When 24-year-old Ankita (name changed), met Dr Arun B Nair, professor of psychiatry at the Government Medical College, Thriuvananthapuram, she was convinced she was autistic. An engineering student who passed out with excellent grades, Ankita could not perform well at her workplace. She struggled in areas where she had to interact with a group; she could not understand team dynamics. Gathering information available online, Ankita concluded she was autistic.

“She told me her condition was incurable. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder and Ankita was not autistic; what she had was a form of social anxiety. Once her problem was identified, we were able to address the issue,” says Arun.

Cyberchondria

He narrates another instance of a 20-year-old IIT aspirant who was brought into the eme

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