Social Anxiety – More Than Shyness

When someone says these things, they may truly feel as though they dont want to, they cant, or they need someone to go with them. However, theres another thing that may be at play: social anxiety. Perhaps when the person says that they dont wish to do something, they mean that they dont know what to do in that particular situation, so they dont want to go and potentially make a fool of themselves. The same reasoning applies towards one saying that they cant do something. As for the last question, perhaps the individual just needs a trusted friend to go with them into a new situation or location. Perhaps the anxiety the individual feels is too strong and debilitating, and without a friend to be there with them, they will feel incapable of doing something.

According to WebMD (n.d.), social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, is where a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. With individuals who have social anxiety disorder, they may fall into one of two categories: generalized, where most social situations are avoided or feared, and non-generalized, where a person has a greater level of anxiety towards certain situations such as public speaking (Jacobs & Antony, n.d.; Social Phobia, n.d.). Some symptoms that may be present when someone suffers from this disorder are being very afraid of others judgment, avoiding public places, have difficulty being or speaking with others, even though they wish they could, and for an extended period of time before an event where others will be present (Social Phobia, n.d.). Several different factors are often at play when one deals with social anxiety, with genetics, our brains, and our life experiences being three of the most commonly accepted ones (Jacobs & Antony, n.d.; Mathew, Coplan, & Gorman, 2001). However, with a greater understanding of the disorder one can begin lessening the effects. Often that can be achieved through Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) or through doctors, who are also known to prescribe medication for social anxiety disorder (Social Phobia, n.d.).

While there are situations that someone may truly not wish to do, or cant do, one should take into account anothers level of anxiety first. Social anxiety is something that has plagued me for most, if not all, of my life. However, it does not have the same effect on my sister. When I say I may not be able to do something, she may be perfectly capable of doing without guidance. This is not to say that everyone says that they dont wish to, or cant, do something due to anxiety. Instead, it is merely to point out that sometimes a trend appears with an individual, and others merely needs to be patient and supportive of them. Instead of jumping to conclusions, or assuming that everyone that says their anxiety is keeping them back is making excuses for not doing something, perhaps we should think of how debilitating anxiety can truly be.

References and Resources:

Jacobs, A. M., & Antony, M. M. (n.d.). Social Anxiety Disorder and Social Phobia. In Social Anxiety Support. Retrieved from https://www.socialanxietysupport.com/disorder/

Mathew, S. J., Coplan, J. D., & Gorman, J. M. (2014). Neurobiological mechanisms of Social Anxiety Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(10), 1558-1567. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.10.1558

Social Anxiety Disorder. (n.d.). In WebMD. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-social-anxiety-disorder

Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder). (n.d.). In National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/social-phobia-social-anxiety-disorder/index.shtml

Pictures:

https://lolsnaps.com/funny/112176/social-anxiety-sucks

https://m1psychology.com/social-anxiety/

https://socialanxietymouse.tumblr.com/

https://www.whatibeproject.com/portfolio-item/i-am-not-my-social-anxiety-5/

credit [x]