{"id":2787,"date":"2026-06-16T07:53:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=2787"},"modified":"2026-06-16T07:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:53:18","slug":"facts-about-social-anxiety-healthywomen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=2787","title":{"rendered":"Facts About Social Anxiety – HealthyWomen"},"content":{"rendered":"


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May is Mental Health Awareness Month.<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Pleasantries were the stuff of nightmares for Kristen Rogers. <\/p>\n

A random run-in with a coworker would cause her heart to pound so hard she thought it would leap out of her chest. Her mind would go blank \u2014 she\u2019d stammer trying to make conversation while pools of sweat collected under her arms. Even impromptu chats with close friends or family caused this type of extreme anxiety. <\/p>\n

But the fallout was even worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would always end those interactions feeling really embarrassed and ashamed, and I\u2019d ruminate for hours or days about how the other person must think I’m stupid or incompetent,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI would get so upset and stressed and physically sick \u2014 it was an unfortunate cycle.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rogers was a teenager when the symptoms started and they only intensified as she got older. She didn\u2019t date or make a lot of new friends \u2014 she wouldn\u2019t even dance at concerts because she was terrified that everyone was watching her. Judging her.<\/p>\n

Rogers figured she was just an anxious person. But when she started seeing a psychiatrist in 2020, she learned it wasn\u2019t just anxiety \u2014 she had social anxiety disorder<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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What is social anxiety disorder?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the persistent, intense fear of social or performance situations where a person anticipates being scrutinized, judged or humiliated. For people living with SAD, common everyday activities like talking to new people, eating in public or giving a presentation at work can cause crippling anxiety and fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have social anxiety disorder, that fear of being revealed as inadequate or worrying that people are going to judge you gets in the way of life,\u201d said Ellen Hendriksen, Ph.D.<\/a>, psychologist and author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety<\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Hendriksen said people with social anxiety experience distress, impairment or both. Distress in this context means discomfort, stress, anxiety and feeling upset before, during and\/or after a social interaction. Impairment meaning social anxiety stops you from doing things you want to do. \u201cIf you turn down a promotion at work because it would make you have to go visit satellite offices and talk with a lot of strangers \u2014 that’s impairment,\u201d Hendriksen said. <\/p>\n

People living with SAD also experience physical reactions such as blushing, rapid heart rate, nausea, trembling, lightheadedness and difficulty talking in social situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might feel your stomach drop, you might turn red, you might get sweaty \u2014 all the classic fight or flight physical symptoms,\u201d Hendriksen said. <\/p>\n

Symptoms of SAD can vary from person to person and change over time. And while it\u2019s completely normal to feel nervous or anxious now and then, SAD is a chronic medical condition that requires treatment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The root of social anxiety <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Social anxiety disorder isn\u2019t caused by one thing. Instead, SAD is usually a combination of biology, life experiences and learned patterns, according to Laura Johnson, LMFT, LPCC<\/a>, cognitive behavior therapist and author of Social Anxiety For Dummies<\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n

When it comes to biology, Johnson said people with SAD may be born with a tendency to be inhibited. \u201cSocial anxiety could be linked to having an overactive amygdala, the part of the brain that controls your fear response.\u201d <\/p>\n

Having a family history of SAD may also increase risk. One study found people with a first-degree relative (parents, sibling) with SAD are up to six times more likely to have the disorder. <\/p>\n

And because SAD usually starts in childhood or early teenage years, negative life events such as abuse, neglect or growing up with a medical condition that causes unwanted attention and how your parents raised you can be risk factors for SAD. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome ways your parents could have influenced the development of social anxiety include modeling anxious behaviors, being overly protective or being critical,\u201d Johnson said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Women and social anxiety disorder<\/strong><\/h3>\n

SAD affects both men and women, but research<\/a> shows women are more likely to have SAD \u2014 and have more severe symptoms as well as higher levels and greater numbers of social fears \u2014 compared to men.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a young age, many women are subtly \u2014 and sometimes not so subtly \u2014 taught to be agreeable, likable and not take up too much space. That can translate into over-monitoring how they come across, second-guessing their own opinions and holding back in conversations, especially in environments like the workplace where men may dominate discussions or interrupt, which can further reinforce self-doubt,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Although SAD typically develops earlier in life, major life events such as moving to a new city or being diagnosed with an illness may trigger symptoms in adulthood for the first time. <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen in midlife with social anxiety disorder have probably had it for decades and the key thing to know is that social anxiety disorder is fed and watered and maintained by avoidance, so it\u2019s important to try to face your fears and think about where you\u2019ve built avoidance into your life,\u201d Hendriksen said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Social anxiety never goes away \u2014 but it can get better <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The most common treatments for social anxiety disorder are prescription medications and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which involves identifying and reframing negative or irrational thoughts over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most effective treatment is cognitive behavior therapy, especially when it includes exposure,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat means gradually facing the situations you fear instead of avoiding them, while also learning how to respond differently to the thoughts driving the anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exposure exercises involve identifying the fear and worst-case scenarios in social situations and testing them out to see if the outcome is really as bad as the person with SAD thinks it would be. \u201cThe point is to face our fears, and our feared outcomes are almost always worse than what actually happens. Even if the worst-case scenario happens, we have to remind ourselves that we are able to cope and that we can handle what life throws our way,\u201d Hendriksen said.<\/p>\n

For Rogers, CBT made a huge difference. \u201cIn a lot of ways, CBT saved my life,\u201d she said. \u201cI had some early life experiences that really instilled in me perfectionism, so part of it was having to undo that and find relationships and people who are much more open-minded in terms of not everything having to be perfect all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been six years since Rogers started therapy, and she no longer experiences social anxiety every day. When she does, it\u2019s nowhere near as intense as it once was. \u201cI still find myself sometimes taking different routes to avoid conversation or feeling weird about the fact that I don’t always have something to say when I run into someone, but more often than not I try to strike up a conversation whether that’s with strangers or colleagues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rogers\u2019 advice for anyone struggling with SAD: Find a good cognitive behavioral therapist. \u201cThe process can be painful and challenging and sometimes you may not want to hear what the therapist has to say, but it really does get better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From Your Site Articles<\/p>\n

Related Articles Around the Web<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Pleasantries were the stuff of nightmares for Kristen Rogers. A random run-in with a coworker would cause her heart to pound so hard she thought it would leap out of her chest. Her mind would go blank \u2014 she\u2019d stammer trying to make conversation while pools of sweat collected under her arms. Even impromptu chats with close friends or family caused this type of extreme anxiety. But the fallout was even worse. \u201cI would always end those interactions feeling really embarrassed and ashamed, and I\u2019d ruminate for hours or days about how the other person must think I’m stupid or incompetent,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI would get so upset and stressed and physically sick \u2014 it was an unfortunate cycle.\u201d Rogers was a teenager when the symptoms started and they only intensified as she got older. She didn\u2019t date or make a lot of new friends \u2014 she wouldn\u2019t even dance at concerts because she was terrified that everyone was watching her. Judging her. Rogers figured she was just an anxious person. But when she started seeing a psychiatrist in 2020, she learned it wasn\u2019t just anxiety \u2014 she had social anxiety disorder. What is social anxiety disorder? Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the persistent, intense fear of social or performance situations where a person anticipates being scrutinized, judged or humiliated. For people living with SAD, common everyday activities like talking to new people, eating in public or giving a presentation at work can cause crippling anxiety and fear. \u201cWhen you have social anxiety disorder, that fear of being revealed as inadequate or worrying that people are going to judge you gets in the way of life,\u201d said Ellen Hendriksen, Ph.D., psychologist and author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. Hendriksen said people with social anxiety experience distress, impairment or both. Distress in this context means discomfort, stress, anxiety and feeling upset before, during and\/or after a social interaction. Impairment meaning social anxiety stops you from doing things you want to do. \u201cIf you turn down a promotion at work because it would make you have to go visit satellite offices and talk with a lot of strangers \u2014 that’s impairment,\u201d Hendriksen said. People living with SAD also experience physical reactions such as blushing, rapid heart rate, nausea, trembling, lightheadedness and difficulty talking in social situations. \u201cYou might feel your stomach drop, you might turn red, you might get sweaty \u2014 all the classic fight or flight physical symptoms,\u201d Hendriksen said. Symptoms of SAD can vary from person to person and change over time. And while it\u2019s completely normal to feel nervous or anxious now and then, SAD is a chronic medical condition that requires treatment. The root of social anxiety Social anxiety disorder isn\u2019t caused by one thing. Instead, SAD is usually a combination of biology, life experiences and learned patterns, according to Laura Johnson, LMFT, LPCC, cognitive behavior therapist and author of Social Anxiety For Dummies. When it comes to biology, Johnson said people with SAD may be born with a tendency to be inhibited. \u201cSocial anxiety could be linked to having an overactive amygdala, the part of the brain that controls your fear response.\u201d Having a family history of SAD may also increase risk. One study found people with a first-degree relative (parents, sibling) with SAD are up to six times more likely to have the disorder. And because SAD usually starts in childhood or early teenage years, negative life events such as abuse, neglect or growing up with a medical condition that causes unwanted attention and how your parents raised you can be risk factors for SAD. \u201cSome ways your parents could have influenced the development of social anxiety include modeling anxious behaviors, being overly protective or being critical,\u201d Johnson said. Women and social anxiety disorder SAD affects both men and women, but research shows women are more likely to have SAD \u2014 and have more severe symptoms as well as higher levels and greater numbers of social fears \u2014 compared to men. \u201cFrom a young age, many women are subtly \u2014 and sometimes not so subtly \u2014 taught to be agreeable, likable and not take up too much space. That can translate into over-monitoring how they come across, second-guessing their own opinions and holding back in conversations, especially in environments like the workplace where men may dominate discussions or interrupt, which can further reinforce self-doubt,\u201d Johnson said. Although SAD typically develops earlier in life, major life events such as moving to a new city or being diagnosed with an illness may trigger symptoms in adulthood for the first time. \u201cWomen in midlife with social anxiety disorder have probably had it for decades and the key thing to know is that social anxiety disorder is fed and watered and maintained by avoidance, so it\u2019s important to try to face your fears and think about where you\u2019ve built avoidance into your life,\u201d Hendriksen said. Social anxiety never goes away \u2014 but it can get better The most common treatments for social anxiety disorder are prescription medications and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which involves identifying and reframing negative or irrational thoughts over time. \u201cThe most effective treatment is cognitive behavior therapy, especially when it includes exposure,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat means gradually facing the situations you fear instead of avoiding them, while also learning how to respond differently to the thoughts driving the anxiety.\u201d Exposure exercises involve identifying the fear and worst-case scenarios in social situations and testing them out to see if the outcome is really as bad as the person with SAD thinks it would be. \u201cThe point is to face our fears, and our feared outcomes are almost always worse than what actually happens. Even if the worst-case scenario happens, we have to remind ourselves that we are able to cope and that we can handle what life throws our way,\u201d Hendriksen said. For Rogers, CBT made a huge difference. \u201cIn a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}