Social Anxiety
Beyond Ordinary Shyness
Most people feel nervous in certain social situations - meeting new people, public speaking, or being the centre of attention. Social anxiety goes further. It’s a persistent fear of being judged, scrutinised, or humiliated that can make everyday interactions feel threatening.
How Social Anxiety Shows Up
Before social situations: Extensive anticipatory worry. Replaying potential scenarios and imagining everything that could go wrong. Wanting to cancel or avoid entirely.
During interactions: Intense self-consciousness. Monitoring your own behaviour constantly. Physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, trembling, or going blank. Difficulty making eye contact or speaking fluently.
Afterwards: The “post-mortem” - analysing everything you said or did, focusing on perceived mistakes, feeling embarrassed or ashamed hours or days later.
Patterns of avoidance: Turning down invitations. Staying quiet in meetings. Choosing isolation over the discomfort of social exposure.
The Inner Critic at Work
At the heart of social anxiety is usually a harsh inner critic - a voice that predicts rejection, notices every possible flaw, and assumes others see you as negatively as you see yourself.
This critic keeps you trapped in self-focused attention. Instead of engaging naturally with others, you’re monitoring your performance, checking for signs of failure, and interpreting ambiguous social cues as evidence of disapproval.
Different Forms of Social Anxiety
Performance anxiety centres on specific situations where you’re being observed or evaluated - presentations, performances, or formal occasions.
Generalised social anxiety affects most social interactions - conversations, parties, eating or drinking in front of others, or simply being seen in public.
Both can significantly limit your life, affecting work, relationships, and overall wellbeing.
How Treatment Helps
Social anxiety responds well to psychological intervention:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps identify and challenge the predictions and beliefs that fuel social fear, while gradually building confidence through exposure
- Compassion-Focused Therapy addresses the self-criticism and shame that often drive social anxiety
- Schema Therapy explores deeper patterns, particularly when social anxiety connects to early experiences of criticism, rejection, or not fitting in
- Mindfulness approaches help shift attention away from anxious self-monitoring
Therapy provides a safe space to understand your particular experience of social anxiety and develop new ways of relating to yourself and others.
Building a Fuller Life
Social anxiety can steal years - keeping you from relationships, career opportunities, and experiences that matter to you. Recovery means reclaiming those possibilities.
Contact us to discuss how we can help.
Related Reading
- How Do You Know If You Have Social Anxiety? - Recognising the signs
- Social Anxiety: When Interactions Feel Like a Minefield - Understanding social anxiety in depth
- How to Manage Imposter Syndrome - When you feel like you don’t belong
