What is social anxiety? 

Social anxiety is characterised by an excessive and persistent fear of being judged, scrutinised, or evaluated negatively by others in social situations. People with social anxiety often worry about how they come across to others, which can lead to an anxious and uncomfortable feeling in social situations. This fear can significantly impact a person's wellbeing and quality of life, making it difficult to engage in normal social interactions and activities. Social anxiety can range in severity from mild to severe, with some people experiencing it in specific situations, such as public speaking or meeting new people, while others may struggle with it in all social situations. Understanding what social anxiety is and the signs and symptoms associated with it is an essential first step in getting help and learning to manage the condition. 

Signs and symptoms of social anxiety 

People with social anxiety may experience some or many of the following symptoms: 

Common physical symptoms of social anxiety include: 

Personal impacts of social anxiety 

Because of these symptoms it’s understandable that people with social anxiety often have a strong desire to isolate themselves or stay at home, rather than attend social events or participate in activities that involve interacting with others. This is where social anxiety can significantly impact daily life and overall wellbeing.

Here are some ways in which social anxiety may affect daily life: 

1. Difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships: People with social anxiety often find it challenging to form new relationships and maintain existing ones due to their fear of being judged or rejected. 

2. Professional setbacks: Social anxiety can impact performance in professional settings, such as during interviews, presentations, or team meetings. This can lead to missed opportunities and reduced career growth. 

3. Avoidance of social situations: People with social anxiety often avoid social situations, such as parties, gatherings, or even going out to public places like lead to feelings of isolation. 

4. Physical symptoms: Social anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, rapid heartbeat, and nausea, which can interfere with daily tasks and activities and cause people to avoid social situations further out of fear of being judged for these physical symptoms.   

5. Emotional toll: Social anxiety can take an emotional toll, leading to feelings of embarrassment, shame, and self-doubt. 

Ways worry can be helpful 

When worries can be counterproductive 

When we worry about multiple issues - we can’t problem solve effectively if we are worrying about anything and everything therefore worrying about multiple issues tends to tip the balance from problem solving worry to inefficient worry. 

When we’re seeking a perfect solution - Nothing is ever perfect of guaranteed and therefore seeking to find a perfect or guaranteed solution will likely prove fruitless.  

When our worries are irrational – When our worries focus predominantly on worst case scenarios or “catastrophising” this can be incredibly negative for our wellbeing.  

When we are unaware of how long we are worrying or can’t stop worrying – When we are worrying for long periods of time our thoughts feel like they go round in circles, they are unproductive and draining indicating worry has moved away from being productive problem solving worry. In this state it is unlikely we will have the mental capacity to come up with any productive solutions. 

How to manage your worry effectively 

Even reframing “worry” to problem solving can be a positive step in improving your mindset, there are a few other things to consider to help you manae your worry. 

Increase your self awareness – Just being aware of the amount of time and energy you’re devoting to worry can be a great first step to managing worry effectively. You can start to identify triggers to your worries and times and places that you worry most.  

Stay rational - Try and maintain a rational mindset based on what is possible or probable in the situation, this prevents our worries becoming irrational. 

Set yourself time to worry – I can be helpful to have specific time dedicated to working through an issue and essentially giving yourself the space to worry, even writing out worries and possible solutions. If considering worry as a possible form of problem solving we can see that once we have rationally worked through the problem and possible solutions there is not much more to do, any additional time spent on this issue can become counterproductive. Once you’ve had your time to focus on your worries, try and draw a line under it and distract yourself with something else, you can always tell yourself you’ll return to the issue at a later point. By returning to the issue later you may find that the break from worry means you can adopt a more rational mindset and find solutions more effectively. 

Talk to others - A problem shared and all that....but seriously by voicing our worries out loud we often naturally start to think more rationally about them.  It also gives voice to the worries going round your head which can help break negative thought cycles.

As always though if you’re still struggling or you feel your worry has tipped over into anxiety meaning your feel it is more intense and starting to interfere with your life it is always worth seeking professional help to work through your concerns.