gigglesworthy

I'm 50 years old and I wasn't diagnosed with anxiety disorder until 3 years ago (thanks, Pandemic!) and started medication which helps a lot.

So for the first 47 years of my life I had anxiety disorder but didn't know it. I simply thought I was unconfident about public speaking and didn't realize there was an underlying cause. I still remember trying to give a speech for debate club in high school and I completely failed-- It was humiliating and influenced the rest of my life. I have mostly tried to avoid public speaking, which includes avoiding opportunities for advancement.

I think a lot of people just look at us and think we are weird or someone who just fails over and over to prepare for a speech.

As I said, taking general anxiety medication has helped. Also, while I work in academia where public speaking is required, I generally have a workplace that is supportive of neurodivergent folks. We're all nerds here.

Agreed. Supporting diversity and equal opportunity is ethical.

Also, Erika speaks about good working conditions, which is another question of ethics.