Types of Social Anxiety and How they Affect You

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

This is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by persistent and exaggerated fear of social situations (such as meeting strangers, dating, or public speaking) in which embarrassment or a negative judgment by others may occur and that causes significant distress, often resulting in an avoidance of such situations and impairment of normal social or occupational activities.

Types of Social Anxiety Disorder

1. Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder: Fear in virtually all social situations.

2. Non-Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder: Fear in a limited number of social situations with at least one area of normal social functioning.

3. Specific / Circumscribed Social Anxiety Disorder: Fear in only one or very few specific social situations.

4. Social Anxiety in Performance Situations: Performance fears are very common in people with social anxiety disorder

5. Social Anxiety in Interaction & Observation Situations: Here the majority of people who experience fear of interaction situations, such as conversing with co-workers or a person they are attracted to, also fear observation situations, such as being observed while eating, drinking, or writing.

6. Social Anxiety Focus: Behavior: In this subtype, the fear of acting in a way that may lead to negative evaluation, rejection, disapproval, or humiliation is often considered the cardinal feature.

7. Social Anxiety Focus: Observable Anxiety Symptoms: In this subtype, the fear that the physical reaction will appear triggers the onset of the symptom.

8. Social Anxiety Focus: This subtype is mainly concerned with the possibility of offending others and the effort to prevent this from happening.

How Does Social Anxiety Disorder Affects You?

The excessive fear of social situations can drastically affect a person’s functioning, life, and relationships.Social anxiety disorder not onlyaffects the body and mind, but it also affects a person’s confidence.

• Shortness of breath

• Fast heart rate, redness of the face, trembling, and sweating.

• Upset stomach, dizziness, or nausea

• Stiff body posture, avoid eye contact, and speak very softly

• Experience excessive worry for days or even months prior to a social event

• Excessive fear of being judged or watched by people

• Low self-esteem

• Avoidance of social situations which hinders them from making friends and hence brings down their confidence