The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
50 WHAT ARE YOUR ANXIETY-PROVOKING BELIEFS, PREDICTIONS, 
AND EXPECTATIONS?
As discussed in chapter 1, your beliefs have a big impact on how you feel in social 
situations. For example, if you expect that others will think you are stupid, weak, or 
unattractive, you are very likely to feel anxious around other people. On the other hand, 
if you are not especially concerned about what others think about you in a particular 
situation, you’re much more likely to feel comfortable. Often, our beliefs and predic -
tions are not based on reality. For people who experience elevated anxiety in social and 
performance situations, beliefs and expectations about these situations are often nega -
tive. These thoughts tend to exaggerate the likelihood of danger and lead the person to 
expect the worst, even when there is no reason to do so.
Cognitive therapy involves teaching people to identify and change their anxious 
beliefs, predictions, and expectations by considering more realistic alternative beliefs. 
Before you can change your thoughts, however, you need to be able to observe them 
and to decide whether they are unrealistic and whether they are contributing to your 
anxiety.
Chapter 1 lists examples of thoughts and expectations that contribute to social 
anxiety. Some of these include basic assumptions, such as, “It is important that every -
one likes me” and “Nobody will ever think I am interesting.” Other anxiety-provoking 
thoughts may be more focused on a particular situation, such as, “If I arrive at class early, 
I won’t be able to think of anything to say” and “People will think I am weird if they 
notice my hands shaking.”