I Was Told I Was Shy — But I Had Social Anxiety Disorder

July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.As told to Jacquelyne FroeberSocial gatherings were a nightmare for me.Walking into any event, big or small, it felt like all eyes were on me. Focused. Like I was a specimen under a microscope and everyone was watching — judging — waiting for me to embarrass myself. The fear of rejection ruled my world. As a child, I never wanted to say the wrong thing, so I didn’t talk a lot. When I did, I’d run the conversation back over and over in my head until I’d convinced myself that I’d messed everything up and no one liked me.I was told I was shy and sensitive — both of which are true. But growing up in a Korean American household, we didn’t have open conversations about anxiety or trauma or emotional well-being. Mental health carried a lot of stigma in our culture, and any emotional struggles were minimized or kept private. So, that’s what I did. Art by Zoë As I got older, I tried to overcome my “shyness” and put myself out there and meet new people, but something as simple as striking up a conversation was an exhausting process. I’d become hyper focused on every word and every movement like I was an outsider crit...