Some people are naturally outgoing, extroverted, and the life of the party. Others are more reserved and introverted and prefer smaller groups or one-on-one catch-ups. And some folks are shy and slow to warm up to people. However, there is a line between shyness and social anxiety. Social anxiety can be a crippling condition that holds you back from a fulfilling social life, career progression, and more. This helpful article will help you understand when it’s more than shyness — we’ll explain what social anxiety is and some tips to overcome it.
What is Social Anxiety?
Anxiety disorders are common in the United States, with anxiety impacting 20% of people in the general population. People with an anxiety disorder, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or social anxiety disorder (SAD or social phobia), tend to have overwhelming feelings of uncertainty, worry, and fears that tend to interfere with their everyday living and social activities. For diagnosis, it needs to last more than six months to be considered a persistent condition. For those with social anxiety, the anxiety tends to manifest in social settings only. In contrast, they are usually fine by themselves, whereas those with GAD feel anxious most of the time.
Diagnosis
To properly diagnose GAD or SAD, a mental health clinician or your physician will look for several co-occurring symptoms, including excessive, hard-to-control worries, which occur most days of the week over six months,” notes Dr. Clint Salo from The Grove Recovery Community. For instance, too much caffeine, such as a strong coffee or energy drink, can trigger an onset of social anxiety, as can a social setting, such as a small gathering, a bigger party, or even a work function,” says Dr. Michael S. Valdez from Detox California. For SAD, the excessive worry has to be centred around social settings or even the thought of social settings. If this is the case, you may experience the following in a social setting:
- Muscle tension and soreness
- Headaches
- Sweaty palms
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Increased heart rate
- Insomnia
- Not being able to converse or contribute to the conversation
- Nausea
- Digestive issues and stomach pain
- A sense of immediate danger or impending doom
Common Social Anxiety Triggers
There can be a variety of triggers for people who experience social anxiety, which are quite similar to other stressors in life for other people. For instance, too much caffeine, such as a strong coffee or energy drink, can trigger an onset of social anxiety, as can a social setting, such as a small gathering, a bigger party, or even a work function.
Other triggers can include simply the thought of a social situation if your social anxiety is severe. Many people experiencing social anxiety find it hard to commence conversations or struggle with knowing what to say or how to answer polite questions about themselves, which can make parties or work networking events stressful and overwhelming.
Another major trigger that many people with SAD experience is public speaking — whether it’s giving a big presentation at work or simply introducing yourself in a group setting, the demand of having all those people’s eyes focused on you can be overwhelming for folks with social anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
Another common trigger for social anxiety is being the centre of attention, even in smaller settings like a dinner party. Something that people take for granted, such as walking into a room where others are already seated and comfortable or being asked a question in front of a group, can make a person with social anxiety feel exposed, worried, and nervous. In addition to this, certain performance situations like eating in front of others, writing or working while someone is watching, or being observed while doing a task, can also provoke strong social anxiety, which is often tied to intense fears of doing something embarrassing or being judged harshly for mistakes by the watchers.
How to Stop Social Anxiety
See A Mental Health Professional
You may want to find a mental health professional to talk to, such as a clinician who has completed online PhD counseling programs or another mental health-related qualification, such as psychology or therapy.
Medicine for Anxiety
When it comes to medicine used to treat social anxiety, a class of drugs called benzodiazepines can be prescribed by a physician or a psychiatrist as a primarily short-term solution to manage social anxiety or panic attacks in a social setting. However, these pills shouldn’t be used long-term due to their addictive nature, as they can cause physical dependence after two or more weeks and have awful withdrawal symptoms. A great non-addictive option is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs, which take a bit longer to work (around 4-8 weeks) but have been proven to manage anxiety as well as depression. These medications are brand-named as things like Prozac.
Talking Therapy
The most common psychotherapy for social anxiety is that a counsellor will use a form of talking therapy that is called cognitive behavioural therapy (or CBT). This type of therapy aims to change thought patterns that may be disordered. The aim is to change the associated behaviour that connects to the thoughts of social anxiety. For instance, in CBT, you might unpack thoughts and feelings like “I am an idiot” or “I will seem a fool” as they relate to socializing and help you to see how these thoughts are fundamentally flawed, leading to your feelings of social anxiety.
Even simply talking about your social anxiety with a compassionate and understanding mental health professional can be enough to help treat it.
