Top Misconceptions about Social Anxiety

Sharon Moore August 10, 2015

Social anxiety is a condition that is more common than we think. It’s true – it is normal to worry about an upcoming social activity. But if the discomfort becomes unmanageable, affecting your decisions and behaviour, it becomes more of an issue that needs to be addressed. Millions of people suffer from social anxiety disorder. However, since it is still relatively unknown among the wider public, most are not aware how such a disorder can have a huge impact on a person’s life.

You probably know someone who is always afraid to meet other people, participate in social activities or gatherings, and would choose to be alone than spend time with others. For people who have never experienced social anxiety, it can be easy to judge those who have it. But social anxiety is a real mental health condition. The more sufferers and others can learn about it, the better it will be for everyone.

Below are the most common misconceptions we have about social anxiety, and the truth behind them.

People can just snap out of it.

Many people who never had social anxiety cannot relate well to people without it. For them, a person has a choice to snap out of it, stop worrying, and enjoy other people’s company. But if they have the power to snap out of it, they would have done so in the first place. Social anxiety provides extreme discomfort. And no one would want to feel such a discomfort for so long. Trying to be more understanding is what we can do best for them. Remember that each one struggles with something. So we shouldn’t minimise the pain they are going through.

They are just being rude.

It’s not that they don’t want to make friends with others. But people with social anxiety choose not to socialise because they fear that people will not like them, or they will be criticised, judged, or rejected. Such thoughts hold them back from reaching out to others and choosing to stay aloof.

Staying away from social events is the best thing to do.

Stepping out of our comfort zone is a great way to address social anxiety. If you have this condition, it is helpful to allow yourself to actually interact with others once in a while until you become more comfortable doing it. Here’s the thing – when we do things we are anxious about and prove to ourselves that we can survive and cope with them, we raise our confidence levels, which in turn, lessen the anxiety we feel.

Genes are to blame.

While genetics can play a role, there are many other causes of social anxiety. And in most cases, it is linked to how we are raised by our parents. And since it can be something we may have learned from childhood, social anxiety can be unlearned with therapy and support from friends and loves ones.

Medication is the best option.

Sometimes, medication is helpful especially in alleviating symptoms. But too often, pharmaceutical drugs for mental health issues like anxiety and depression come with side effects and don’t actually treat the root cause of the problem. A better approach is to talk to a trained counsellor who specialises in anxiety disorders. Addressing the root cause of the illness is always the best route to treating it.

It is a permanent condition.

Fortunately, social anxiety is a treatable condition. There are effective therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that provide long-term benefits for people who have social anxiety.