I'm going to have a visa interview soon, and one thing that concerns me is that many people say "don't be nervous during the interview". And I have generalized anxiety disorder, so I'm being nervous pretty much all the time. And from my own experience, many people are intolerant of anxiousness.
So, the question is: is it appropriate to bring this up during the interview? And if yes, what's the best way to explain it?
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4By starting with "I'm sorry, but I'm a very nervous person" because you are not there to discuss a disability, but the visa application.– Weather VaneCommented Oct 8, 2023 at 20:19
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3No, I didn't suggest that at all, but to mention something at the start. If the difficulty later turns out to be impeding the interview, you might add more, such as "it's a disability". BTW, I have a disability. Maybe the question would be better on SE Interpersonal skills.– Weather VaneCommented Oct 8, 2023 at 21:36
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3If you don't mind me saying, you need to distinguish between people's intolerance of a disabilty, and their dislike of people wanting to explain it at length. People are not stupid: to stretch the point, if you have only one leg and you keep falling over, and you say, "it's because I only have one leg" then you are likely to irritate them.– Weather VaneCommented Oct 8, 2023 at 22:34
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2I thik @WeatherVane was arguing in good faith, I could have said the same things in good faith, but you're making it hard to remain in good faith, and that's a problem you might also face during the visa interview. Having one leg might be more visible, but that's not the point, the point is that hiding behind a disability (blaming it for something it's obviously the reason for) may annoy people. When a disability is invisble (like nervousness) in contrast to visible (like having one leg) you obviously need to inform people about before they can factor it in to their decisions.– Henrik supports the communityCommented Oct 9, 2023 at 7:51
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1And having one leg, might be considered a bad example too. Many people (at least in some parts of the world) get prosthetic legs, making it very hard to see, and eliminating most consequences. I knew a guy for 4 years before I found out he had a prosthetic leg,– Henrik supports the communityCommented Oct 9, 2023 at 7:54
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2 Answers
I'd recommend briefly mentioning your disability upfront, like "I just wanted to note I have generalized anxiety disorder, so please excuse any nervousness." The interviewer likely sees many applicants and will understand.
I think it is appropriate to bring this up, as the interviewer might suspect that you’re hiding something or not telling the whole truth if it is not mentioned at the start.
So, I decided to tell about my health issues to the guy who was directing the applicants to the different lines, and he sent me to the dedicated fast-track line. Hopefully this can be useful to someone else.