18 Common Signs Of Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder, or social phobia, is a common mental health condition that involves intense fear, anxiety, or avoidance of social situations. It is not just occasional nervousness or shyness. It is an anxiety disorder that can involve emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms and that can be disruptive to a person’s life. 

Here, we’ll explore 18 common signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder, as well as how to get help if this is something you’re experiencing.

Anxiety disorders can sometimes lead to secondary problems such as substance abuse or complicate an existing medical condition. Understanding the common signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder may allow more people to become familiar with SAD and recognize when they might need treatment. Knowing about this mental disorder may be important for everyone, including friends and family members, not just those who might have it.

Below, we’ll outline 18 common signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder broken into three categories: emotional, physical, and behavioral. These signs and symptoms align with the criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for anxiety disorders. If you have social anxiety disorder, you may not have all of these signs or symptoms, but you may recognize several of them.

The following emotional signs and symptoms are common in individuals with social anxiety disorder.

Fear

Social anxiety disorder may cause you to fear that others will judge you in social situations. You may also fear that others will notice you are anxious and reject you because of it. In this way, social anxiety itself may cause additional fear. Because you are already anxious, you may be aware of the physical symptoms you fear will be embarrassing, such as sweating or blushing.

Worry

Worry is another primary symptom of social anxiety that can indicate clinically significant distress. You may have worries that you might do something to embarrass yourself. People with intense anxiety often have worries about the worst thing that could happen that would cause embarrassment or humiliation. This worry can be debilitating, keeping you from being able to take any action in a social situation for fear that it will lead to embarrassment in some way.

Anticipated anxiety

People with social anxiety often experience anxiety before a social event or situation. You may spend hours or even days before a social event or situation thinking about your fears and all of the ways that things could go wrong. 

Ruminating

In addition to thinking about the social situation negatively beforehand, you may also ruminate on it after it ends. You may find yourself going over the social situation repeatedly in your mind, thinking of all the things you could have done differently and trying to figure out if you did anything to embarrass yourself.

Expecting the worst

Another common sign of social anxiety is expecting the worst. When you have social anxiety, you may assume that the worst is going to happen or that you’ll be negatively evaluated by others. You might assume you will be rejected or that you will do or say something to embarrass yourself. 

There are also a range of physical signs and symptoms of social anxiety that you may notice; these are usually most prevalent when you are in social situations that cause anxiety. You may not have all of these signs or symptoms, but some of them may be familiar to you:

Blushing

Blushing is a common sign of social anxiety. As you become anxious and fear embarrassment, you may blush. For many people, this also adds to the social anxiety, as they become self-conscious of the blushing.

Fast heart rate

When you are anxious, your heart rate may also increase. This can be due to the mind telling the body that you are in a fight-or-flight response. The increased heart rate might make you feel as though your heart is pounding in your chest.

Trembling

It can also be common for people who are extremely anxious in social situations to tremble. You may have trembling hands, or you may feel as though you are shaking all over. Again, this can make you even more self-conscious, simply making the social anxiety that much worse.

Sweating

Many people also sweat when they are anxious, which is a direct physiological effect of anxiety. Sweating in a social situation can make you even more self-conscious and make your social anxiety even worse. 

Nausea

Many people also experience nausea as one of the physiological effects of anxiety. As your body tenses and becomes stressed from social anxiety, your body produces additional cortisol, which can affect your digestion and might result in feeling nauseous. 

Shortness of breath

If you get severe social anxiety, you may find that you are short of breath. Shortness of breath can sometimes escalate into a panic attack, in which an individual fears an imminent disaster or losing control even when there is no real danger. You may feel that it is difficult to breathe, or you may find yourself breathing rapidly. If you experience this physical symptom of social anxiety, try to make a conscious effort to slow and control your breathing. 

Dizziness or lightheadedness

Dizziness or lightheadedness can also occur in social situations if you have social anxiety. If this happens to you, try to sit down until you start to feel steady again before continuing.

Muscle tension

As your mind tells your body that you are in a fight-or-flight situation, your body may tense up. This can cause muscle tension, particularly in the shoulders and neck. When you have muscle tension, it can make you feel uncomfortable or even cause pain, which can be further distracting and add to your anxiety.

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by experiencing overwhelming anxiety in social situations and can often result in people avoiding these situations entirely, along with other behavioral signs and symptoms detailed below:

Avoidance

There are many things that you may avoid because of your social anxiety. You may avoid attending certain events, doing certain activities, or speaking to people because you are afraid that it will somehow lead to embarrassment. You may avoid situations in which you become the center of attention. 

Difficulty interacting with strangers

People with social anxiety disorder often find it difficult to interact with strangers, a behavior stemming from marked fear or anxiety about being exposed to possible scrutiny even when there is no actual threat posed by the interaction. When a stranger tries to talk to them, they may feel extreme fear and seek out a quick escape. They may have difficulty dealing with cashiers, librarians, taxi drivers, and other strangers that people run into during daily activities.

Uncomfortable attending parties

People with social anxiety disorder often find that attending parties or other social gatherings invariably provokes anxiety. Even when those social gatherings are filled with people they know, such as friends and family, they may feel unable to attend. The anxiety they feel before and during the event may be more than they can bear, and they may choose to avoid the situation altogether or leave quickly.

Difficulty starting conversations

Another thing that people with a social anxiety disorder may find hard to do is start conversations. They may feel comfortable once engaging in a conversation with someone they know well, but they may avoid initiating conversations.

Difficulty with dating

Another challenge people with social anxiety disorder may face involves dating. As interacting with strangers can provoke fear, finding a potential partner can be a hurdle for many people with social anxiety. 

If you experience fear and anxiety in social situations or recognize some of the symptoms above, you may consider contacting a therapist for support, as therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment option for anxiety. Anti-anxiety medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), may also be recommended to treat anxiety. 

Conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and even autism spectrum disorder can have overlapping symptoms with social anxiety. In addition, symptoms of anxiety are often linked to other mental disorders, such as body dysmorphic disorder, avoidant personality disorder, and major depressive disorder. Therefore, it’s recommended to seek support from a licensed therapist skilled in treating anxiety disorders.

Seeking help online

Still, individuals with social anxiety disorder may find some of the aspects of seeking help to be anxiety-inducing, such as going to a new place, interacting with strangers, and meeting with a new person face-to-face. In these cases, online therapy can be a potential option because you can meet with your therapist wherever you have an internet connection, including the comfort of your own home. 

Plus, research has demonstrated the effectiveness of online therapy for social anxiety disorder. For instance, one such research study found that an online cognitive therapy program for social anxiety disorder “significantly reduced social anxiety symptoms.”