Share stories about anxieties and coping methods to get through the convention experience.
The Cosplaying and Social Anxiety panel aims to encourage people to share stories about their anxieties and coping methods to get through the convention experience. It also promotes inclusivity and creativity, expressing that cosplay itself has helped the panelists overcome their insecurities, increased their confidence, or helped them cope with invisible disabilities like social anxiety, depression, autism, etc. Most importantly, this panel is intended as a judgement-free safe space for everyone in the room.
People are able to see and ascertain the needs of physical disabilities very quickly, but for many congoers their struggles are emotional or psychological, and can be incredibly difficult to communicate effectively. The pressure to fit in or make an appearance while struggling against worries and fears can be enormous. Especially where cons are related to geeky fandoms, there is an enormous number of introverts and they can have a hard time expressing themselves or feeling accepted.
The panel features rotating guests at each convention, with stories and advice from people struggling with invisible disabilities or conditions such as autism, low self-esteem, eating disorders, depression, panic attacks, bullying both in and out of cosplay, social anxiety, and fatigue, and each panelist talks about coping strategies for each of their issues and how it affects them daily, with particular relevance to cons. Printed out for panel attendees is a take-home list of online resources to help them overcome issues they may be facing, and a link is also provided to this same list online in case they are not able to pick up the material in person or feel self-conscious doing so.
It starts as a discussion between panelists with a Q and A structure, with the opportunity for the audience to ask questions and seek advice between each one, with time for an open forum at the end. The typical structure for the panelists is thus:
1. Introductions
2. What invisible disabilities/anxieties do you or have you suffered from?
3. How does a convention environment prove to be a challenge for you? Do you have any examples that you’re able to share?
4. How does cosplay (or cosplay photography, depending on the panelist) help you overcome these anxieties? (How have you moved forward from where you began?)
5. Outside of cosplay, what strategies do you find to be most helpful for getting through a convention? (How do you help yourself; what do you find most encouraging; What are your go-tos in case of an emergency, what do you never leave home without, do you have a support network, what helps you focus, etc)
6. How can a friend of someone with anxiety, or any other invisible disability, help them?
8. Questions from audience.
This panel was first run at Animazement 2016 and received a wonderful reaction from staff (including the Accessibility Coordinator) and attendees. We had a completely full room and some people were even not able to make it inside because it was too crowded. We were amply able to fill the 1-hour timeslot and could have filled even more time if we had not had to vacate.
SHORT BLURB FOR GUIDEBOOK:
Cosplay can be a huge liberation for people with social anxiety, but cons themselves can still be a battle to get through. BritFang Cosplay and guest cosplayers talk about their nervous social experiences, quirks, coping methods in cosplay, and how to encourage friends to be confident in helping themselves and others.
