Do I Have Social Anxiety or Am I Just Shy?

Wondering if your social fears are truly anxiety or if you are more of a “shy” type of person? Do butterflies in the stomach, feeling uncomfortable when speaking to groups or meeting new people, or preferring to listen instead of talking mean that you’re headed toward social anxiety? 

What is Social Anxiety? 

Social anxiety is anxiety that occurs in response to social situations. A certain amount of social anxiety is completely normal, with most people acknowledging that they feel shy at certain points in their lives. Most people feel anxious about some social situations, such as public speaking or job interviews. They worry about whether the speech or interview will go well, or what other people will think. Most people will also feel relieved when it is over. For some people, however, the anxiety may be so distressing that they avoid the situation at all costs. 

‘Social anxiety disorder’ or ‘social phobia’ refers to an intense, longstanding, and debilitating fear of social situations. Often people with social anxiety disorder will avoid social situations if they can. They believe that they will be evaluated negatively or criticized by other people, and may fear that they will be embarrassed or humiliated in some way. They find that their social anxiety is getting in the way of the life that they want to be living. 

What is the Cause of Social Anxiety?

While there is no simple or exact answer to the cause of social anxiety, there are some important factors that can increase someone’s chance of developing social anxiety disorder. These factors can be divided into biological and psychological causes. Biological factors such as a family history of anxiety disorders or depression increase your chances of having an anxiety disorder. Social anxiety also may depend on a person’s lifestyle, the types of life stressors they have experienced, and their early learning. 

What Keeps Social Anxiety Going? 

Social anxiety occurs when we perceive a ‘social threat’ in a particular situation. Our perception of social threat is how strongly we believe that a ‘social catastrophe’ will occur. This perception is divided into two parts: probability and cost. 

The probability refers to how likely our fears are to happen. If we believe our fears are highly likely to come true then our fear response (also known as ‘fight or flight’) is more likely to be triggered. 

The cost refers to how bad we believe it will be if our fears do come true. 

People with social anxiety disorder have a bias to their thinking and overestimate social threat and therefore have their fight or flight response easily triggered in social situations. 

If you or someone you know struggles with social anxiety, Call us at the Counseling and Wellness Center, located in Parkersburg or Belpre, and one of our trained professionals would love to help you out.