very much dependent on those around us. None of us could survive without the help of 
others. As infants and children, we are completely dependent on our parents for food, 
shelter, comfort, and education. As we grow up, we continue to depend on other people. 
We depend on our employers to provide us with money for food and shelter. We depend 
on other people to build our homes, grow our food, heal our injuries, entertain us, 
and to help us meet most of our day-to-day needs. Because of our dependence on one 
another, we learn at a very young age that it is important to get along well with people. 
Essentially, we want other people to like us. After all, consistently making a bad impres -
sion on other people might lead to isolation, unemployment, and many other negative 
consequences.
Feeling anxious in social situations serves to remind each of us to pay attention to 
the effects our behavior has on those around us. If we didn’t think about the impact of 
our behavior on others, we would probably get into trouble more often than not. We 
wouldn’t bother dressing nicely or being polite. We might always say exactly what’s on 
our mind without considering whether it might be hurtful. Feeling anxious in social 
situations protects us from offending other people and from doing things that might 
lead others to judge us in negative ways. So, not only is it normal to feel shy or socially 
anxious from time to time, it is also helpful.
Of course, social anxiety and shyness are not always helpful. Extreme social anxiety 
may lead to impaired concentration, which, in turn, can cause a person to make more 
errors at work or school. In addition, socially anxious people often avoid taking social