Social Anxiety Disorder
Online, he was the most active forum user, drawing crowds of young women with his witty and humorous posts. Offline, however, he barely spoke three words a day, blushing and sweating profusely whenever he encountered a girl.
Zhang Fan (pseudonym), a 26-year-old man from Chengdu, suffered from a peculiar condition: social anxiety disorder.To confront his fears and overcome his condition, yesterday afternoon—with friends' support—he took a step unimaginable for 26 years: standing on a street corner inviting women to whip him. Question: Performance Art or Street Stunt? Bystanders found the young man's unusual behavior intriguing yet puzzling."This guy must be mentally ill," "Has he gone mad trying to get famous?" Most young women who saw him quickly avoided the scene, questioning whether it was a publicity stunt. Some even interpreted it as performance art.
Why did this young man do such a thing? Our reporter tracked him down for an interview. The young man seeking whippings identified himself as Zhang Fan, with the woman beside him named Xiao Hui.
According to Xiao Hui, Zhang Fan is merely an alias, not his real name. Zhang Fan spent his childhood with his grandmother. Her overindulgence and the sheltered environment left him terrified of social interaction from a young age. Over time, he developed "social anxiety disorder," becoming intensely nervous in crowded places.
Due to his personality, Zhang Fan couldn't hold down two jobs for long. He eventually quit and became a shut-in, turning to the internet as an escape from reality. He immersed himself in online gaming, relying entirely on online shopping even for food and daily necessities. The internet had become the entirety of Zhang Fan's life. His prolonged "shut-in" lifestyle only exacerbated his condition.
Zhang Fan's condition worried not only his family but also his friends. His friend Xiao Hui, who had some knowledge of psychology, suggested he try "exposure therapy"—placing himself in the environments he feared most to force rapid adaptation. With his friends' encouragement, Zhang Fan finally took this step.
Is Zhang Fan's story true? When reporters sought contact information for his family, both Zhang Fan and Xiao Hui politely declined the request.
Expert: Social Anxiety Disorder Can Be Treated Gradually
Zhang Fan described his online persona as talkative, humorous, and intellectually vibrant, yet his real-life self was a stark contrast. He exchanged fewer than three sentences daily with his parents and rarely ventured outside once a week.
He reluctantly attended several arranged meetings with girls at his parents' insistence, but each encounter triggered his symptoms: paralysis of speech, racing heartbeat, flushed face, and cold sweat on his back. The awkwardness inevitably led to failure.
Zhang Fan resolved to change himself.
As for why he chose this method of "seeking whippings," his friend Xiao Hui explained: First, it follows the principle of exposure therapy to achieve the effect of "subjecting oneself to humiliation." Second, it symbolizes "spurring onward," helping Zhang Fan emerge faster from the shadow of his social anxiety disorder.
Zhang Fan wasn't confident this method would cure his condition. As the reporter left, he still hadn't collected the "spurring" from all 11 girls he'd targeted. He said if he couldn't complete the task that day, he might try again another time. "Whether it will actually cure me, I can't say for sure."
Regarding this, the reporter contacted Dr. Li Bin from the Neuropsychiatric Center at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Dr. Li noted that individuals with symptoms like Zhang Fan's are relatively rare. Whether it constitutes a personality disorder requires further testing. Even if it is social anxiety disorder, it cannot be cured instantly through such "exposure therapy." Instead, gradual psychological treatment is necessary to slowly guide the individual back to normal life.