By KAITLYN HENSON
Staff Writer
We’ve all felt anxiety from time to time — a feeling of nervousness, dread, and fear, that often feels overwhelming to get through. For most people they feel anxious about normal things, such as giving a speech or passing a test. But for others, it can be as simple as everyday social interactions and talking to people. And that feeling of dread becomes constant, and weary, to the point where it becomes unbearable. It can feel impossible to connect with others with this looming fear of social situations, worrying about saying the wrong things, looking a certain way, or slipping up on a sentence that might make you look dumb or stupid. That kind of anxiety is referred to as social anxiety.
If you’ve played or heard of the game Life is Strange, you’re probably aware of the main protagonist Max Caulfield. She is a senior in high school who has a strong passion for photography. One thing about her character that is often overlooked however is the way she acts, mostly at the beginning of the game. Max is very soft-spoken, and is often treated harshly by her peers for being distant and quiet from everyone. Characters see her as someone who doesn’t show remorse or care for other people when we — as the player — know that isn’t true because we get to hear what goes on in her mind. The way Max acts in social situations can be seen as a little odd, but to me, it is all too familiar
I’m someone diagnosed with social anxiety myself, and first seeing the character of Max reminded me of the struggles I’ve faced in social situations before. Her awkwardness around other people, as well as her desire to hide behind a camera, reminds me a lot of myself and what I try to do to avoid talking to people.
What makes the character of Max Caulfield so interesting in Life is Strange is that in the game we discover she has the ability to time travel. Therefore, any decisions she’s made or things she says can be changed to see the outcome. People with social anxiety are often scared of social situations for the terrible outcomes that might happen. Even though bad outcomes are usually unlikely to occur, social anxiety can make someone predict and think about possible futures with what they wear, look, act, and say. We see Max at the beginning before she gets her powers, and she is hesitant with everything she says and prefers to be out of social situations. She is afraid to present her photography work, believing that people will think it’s stupid or dumb. But when she discovers these time-traveling powers, we as the player slowly begin to see her character become a lot more confident and bold with her decisions. She becomes less afraid of talking to people knowing that she’s easily able to time travel back during a conversation to change something she said that might’ve been bad. Seeing someone that has trouble in social situations finding out this new power feels relatable and something I’d love to have. It would be a dream come true to be able to time travel and see different outcomes of what I say or what I do so that I’ll worry less about how I act socially.
Although it’s not confirmed Max Caulfield has social anxiety, a lot of her traits throughout the game lead me to believe that she experiences very similar struggles that people with social anxiety often struggle with. I relate to Max a lot in that aspect, and I’m sure many others would too. To me, she’s a good example of how someone with social anxiety, or anyone who isn’t good in social situations, can act.