About Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is the fear of being judged, rejected, or embarrassed in front of others. People with social anxiety often hate being the center of attention. They may begin to worry long before a social activity about how it will go or what others will think of them. During social interactions they may feel physical anxiety symptoms, like sweating or racing heart. Afterwards, they may replay the social interactions in their mind again and again because they are worried that they might have said something others found unintelligent, awkward, or offensive.
Signs of Social Anxiety
Children and teenagers with social anxiety may struggle with things like asking or answering questions in class, meeting new people, taking the steps needed to develop friendships (e.g., inviting friends on social outings), and interacting with adults in the community (e.g., ordering food at a restaurant, asking a store clerk a question). Some may feel very anxious before they must do a social task that makes them anxious. They may express anxiety that others will perceive them as awkward, weird, or unintelligent or that others will reject them. Some children with anxiety are shy or reserved, but other children with social anxiety can be quite outgoing in social settings where they feel comfortable. Many children will try to cope with social anxiety by avoiding social tasks; however, this can make make it difficult for them to develop the social skills needed to succeed in the adult world.
​
Adults may experience social anxiety in the work setting and in their personal lives. In the work setting, they may struggle with tasks like giving presentations, negotiating with others when needed, or giving critical feedback to others. In their personal lives, adults may struggle with taking the initiative to form friendships or romantic relationships or participating in group activities that are designed to be fun but that they are not skilled at.
Treatment for Social Anxiety
​One of the best tools for tackling social anxiety is gradually facing social situations that make you or your child anxious. Avoidance is one of the primary factors that maintains anxiety over time. Part of treatment involves identifying small, gradual steps to begin facing situations that create anxiety. With practice, the goal is that these situations no longer elicit anxiety. Exercises that involve directly facing anxiety are called “exposures” and are part of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety. Other parts of treatment involve looking at your thinking and how certain thoughts may be amplifying anxiety. For parents, part of treatment involves learning how to coach your child through his or her anxiety so that your child feels empowered to face challenging social situations and does not develop patterns of excessive reassurance-seeking.
