Here’s What Social Anxiety Disorder Really Looks Like

People get nervous, that’s a truth. Some, more than others. Some people start out never being able to look other people in the eye in public but go on to deliver speeches in front of huge crowds. Others were seemingly born with the natural ability to float through a crowd, speak graciously to anyone, and mingle, make friends, and be on their merry way without so much as a thought to what other people might be thinking about them all the while exuding confidence.

Things like that only happen in dreams for some us. That’s because social anxiety can get the best of us. For some people, social anxiety is just a minor inconvenience. Once they warm up to certain people, they can do OK, but for others, the mere thought of facing other people or having to carry on a conversation can be daunting and simply something we cannot bear to face.

Social anxiety is a crippling mental health disorder that’s typically chronic. People who face social anxiety or sometimes called social phobia are stuck with embarrassment, fear, shame, anxiety, and self-consciousness. Whether the fears are based on completely fictional events or things that have never happened or whether they’re rooted in other emotional disturbances or traumas the person may have faced, the result is the same. An inability to face social situations.

For people who must live with social anxiety, their entire day to day routines may be shaped around avoiding other people, crowds, lines in the store, you name it. Often, it can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, depression, and beyond.

If you have social anxiety, how does it manifest for you? Share with others about your experiences, was the anxiety something that was always there or something that popped up more recently. We love to get the stories going for others who might be facing the same thing as you are so let’s get the conversation going below!

Reference
N.D. “Social Anxiety Disorder”. Mayo Clinic. (website). 2019