# Social Anxiety on TV Shows



## kittenamos (Jun 23, 2011)

I really like how The Big Bang Theory added Lucy to the cast. For anyone who doesn't know, Lucy is Raj's new girlfriend and her character has social anxiety.

Are there any other TV shows that have a character on it with social anxiety?


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

Willow - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Cliff - Cheers
Adrian Monk - Monk


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## Meli24R (Dec 9, 2008)

I also love the addition of Lucy and I hope they keep her around.
Simon from Misfits was socially awkward and didn't have any friends in the beginning of the show. 
Also Tara from Buffy was shy.


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

Also,don't really remember the show that well but Freaks and Geeks must have had one or two with SA


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## ohgodits2014 (Mar 18, 2011)

Meli24R said:


> Simon from Misfits was socially awkward and didn't have any friends in the beginning of the show.


They always end up with a group of best friends who somehow stick with them through thick and thin. How misleading for us SA people who live in the real world.


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## IveGotToast (Jan 1, 2013)

I can't really think of someone on TV with Social Anxiety besides Raj and Lucy.
I can think of a lot of people that are socially awkward, but not afraid of social situations.


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## Randomdood13 (Dec 10, 2012)

rednosereindeer said:


> They always end up with a group of best friends who somehow stick with them through thick and thin. How misleading for us SA people who live in the real world.


That's what I find too. There are movies and tv shows with them but they always end up happy with a girlfriend type thing or end up getting over it which is annoyingly misleading.


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## Fanta can (Aug 13, 2011)

Sophistrysolipsist said:


> That's what I find too. There are movies and tv shows with them but they always end up happy with a girlfriend type thing or end up getting over it which is annoyingly misleading.


This has always been a complaint of mine. Very rarely are "shy" or "anxious" characters portrayed realistically. If they're supposed to be lonely people or "socially awkward", they're even more unrealistic, especially in movies.

The first example that pops in my head is Peter Parker in The Amazing Spiderman. Peter is supposed to be a shy, lonely, unpopular guy in his high school. He's not supposed to be very good at communicating let alone with pretty girls. Yet in the movie, he's a really good looking, cocky kid with lots of skills like skateboarding and photography (girls only want boyfriends who have good skills!). Not only is he way too confident to be passed off as the weird kid that nobody likes, he's actually kind of a pompous hipster jacka_ss_ and the exact type of person I wouldn't have gotten along with in high school.


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## Charmander (Sep 5, 2012)

Simon from Misfits is a perfect example.


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## JoeyJoeJoeJrShabadoo (Sep 19, 2012)

Reginald Barclay on Star Trek


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## kittenamos (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks, do you guys know of any more?


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## panopticon (Nov 14, 2010)

JoeyJoeJoeJrShabadoo said:


> Reginald Barclay on Star Trek


Good one, I'm shocked that I didn't think of him.


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## PickleNose (Jul 11, 2009)

Not TV but I guess you could put Norman Bates in that category. Pisses me off though because they always seem to want to put social misfits in monster roles.


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## jgymcar (Feb 3, 2013)

dont know if any watch it vinny on jersey shore had anxiety he had to leave the show for a bit remember watching the esipode where he left. think the show over now


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## PickleNose (Jul 11, 2009)

I don't watch anything that was made after 1999. Except for Pickers. They're all extroverts on that show but they're not obnoxious about it.


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## StNaive (Feb 21, 2013)

I totally agree on Simon from Misfits(he was my favourite!), and Finn from the new season also seems to be a little socially anxious as well. Not to the same degree, but I do see it. Does anyone else get that from him?


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## Charmander (Sep 5, 2012)

StNaive said:


> I totally agree on Simon from Misfits(he was my favourite!), and Finn from the new season also seems to be a little socially anxious as well. Not to the same degree, but I do see it. Does anyone else get that from him?


He's a bit odd, but he seems quite cocky. I guess he just doesn't have a lot of luck with women. That season wasn't that good. :/


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## glenduval (Jul 12, 2013)

Sophistrysolipsist said:


> That's what I find too. There are movies and tv shows with them but they always end up happy with a girlfriend type thing or end up getting over it which is annoyingly misleading.


try watch the perks of being a wallflower, 
main character got lucky . find some good friends to begin with. 
and there s emma watson
.
for godsakes I feel depressed after watching this movie


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Welcome, Kittenamos!


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## Jitterylittlething (Oct 15, 2013)

I actually love Lucy in Big Bang and I'm hoping she'll reappear in Season 7 but I do wonder if anyone else who has SA finds the character a little insulting? In that the show is getting laughs at the expense of people who suffer from Social Anxiety? Just interested to know.

I laugh at Lucy because I can relate. It's like a laugh of relief for me.


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## HannahG (Aug 31, 2010)

Jitterylittlething said:


> I actually love Lucy in Big Bang and I'm hoping she'll reappear in Season 7 but I do wonder if anyone else who has SA finds the character a little insulting? In that the show is getting laughs at the expense of people who suffer from Social Anxiety? Just interested to know.
> 
> I laugh at Lucy because I can relate. It's like a laugh of relief for me.


Ever since BBT changed writers in Season 5 (the new ones came from Nickleodeon) I noticed the show isn't as funny but also, the biggest difference is that I noticed it went from being a gotta-love-nerds type show and smartly written jokes to just making-fun-of-nerds. So yeah, I agree that it felt a lot like Lucy was there to make fun of people with SA. At least in the past they used to show some sympathy for Raj with his SA/mutism. Lucy was just there to laugh at, they didn't at all try to show sympathy for her. The way the show makes fun of people rather than laugh _with_ them is one of the reasons I've lost interest for the most part. Rarely watch it now.


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