that. I think it would have probably made things worse. But my SA symptoms were completely ignored by teachers except for writing things like “she is very shy and silent in class”.

I panicked every time I had to read aloud in English lessons (pounding heart and all the other symptoms) and I took science A levels, not because I was a natural scientist, but because I could no longer tolerate the anxiety which didn’t improve with repeated exposure.

2. Did you cry a lot as a child? I rarely cried. I had been taught by parents it was somehow “shameful” even when being bullied or having broken a limb.

3. Were you bullied because of SA?
Yes..

I’d love to hear your stories. Anyone of any age is welcome to post.

[Indigo_]

Having been a teacher myself I think you have to remember that going back 20-30 years ago social anxiety really wasn't well-known. I only self-diagnosed myself with SA around 5 years ago and hadn't even heard of it before then. I don't blame the teachers for labelling me as 'extremely shy' as I imagine that's how I would have come across. Mental health really wasn't a 'thing' in schools or education.

I remember not putting my hand up to answer questions, even though I knew the answers some of the time and I hated speaking in class as it drew attention to myself. I wasn't bullied for my mental health issues though, I was more teased for being a brain-box/nerd.

[Tom Morello]

1. No, I think I was seen as the quiet kid who didn't say much, little did they know I was usually too scared to say anything. I think they assumed I was ok because I never displayed any obvious problems, which is understandable as teachers aren't trained in mental health (or weren't).

2. I hardly ever cried, I've cried more as an adult.

3. Yes bullying caused it. It started with kids mocking my unusual voice at the start of secondary school. Every time I seemed to open my mouth someone commented on it, so I became more quiet and reserved, eventually becoming almost a mute in class. This brought on teasing for something else, whenever I said anything people would sarcastically say things like "oh wow, he talks", further compounding the issue. It didn't help that I was very sensitive at that time of my life due to losing my father, the other kids didn't care/know though.
I would go into more detail but I don't have time right now.

[sophie123]

I couldn't cope from primary one I played truant from primary one and all the way through school,I can't remember anything being done about it until I was in second year of high school which by then it was far too late.

My report cards were always definitely very quiet has potential but just isn't interested.

Yes I was bullied in primary not so much in secondary because i wasn't there that much,in secondary the teachers would punish me by giving me the belt because they said I was ignoring them because I wouldn't do the work or answer them in front of the class but I couldn't concentrate to do the work and was terrified of speaking in front of the class but at the time I didn't know why I couldn't and I couldn't understand why I was being punished when I hadn't did anything wrong which just made me go to school even less.

I lived most of my school life in escapism and I still do that now.

[Mr. Nobody]

I struggled with secondary/high school,
Because of my introversion and barely speaking in class due to anxiety I was put into a different group of classes and ended being lumped in with the school bullies and some really violent and stupid people,

I recall vividly that at the end of my 6th. Year the head teacher bellowed towards me across a room-full of my peers that "we can get some help for you for your speech problems"


Yeah, thanks, very tactfully done, .. and about 6 frickin' years too late asshole

School never made me cry tbh,
But showing emotion like that is something I've always really struggled with,
It seems to be ingrained in my thinking that that's just something I simply cannot do in front of other people, no matter how close,
I need to be completely alone to let emotions out to such an extent,

You just know there will be people either freaking out over it,
Or people seeing it as a sign of extreme weakness or some kind of character flaw.

[Mountainstream]

I think they ignored it. But some of the teachers weren’t very nice.