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Comment by sabellito | Hacker News Reader

Absolutely bizarre that you're being downvoted. Having panic attacks is not a normal reaction to any normal human situation, gp absolutely should look for medical and psychological help.

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I have them, I'm autistic. It happens and I have support infrastructure in place to make it less intrusive.

It's a disability, but I sorta reject the framing that I'm "not normal". Mostly because it feels a bit more culturally loaded? I can't articulate it effectively, but like, what I experience may actually be extremely normal ... for folks with autism. So, maybe "not neurotypical", maybe?

Sure, but I'm commenting on the fact that gp believes that having panic attacks in social interactions is just an introvert trait. Parent comment and I are arguing that it's not.

It's a normal reaction to trauma, a psychological condition - not medical. I'd guess that's where the strife is driven. You make a better point to cover the gamut

Panic attacks, especially as described by the OP (caused by normal situations, takes "days to recover"), likely fall within the realm of psychiatric care instead of mere psychological care, so I would argue they are a medical issue in this case.

Understandable. I didn't really want to pick on this much more than it had been, already

I can't anticipate and make every argument, despite everyone on the internet trying.

So if the person has, let’s say, autism, and will not be able to endure this for longer than a few hours before becoming completely overwhelmed.

What do you want these people to do, since they aren’t allowed to respond how they might do? When and where are they welcome in society?

Hello, person with autism here. If I am tasked with social interaction for too many hours I may no longer be able to focus on people. I may zone out and in order to get into focus someone may have to bother me in an uncomfortable way. This could, depending on the person who is on the autism spectrum, escalate to physical violence in an extreme scenario.

I don’t think this describes “a panic attack”. I think “completely overwhelmed” is a real thing to be accommodated and is separate from a social anxiety triggered panic attack

Absolutely. Just wanted to point out that having difficulty being in a social and potentialy rowdy and loud environment for hours can still remain after the "seek psych/medical help" advice that was thrown out!

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