Do you regularly feel like you freeze up or become inhibited before having to speak to a group? Do you find that you consistently avoid situations where you will have to speak or interact with a large group of people? If you answered yes to either one of these questions, you will probably find some information in this week’s blog that you can use.

Social Anxiety is a Widespread Problem These Days

If you find that going out into groups of people, or being with groups of people bothers you, there are many others that are experiencing similar difficulties. Especially in the wake of the recent pandemic, many people have found that it is even more difficult to be out in large groups than it was before. This is partly a result of the isolation of the last 3+ years, and has magnified whatever social anxiety issues people may have already had going into it.

Social Anxiety and What Neuroscience Research Says About It

One of the outcomes of continuing neuroscience research is that the fear of being evaluated or judged has been linked to social anxiety as one of the root causes. This just doesn’t happen by accident as people often grow up in families where there is a tendency to judge or feel judged, based on the interactions with one’s caregivers. This often shows up in young adulthood, as was the research focus of this recent study in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. These early experiences will tend to affect how adolescents and young adults move into the world and interact with others outside of the family group.

Social Anxiety and the Problem of Shame

When we are judged by our caregivers, then some difficult feelings can follow from this. One of those can be toxic shame, or the feeling that you are inherently flawed or inadequate. Anxiety can be a spinoff from that because the brain will seek to protect you from that experience of shame by causing you to avoid social situations that could put you in the spotlight and somehow reveal you to be the inadequate or flawed person that you fear that you are. The whole problem is that that core feeling of shame is based on a lie, but it still feels very real considering how deeply ingrained it may have become.

Social Anxiety and What You Can Do About It

While there are no easy fixes for the problem of social anxiety, some psychotherapy interventions have proved to be valuable in addressing this widespread problem. One of these is EMDR, which I have used to successfully treat many of my clients who suffer from various forms of social anxiety. If you can’t do EMDR for some reason, any coping skill that helps to decrease overall anxiety is potentially helpful with social anxiety. Some of these include deep breathing, relaxation exercises, and herbs or supplements that help to alleviate anxiety.

What to do If Social Anxiety is Something You Just Can’t Shake

You owe it to yourself to do something to help you to overcome this problem if it has become chronic for you. As I mentioned above, I’ve been helping my clients to overcome social anxiety for most of my social work career. I use EMDR, as well as other approaches that can help to address the root of your anxiety so that it does not need to continue to limit your range of activities. I encourage you to call the number at the top of the page or fill out the form at the bottom if you live in Maryland or Texas, and are interested in finding out if I might be of help. I can offer you a free 20-minute phone consult to give you a better idea about this, but doing this for yourself could be one of the best steps that you’ve ever taken, so please don’t wait to get the help that you need and deserve.

Visit our page on anxiety therapy to find out more about how Scott can help you with social anxiety.

About the author:  Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland.  He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin, Texas.  He now works with adults and adolescents 14 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.