Causes Of Social Anxiety

Imagine feeling completely alone in a crowded room with no one to talk to. Being in the center of the ring even though that ring is a local grocery store. Those are the struggles of many people who are struggling with social anxiety. Most don’t even know this problem exists nor believe that it is real. Often a lot of people think of it as an excuse to get out of social situations they are bored with or no longer have interest in. Most of this comes from the lack of knowledge about this problem. Be it in the definition of what social anxiety is or with what happens in the brain to cause such a problem. Also, people have a hard time identifying social anxiety, seeing as it is commonly mistaken as shyness. Social Anxiety is a real problem for

The proper definition for social anxiety is, “It’s the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in social or performance situations…” (ADAA) This can often be seen as shyness because the person often shows traits of shyness even though there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Some of the most common causes of social anxiety is childhood abuse, loss of social interaction as a child, or it can even be inherited by either genetics or it can be a learned behavior. (Social Anxiety Fact Sheet) There is also the possibility of the person’s brain structure being a key role on if they have social anxiety or not. Not all cases of social anxiety are caused by childhood development. Someone can live in a normal household and be outgoing most of their lives but develop social anxiety as they grow up. They can develop social anxiety by being too outgoing in their early years and be out casted by their peers and become a more reserved and gain less friends. Later on in life they can become more reserved and lose more and more friends to where their social anxiety becomes more of a problem. Seeing as their few friends were their only real comfort zone, once they lose that they no longer feel safe in social situations without that friend by their side. Then because of this problem, they have an extremely difficult time making new

Whether it be with emotions, feelings, or even sometimes, actions. Most people with social anxiety constantly feel anxious or worried for no reason. Whenever they go into public they feel like very little small thing they do will be watched and judged by everyone around them. (What Is It Like...?) Just doing a simple task like selecting a candy from a vending machine can be difficult and nerve wracking. Some things that might be running through their mind is, “I hope this takes my bill…I don’t want to look like an idiot struggling to get this thing in there.” Or, “I hope the change isn’t too loud. I don’t want to draw anyone’s attention.” When that change does finally come out, each coin hitting the bottom of the coin return may sound as loud as a gunshot to them, but is just simply background noise to everyone else. Every day simple things like going to the bathroom in public, talking on the phone, shopping, eating in public, and even asking a simple question are all things that are everyday problems to someone with social anxiety. (Healthline) The more factual side to social anxiety has to do with the brain. The part of the brain that controls fear, the amygdala, is often found to be overactive in those who have social anxiety which explains the constant fear of being judged or just heightened anxiety in everyday situations. (Social Anxiety, Chemical