Signs of social anxiety

The signs of social anxiety can vary from person to person, making it challenging to reach a conclusive diagnosis in some cases.

Shy girl At the heart of the problem lies a fear of being judged or scrutinized by others. Many people with social anxiety are "shy". However, some people with social anxiety can appear to be very extroverted. An example of this is the myriad of actors and performers who are known to have social anxiety, yet spend much of their lives in the spotlight.

Social anxiety can involve dreading, or avoiding, many of the following situations:

  • Catching up with old friends
  • Meeting new people in general, or in particular situations such as parties
  • Speaking on the phone
  • Applying for new jobs and going to job interviews
  • Asking for what you want in relationships
  • Interacting with sales people (e.g. returning an unwanted item)
  • Talking to authority figures
  • Talking to people one finds sexually attractive
  • Speaking in front of an audience (public speaking)
  • Eating, drinking or writing in public
  • Publicly disagreeing with others
  • Being the center of attention

Another common symptom is the tendency for an individual to doubt their ability to make a strong impression on others, even though this is a highly desired goal. Therefore, some people will seek constant reassurance of acceptance. Others may engage in "innocent" behaviors, such as always smiling politely, agreeing with everything, frequent head nodding, or always excusing or apologizing for their actions. Furthermore, it is common to have very high standards for social performance. For example, they may have self-imposed rules such as "I must always be articulate", or "I must never make a mistake in front of other people".

If you haven't done so already, you may wish to read our article on how to treat social anxiety, or give our free online social anxiety test a try.

AI-Therapy is an online treatment program to help people overcome social anxiety.