No matter how I look at it, it's you guys fault I have Selective Mutism

As you may have noticed from previous posts I'm partial to a bit of anime. If you're not into anime you may want to stop reading now; however if you suffer from inexplicable bouts of social anxiety you may wish to continue...

I'm a bit picky about which anime I watch so when I was reading Neo magazine a while back I glossed over Watamote as yet another school anime that I'd have absolutely no interest in. However, Neo featured it again recently so I thought I'd watch one episode online just to see if it was worth it. I'm glad I did as it's very different to anything I've watched before.

If you haven't seen it, it's about Tomoko Kuroki, a 15 year old schoolgirl who, when she enters high school really wants to be popular and live an idealised school life with plenty of friends and hot boys.

Unfortunately she doesn't have the social skills to do this and becomes increasingly bitter, blaming the kids around her for her sorry state. She's virtually unable to initiate a conversation with anyone and even has trouble communicating with her middle school friend (her only friend). Her reality starts to become warped and her life goes from one humiliating disaster to another.

   

Reading the above makes it sound like it's a depressing descent into madness written by the likes of Dostoevsky but its actually a tragi-comedy. The funny bits are actually properly funny not just anime slapstick, but the sad bits will make you want to give Tomoko a hug and try to find a way out for her.

But enough of the preamble and onto the point of this post. When I was home ill recently I listened to BBC Radio 4's programme entitled 'Finding Your Voice' about a medical condition I had never heard of - Selective Mutism.

WIki describes it as follows:

'Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech does not speak in specific situations or to specific people. Selective mutism usually co-exists with shyness or social anxiety. Children with selective mutism stay silent even when the consequences of their silence include shame, social ostracism or even punishment'.

Children and adults are affected alike, and with the same symptoms; they fail to speak when expected to in school or work but have no problems at home. There are numerous configurations and levels of severity leading right up to the point where they don't speak to anyone in any situation.

The condition is closely associated with Social Anxiety Disorder. In excess of 97% of children diagnosed with Selective Mutism also suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder. Whilst watching Watamote it's pretty obvious that Tomoko is suffering from SAD and SM.

From various forums I've read, the writer of Watamote was drawing on their own past to create the character. Tomoko has no problem talking to her mother and brother but when talking to her teacher, the kids at school or anyone in public she clams up and can, at best, only utter a few barely audible words. She often doesn't know what to say and her panicking mind grabs at the first thing it can find which inevitably leaves her cripplingly embarrassed.

 

Her social development has suffered as a consequence; she spends most of her time at home playing dating games and develops a warped sense of reality of how to deal with the opposite sex which is only made worse by her raging hormones. Her fantasies begin to encroach on her perceptions of how the world works.

 

OK, so not the most cheerful of posts but I wrote it in case the above describes you and you're trying to find the escape route to the real life you should be enjoying.

SAD and SM are treatable and sufferers are not destined to spiral into hell if they seek help. It's not normal or healthy to be like Tomoko. I'm not dissing people with psychological disorders, I'm just saying that there's a better life out there for some, maybe most people who suffer from anxiety hell. I've been there - I know.

Here are some useful links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_mutism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety_disorder

Help in the UK:
http://www.smira.org.uk
http://www.ispeak.org.uk
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/selective-mutism/Pages/Introduction.aspx
http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk
https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/page/selective-mutism

Help in Europe:
http://www.selective-mutism.eu/

Help in the USA:
http://www.selectivemutismfoundation.org
http://www.selectivemutismcenter.org

Help in Australia:
http://www.selectivemutism.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/SelectiveMutismAustralia

Sorry - I'm afraid I couldn't find any links for South America, Eastern Europe or Asia.


Media links:
http://watamote.jp/
http://watamote.com/
http://watamote.com/english-forum/
http://dubbedanime.net/anime/watamote-english-dubbed
http://www.mangahere.co/manga/its_not_my_fault_that_im_not_popular/
http://www.neomag.co.uk/

 Catch You Later!

 

 

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Tags:
#No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m Not Popular!
#私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い!
#Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!?
#watamote
#ワタモテ?
#tomoko kuroki
#selective mutism
#sm
#social anxiety disorder
#sad