Psychiatric Disorder Simulation

Simulation: Anxiety

Activities: having lunch with a friend, going on a walk, doing household chores, painting, working online, going shopping, having conversations with friends, pacing around the room, fidgeting, reorganizing a room.

Personal Reaction

After having gone through the day simulating what it would be like to have anxiety, some of the activities I did were more difficult and debilitating than others. Personally, I have anxiety and know what it is like to experience some of the racing thoughts, physical effects like racing heart and sweating, and having worries about life in general. There were certain activities I did that evoked certain symptoms of anxiety in myself, especially when it involved being out in public around people I did not know. It was interesting because there were certain things I did for the simulation that I would not normally do as an anxious person, such as going out shopping by myself or going on a walk. When I am anxious, I am typically pretty agitated and will fidget, will have racing thoughts, and sometimes wonder if people are staring at me. I have described this as being some form of social anxiety. Sometimes I will play with my hair and be antsy as well when I’m anxious. The hardest activity I did was going shopping by myself because I am not used to going places by myself. I usually have someone go with me so that in case I do have a panic attack or get highly anxious, someone I know will be there to help calm me down.  Overall, conducting the simulation was somewhat awkward yet also familiar since I have anxiety myself. It was interesting to participate in certain activities that I would not usually do.

Environmental Barriers

Certain physical environmental factors that come to mind are lack of sleep, substance abuse, pollution, and extreme weather conditions. While I was going out to lunch to meet a friend, there was a big storm coming in which gave me some anxiety. I began thinking that I could be in danger and that I needed to get inside somewhere safe but I was still 20 minutes away from my destination. My heart started racing, my head hurt, and my legs were shaking. Environmental triggers can sometimes set off some anxious thoughts and responses. Certain social environmental barriers exist for people with anxiety too, such as poverty, a person’s religious background, history of being bullied by others, and social stigmas. I did not experience these barriers while I was out with my friend, but while I was shopping by myself, I kept thinking that people were staring at me thinking I was different or weird because of how I was acting. Later on, I realized no one was staring at me and they were focusing on what they were doing instead.

Reactions of Others

I mainly got reactions from other people while I was out in public shopping or going out to eat. I would fidget a lot and move around in a hurried manner. Doing this made people stare at me and wonder why I was being so quick about everything I did. A couple of people in the store I shopped at asked if I was okay and if I needed anything. When I explained to them that I had anxiety and was doing a psychology simulation for class, they were instantly interested and thought it was brave of me to go out in public and do this. I was glad to know that the people were interested rather than turned off. My parents were confused at first why I was more antsy than usual, and they asked me if I needed anything. After I told home about the simulation, it made more sense to them why I was moving around so much and busying myself with activities.

Accommodations

There were a few accommodations I needed to perform this simulation. For one, I had to explain to my family and friends why I wanted to go shopping alone and the purpose behind this. I made sure that they all had their phones working so that in case I needed to get a hold of them, they would be available. I also had to call up a friend and ask for her to go on a lunch date with me for the purposes of the simulation. Apart from this, I had a friend of mine let me borrow some fidgeting toys to play with throughout the day. The activities that did not require any accommodation were painting, working online, and reorganizing some rooms since I already had the necessary materials and was used to doing these activities regularly.

Reflection

As the day progressed, I started to notice more what it was like to have social anxiety, something that I do not usually understand or relate to. For me personally, I think I have more of a generalized anxiety about the things in my life. While being out in public by myself, it became apparent to me how and why certain people start to have social anxiety and the thoughts that come with it. I started thinking about other people and wondering what they were thinking about me. I started thinking of negative scenarios and how no one would be able to help me. Keeping busy and moving around heightened those thoughts because I was not resting. I found myself exhausted by the end of the day rather than refreshed and relaxed. Overall, it was an interesting simulation but I would not want to go through with it again, especially since I have anxiety.