With social anxiety, each new day can feel like a brand new challenge, and not a good, motivating type.
Being able to participate in day to day, basic life tasks is a struggle. Most people take this ability for granted because it comes so naturally. But with social anxiety, it’s quite overwhelming.
Signs of Social Anxiety
While many people are aware of social anxiety, they only understand the tip of the iceberg. So often, those with this anxiety are classified as being shy, quiet, or worse, passive.
They’re thought to be homebodies, but that may not be their choice. It’s a hand that’s forced because of a creeping fear and swirling self-doubt.
Physical Symptoms of Social Anxiety
Frequently, those suffering from social anxiety will experience a variety of physical symptoms which are difficult to control. Dealing with one or multiple of these symptoms can be unpleasant and fuel the continued fear of social interaction. Once you realize social situations are responsible for triggering your symptoms, that fear that they’ll happen again is hard to kick.
Examples of physical symptoms can include an increased heart rate, sweating (primarily in your palms and underarms), shallow breathing, and shakiness. You may be experiencing body tension, muscle pains, a tightness in your chest, or a dry mouth. These are all symptoms of social anxiety as well.
In some instances, you might even experience dizziness, a feeling like you’re going to faint, speech difficulties, or cognitive effects. Any of these can be explained by plenty of other conditions, but if you’re consistently experiencing them during social interactions that are not deemed dangerous situations, it’s highly likely to fall under this umbrella.
Psychological Symptoms of Social Anxiety
While the physical symptoms may appear to be more detrimental, the psychological can take an equal toll on you and your ability to function. The perception of fear for a certain situation may feel significant, and it certainly is, but that fear is typically based on irrational thought processes.
They stem from this deeply rooted belief that everyone is judging you, which then affects your self-esteem. They also come from worst-case scenario thinking, which is oftentimes not the most realistic outcome.
Examples of thes type of symptoms include intense fear coming from judgment and/or poor personal performance, worrying about doing the wrong thing, worrying about saying something embarrassing, fear due to feeling rejected, feeling shame or inadequacy after a social encounter, and anticipatory anxiety leading up to a social engagement.
When you have social anxiety, you feel awkward most of the time. You may be reluctant to express yourself, even if you know you have the best idea in the room. This is also the case if you’re one who struggles to take compliments and feels uncomfortable receiving praise.
The psychological symptoms make it hard to want to be in any social encounter, let alone be anywhere near the center of attention. These fears and negative emotions tend to drive some harsh judgments about yourself. Most often, they’re unfair and unrealistic self-judgments.
Behavioral Symptoms of Social Anxiety
Both categories of symptoms already listed can lead to avoidant behaviors to keep yourself as calm and uninterrupted as possible. This can put a damper on building relationships, forming friendships, excelling in your academic pursuits or career aspirations. Anything socially engaging can feel like Mt. Everest.
When it comes to personal life, social anxiety can affect your willingness to go to parties or happy hours with people you’re not the most familiar with. You may struggle with new introductions. Restaurants, stores, or most other public places can feel overwhelming due to a fear of interacting with employees.
Professionally, this can present in taking charge of projects, standing up for yourself to your boss, voicing your opinion in meetings, giving a presentation, and even interviewing to get a job.
If any of the above sounds familiar, contact us for help to navigate your situation and learn more about anxiety counseling.
