4 Key Differences Between Introversion and Social Anxiety

Being introverted and having social anxiety are two different things.

1: Introversion is born. Social anxiety is made.

Introversion is a part of your inherent personality—a from-the-womb, dyed-in-the-wool trait. And while those who are socially anxious also carry a genetic predisposition toward it, theres more than just temperament at play. In an indelicate analogy, genetics loads the gun, but experience pulls the trigger.

Two things happen to make us socially anxious: the first is learning. One way or another, we learn—mistakenly!—that we dont measure up to scrutiny. We might absorb the worries of a parent who frets about what the neighbors think, internalize the social pressure to be outgoing when were anything but, or be seared by a social trauma like bullying. However social anxiety works its way into our brain, we somehow grow to believe at a young age that people will judge us and find us lacking.

The second ingredient for social anxiety is avoidance. We bolt at the end of the meeting so we miss the ensuing small talk, feign illness so we dont have to go to the holiday party, or stare at our phones whenever we feel nervous, all of which keeps us mired. And, of course, we hide in the bathroom. We dont get the chance to discover this social stuff isnt as bad as we think and maybe, just maybe, we got this.

2: In social anxiety, theres a fear of being revealed.

In social anxiety, we think theres something wrong with us. (Imagine think with a big asterisk because even though we dont believe it, our perceived flaws are either not true or only true to a degree no one cares about.)

That perceived flaw could be physical: maybe you think you turn lobster-red when you talk or that your hands shake like James Bonds martini. Or it could be a character flaw: you think if you speak up in class, everyone will decide youre stupid or a loser. You might fear a poor social performance: you picture yourself frozen and silent, blinking in mute horror or babbling like a pageant contestant failing the on-stage question. No matter the perceived flaw, you fear the reveal.

By contrast, the non-socially anxious introvert thinks what you see is what you get. Theres nothing to be revealed because theres nothing to hide.

3: Perfectionism lays fertile ground for social anxiety.

Far from fifty shades of grey, in social anxiety, your social acumen is black or white. You think youll either achieve a flawless social performance or are destined to end up on a YouTube reel entitled Epic Social Fails. This all-or-nothing approach (no pressure or anything!) makes us think that the only way to stave off inevitable harsh criticism is to be effortlessly witty and charming. And that, in turn, makes us feel paralyzed. Theres an old quote from French writer Francois de la Rouchfoucauld:

Nothing so much prevents our being natural as the desire to seem so.

Hear, hear.

For non-anxious introverts, by contrast, being seen by others isnt a performance. Theres no anticipated judgment. You can pepper your presentation with ums and have awkward silence in conversation, and it doesnt necessarily mean anything bad about you, nor is there anything at stake. In other words, some conversations are absorbing and flow easily. Others may be graceless or banal, but you know that doesnt mean you are too.

4: Introversion is your way. Social anxiety gets in your way.

Social anxiety is driven by fear. It makes you slip out of the birthday party early because youre convinced youre boring or dont fit in or that youre breaking out in hives and everyone will see. But then you miss the cake and the singing, and despite what you think, you will be missed by others. Social anxiety gets in the way of living life. You miss out on what people have to offer because youre either physically absent or stuck in self-monitoring mode—worrying, like Alex, that youll say something stupid—when you are with them.

Now, Liam may leave the party early too, but theres none of the self-criticism and self-consciousness involved. Many of us, like Liam, would really, honestly, like to go home, eat a bowl of cereal, and watch the game with our housemates. No judgment, no self-flagellation, no convincing ourselves we dont care. We choose to walk out the door; fear doesnt choose for us.

So, while at first blush, social anxiety may seem like a souped-up version of introversion, theyre as different as pad thai and pulled pork sliders. The good news? For Alex, practice, perspective, and facing his fears can make all the difference. Social anxiety issolvable. And working on it wont change his introverted personality; indeed, it doesnt need to. But it can dial down the fear and recalibrate that social smoke detector.

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