Humans are biologically wired to need one another, causing us to naturally seek out connections with other people. While making new friends comes easily to some people, it can be intimidating and even terrifying for others, such as those experiencing social anxiety.
While social situations can be daunting for anyone, people with social anxiety face heightened levels of distress when they’re around other people. These individuals often doubt their ability to be accepted and may even withdraw from others completely to avoid potential rejection or embarrassment.
Although social anxiety tends to be a chronic concern, it can be overcome with the right tools and support. Keep reading to learn more about the impact, causes, and symptoms of social anxiety, as well as ways to cope with and move past it.
Table of Contents
What Is Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that causes a person to experience intense fear, anxiety, and distress when interacting with other people. Typically, people with this disorder go out of their way to avoid social situations as they’re worried about being judged by others.
Social anxiety can affect daily functioning, interfering with an individual’s ability to perform well at work or school. Maintaining relationships is often a struggle, despite most people with this disorder desperately wanting friends and family members to relate with and grow close to. While social anxiety usually develops during childhood, it can affect people at any stage of life.
Potential Causes of Social Anxiety
While there may not be one specific cause of social anxiety, there are factors that can increase a person’s risk of developing it. These include:
- Abuse: Experiencing abuse, especially as a child, can cause people to distrust and fear others, affecting their ability to form and maintain healthy relationships. This might lead them to have intense anxiety in social situations and avoid other people altogether. Abuse can also lead to low self-esteem, which can be common among those with social anxiety.
- Bullying: Being bullied can take a toll on a person’s self-esteem and confidence, causing them to fear being unaccepted or judged by others. Constant teasing and humiliation from one’s peers can lead someone to believe that all social interactions will be this way, and for this reason, they may avoid social situations because they anticipate similar treatment from others.
- Rejection: Experiencing rejection from friends, family, and even strangers can intensify feelings of shame, sadness, and loneliness, causing people to believe that something is wrong with them or that they’re unworthy of connection. Believing that they’ll meet similar fates in the future, some individuals may begin to avoid social situations completely to protect themselves from the pain of rejection, which can prompt the development of social anxiety.
- Trauma: Trauma can have lasting physical, emotional, and mental health effects, particularly for children. When people have experienced mistreatment in the past, they may go to great lengths to prevent similar experiences and negative feelings, causing them to withdraw from others and avoid forming intimate relationships.
- Other mental disorders: Comorbid mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD can create other symptoms that add to and intensify a person’s social anxiety. Depression can cause feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem, leading to isolation, loneliness, and withdrawal from loved ones. People with PTSD may experience guilt and shame, causing them to avoid social situations and making it more challenging to believe they’re worthy of acceptance.
- Genetics: Hereditary factors can play a role in the development of social anxiety, as some people tend to be more sensitive to social situations and stressors than others. People with a family history of anxiety disorders may inherit genes that increase their risk of experiencing similar concerns. When environmental stressors, trauma, or other adverse experiences occur, it can trigger the onset of social anxiety disorder.
Just because someone has risk factors for social anxiety doesn’t mean they will go on to develop it. Often, a combination of factors contributes to the disorder.
Symptoms of Social Anxiety
Social anxiety can run on a spectrum of severity, with some people being more affected than others. Common symptoms of this disorder include the following:
- Persistent anxiety
- Sweating
- A racing heartbeat
- Panic attacks
- Low self-esteem
- Blushing
- Withdrawal from loved ones
- Nausea
- Trembling
- Feeling faint
- Avoidance of social situations
- Intense shyness
- Fear of judgment
- Distress when being observed
- Stammering
Overcoming Social Anxiety: Professional Support
Treatment for social anxiety disorder often involves therapy, medication, or both. Working with a therapist can be helpful because it can help the individual determine the potential causes of their anxiety. Once those are identified, they can be processed and worked through using different therapeutic approaches. Support groups can also be powerful tools for healing, allowing people to relate to others who understand what they’re going through.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common frameworks utilized to treat social anxiety disorder. CBT involves identifying and challenging unhelpful or irrational thoughts and fears and replacing them with healthier, more productive patterns of thinking. People struggling with social anxiety who choose to participate in CBT often feel more equipped to stay engaged in social situations and experience increased emotional resiliency as well as an improved ability to approach anxiety-induing situations more rationally.
- Exposure therapy is another common approach for treating social anxiety disorder. This type of therapy involves gradually exposing a person to their fears until there’s no longer an overwhelmingly anxious response. For example, a therapist treating social anxiety may have their patient text a friend one week, call them the next week, and initiate an in-person hangout on the third week. By slowly building up to more anxiety-inducing experiences, the individual can learn how to manage their distress while feeling safe and comfortable during the process.
- Support groups can be useful for treating social anxiety disorder as individuals can receive support and encouragement from people facing similar circumstances while also learning about new coping skills to manage their symptoms. They can ask for advice and see what has helped other people overcome their fears and gain valuable social skills in the process. Support groups are often led by a professional, such as a counselor, who can make sure conversations stay on track and remain productive. These group settings can foster safety, security, and vulnerability, allowing its members to experience personal growth and healing.
Working with a mental health professional can be one of the most effective ways to find the right therapeutic approach for social anxiety, as they can build a treatment plan around an individual’s specific symptoms, needs, and preferences.
Although therapy can be highly effective, sometimes it isn’t enough. In these instances, medical or mental health professionals may prescribe medication alongside therapy. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are most commonly prescribed. The combination of therapy and medicine works well for many people, allowing them to overcome adverse symptoms and slowly work toward lessening their anxiety in social situations. It can be crucial to always speak with a medical professional before starting a new medication or stopping one.
Everyday Tips for Overcoming Social Anxiety
While professional support is often necessary, lifestyle changes, healthy habits, and self-care can also be critical in finding relief from social anxiety. The following strategies can help ensure positive overall wellness as symptoms of social anxiety are managed.
- Eat a healthy diet
- Identify your triggers
- Try breathing exercises
- Give yourself daily affirmations
- Set small daily goals
- Get enough sleep
- Make at least one close friend
- Try journaling about your thoughts, feelings, and fears
- Exercise regularly
- Join a club or group that interests you
- Find a hobby
- Challenge self-defeating thoughts
- Practice mindfulness
- Face your fears
- Ask for help when needed
- Get outside often
- Introduce supplements into your diet
- Give yoga a try
Not only does social anxiety affect everyone differently, but people may find certain strategies to be more helpful than others while trying to relieve their symptoms. Therefore, it can be important to try out more than one method of self-care or lifestyle change to find what works most effectively.
The Power in One Brave Step
It takes a lot of courage to continue to engage with life while living with social anxiety, as it has the potential to impact multiple aspects of a person’s daily life. Its symptoms often make it difficult to function at school, work, and home, leading to a lowered quality of life, depression, as well as less satisfaction and contentment. Early intervention can be key, allowing people to find healing through therapy, support groups, medication, or personal habits and lifestyle changes.
While it can be easy to feel isolated and alone when living with social anxiety, support and resources are always available. Reaching out for help can already be a daunting task for those experiencing a mental health disorder, making it that much harder for those with social anxiety. However, this singular act of bravery could make all the difference in overcoming the disorder and living a healthier, more productive life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social anxiety disorder is a common and debilitating condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It can interfere with one’s ability to form meaningful relationships, perform well at work or school, and enjoy life. However, there is hope for overcoming social anxiety with the help of professional support, such as therapy, medication, or support groups, as well as personal strategies, such as self-care, lifestyle changes, and facing one’s fears. By taking one brave step to seek help, people with social anxiety can start their journey to recovery and happiness.
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