Originally Posted by gebodupa

Well, there are plenty of different mental health issues that one can develop, and there is absolutely no general rule that they have to be genetic. The best example is PTSD and GAD, and I can bet a $100 that, if tested properly, at least 80% of DAP forum members older than 21 would be diagnosed with some form of it.

How many of you get anxious when someone asks you why you don't drive? How many of you feel worried when someone looks through your passport when you use it as a form of ID? How many of you come up with ridiculous explanations when people ask you why you are doing whatever-it-is-that-you're-doing despite having a college degree?

I know I do....

However, when one actually thinks about these questions, there are plenty of cases where an individual could be legal, hell even a US citizen (except for the foreign passport I guess) , and still be in this situation. Yet, most of us immediately relate them to our status, and the older we get the more pronounced this becomes. For me, seeing kids who are 16-18 complaining about not being able to have a DL like their friends is completely hilarious, for two reasons: a) I myself thought it was the worst thing possible when I was their age, and b) because they are still identifying it as something they WISH they could do, and not as something they are NOT ALLOWED to do. Initially, they see this as something that would make their lives better, and look at it as a step necessary to fit in and be accepted by society. Ironically enough, most of their friends hardly think about it, and in most cases they are just happy they can drive themselves.

However, as more and more things are added to the mix, and you get older , these thing tend to accumulate and you end up with a) no ID b) no car c) no real job or even a chance thereof d) fairly useless college degree e) no way to travel safely, and as we all have learnt the hard way, hundred other things. Eventually, these things start to define you, and you end up with two horrible choices: you can either lie about your status and try assume an identity and personality of somebody that simply does not exist, or be open about your status and risk being ostracized for it, and a multitude of other possible consequences such action might have. It is not different than any other form of PTSD, or even long term GAD, where the person often chooses to act as if the act did not happen in front of others, or live in a constant worry that either others will find out or that it will happen again.

Several of the main symptoms of PTSD, and GAD in general, are:
- Avoiding places, people, or thoughts that remind you of the event
- Feeling like you have no future
- Having an exaggerated response to things that startle you

Now, since in our case it is a little difficult to avoid being undocumented, 1) can be applied to a hundred different things. 3) might be certain questions, or simple statement another person makes and I think 2) pretty much speaks for itself.