The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
48Aspects of the Situation and Their Effect on Your Discomfort
Effect 
on Your 
DiscomfortItem
 Lighting (for instance, the light level is so high that you feel that any 
sign of anxiety will be visible)
 How formal the situation is (for example, eating at a wedding reception 
vs. a casual dinner with friends)
 Number of people involved (such as presenting to a few coworkers vs. 
presenting to a ﬁlled auditorium)
 Activity involved (eating, speaking, writing, and so on)
 Your physical position (seated, standing, and so on)
 Whether you can use alcohol or drugs to feel more comfortable
 How long you’re stuck in the situation for
 Other (specify)                  
 Other (specify)                  
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS AND HOW DO YOU FEEL  
ABOUT THEM?
Following is a list of physical feelings that people sometimes experience when they 
are feeling anxious, worried, or frightened. For each item, you should ﬁrst record a 
number (from 0 to 100) that reﬂects the intensity of the feeling during a typical expo -
sure to an anxiety-provoking social situation. A rating of 0 means that, typically, you do 
not experience the sensation at all, and a rating of 100 means that the sensation typically 
is extremely intense when you encounter social situations that are a problem for you.
Next, using a scale from 0 to 100, rate the extent to which you are fearful of experi -
encing the sensation in front of other people. A rating of 0 means that you are not at all 
concerned about experiencing the sensation in front of others and a rating of 100 means 
that you are extremely fearful of experiencing the sensation in front of others.