Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed that she's receiving therapy after the January 6 riots

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, commonly known as AOC, has bravely revealed she is focusing on her mental health after living through the trauma of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.
AOC's admission that she is "doing therapy" to help her process the incident is powerful because it shows that even one of the country's most prominent leaders needs to take time for their mental health.
We live in a world where people still face stigmatization for going to therapy, so for a person who is often the target of malicious attacks, to let her guard down is courageous. It's also a great example for people everywhere. If one of the fiercest members of Congress needs time for her mental health, it has nothing to do with weakness.
When hundreds of pro-Trump insurgents stormed the Capitol building, Ocasio-Cortez thought her life was in danger. "Wednesday was an extremely traumatizing event. And it was not an exaggeration to say that many members of the House were nearly assassinated," she said after the event.
Several of the insurgents had guns, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and zip ties to take hostages. Video from the attack shows attackers chanting "Hang Mike Pence!"
Garrett Miller, an insurgent from Richardson, Texas, made death threats during the attack on the Capitol tweeting, "Assassinate AOC."
Ocasio-Cortez wasn't in the Capitol building during the attack, but she sheltered in her office at the nearby Cannon House Office Building. At one point she hid in the bathroom and was startled when a police officer pounded on her office door asking, "Where is she? Where is she?"
AOC thought the man pounding on the door was an insurgent who came to hurt her.
"And I just thought to myself, 'They got inside' ... I mean, I thought I was going to die," Ocasio-Cortez said, according to People.
The 31-year-old Congresswoman told the LatinoUSA podcast that the January 6 insurrection was an incredibly scary moment for her and her coworkers. "You have this transition period of escalating violence, which really culminated on the 6th, for which was an extraordinarily traumatizing event that's not really being discussed," she said.
As a Congresswoman, Ocasio-Cortez is constantly reacting to the never-ending business of government, but after receiving some heartfelt advice, decided to take a break and pay attention to her mental health after five years of incredible stress.
"Oh yeah, I'm doing therapy but also I've just slowed down," Ocasio-Cortez continued. "I think the Trump administration had a lot of us, especially Latino communities, in a very reactive mode."
"After the 6th, I took some time and it was really [Rep.] Ayanna Pressley when I explained to her what happened to me, like the day of, because I ran to her office," AOC explained. "And she was like, 'You need to recognize trauma. And this is something that you went through, but we're all going through. And it's really important to pause after that, because that's how you process it.'"
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.