Social Anxiety Explained
“Oh, you are just shy.” Are you sick and tired of hearing that? Are you wondering what is wrong with you? Do you feel like no one understands? You are not alone!
Anxiety is similar to fear, yet very different. Fear is a rational emotional response to a real threat. Anxiety is an irrational emotional response to an imagined threat. However, it feels very real to those of us who suffer with anxiety on a daily basis.
Example: Imagine you are walking down a dark, deserted road and you turn around to see a man coming at you with a gun. This is real… this is fear.
Now imagine you are walking down a familiar street in broad daylight and you imagine some disaster is about to happen, to you, and without warning. There is no visual threat, it is all imagined, though very real in the mind of a person suffering anxiety. This is imagined… this is anxiety.
Social anxiety runs along the same vein. Whereas shyness is an uncomfortable feeling when someone is around strangers, etc. Social Anxiety, or Social Phobia, is a persistent fear of criticism or rejection by others.
Someone who is shy may blush when meeting someone new. They may have butterflies and feel very uncomfortable.
Social Anxiety Symptoms
Someone with social anxiety may also blush when meeting someone new. However, this person may also feel nauseous, light-headed, and they may tremble. Their heart may race and feel like they are having a heart attack, and they will have panic feelings and want to find the nearest exit.
One with social anxiety will not only have the above mentioned bodily symptoms, they will also have fearful thoughts, or faulty thoughts as I call them. Some of these thoughts could include:
- I look out of place
- I sound stupid
- I will be rejected
- I appear incompetent
- I am too quiet
- I look too nervous
People with social anxiety experience such a strong fear and intense symptoms that they avoid social situations altogether. The fear of saying or doing something “stupid” or thinking they will be judged by others is just too extreme to bear.