The common myths about social anxiety

Social anxiety isn’t very common

Social anxiety is probably one of the most common forms of anxiety. I honestly believe that everyone at some point in their life has experienced it, because let’s be honest who honestly feels comfortable in a room full of strangers? However I do think that you can overcome social anxiety to a certain extent.

What I want to share with you is some myths I think surround social anxiety, because to someone who doesn’t experience this much, it can be pretty difficult to get your head around.

Social anxiety is not someone being rude or discourteous

They don’t mean to ignore you, they just either don’t know what to say or they experience an overwhelming level of panic where their heart races and palms sweat then they become tongue tied.

Social anxiety does not mean that people experiencing this want to be left alone

Some people may do, however a lot of people just feel overwhelmed in big groups of people and would prefer to spend time with one or two people at a time, so don’t leave them out.

Social anxiety does not mean that you’re being ignored

Just because you’ve invited a friend to a party and they haven’t responded, doesn’t mean you’re being ignored. Trust me they want to respond, they just don’t know how to tell you that they can’t go because the thought of going fills them full of fear. Try a more understanding approach. Instead of just asking them to go, you could say something like: “If you feel up to it, do want to come to this party with me? No worries if not!” This takes the pressure off them to respond.

Social anxiety doesn’t mean that the person is also shy

Social anxiety is the fear of performing well in social situations, it’s not an inability to appear in social situations and it doesn’t mean that, that person won’t talk to you.

Social anxiety just means that you’re nervous

Again this is not true, it is the way your brain reacts to that environment. It doesn’t mean you can’t be cured, it just means that, this is your bodies fear response because you don’t feel comfortable.

Social anxiety is something you can snap out of

This is the most frustrating point for me because it’s total rubbish. If you could snap out of it, why wouldn’t you? Do you think it’s an enjoyable feeling?

I hope this post has been helpful to people that don’t understand social anxiety. If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below.

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