How people with social anxiety are perceived?

Because of our anxiety, our faces may “freeze,” we may be unable to smile, and we tend to be too shy and inhibited. Other people see this, incorrectly, as being unfriendly, aloof, and sometimes even arrogant. They read our faces and evaluate us negatively because they cannot see inside us.

Do people with social anxiety like attention?

Fear of attention is common for those with social anxiety disorder (SAD). 1 Although avoiding the limelight might feel like a good strategy to control your anxiety, in the long run, you are teaching yourself that you can’t handle being in the spotlight.

What is self focus in social anxiety?

Self-focused attention is an awareness of self-referent information and is present in many emotional disorders. This review concentrates on the role of self-focused attention in social anxiety with particular reference to the Clark and Wells [Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia.

Is social anxiety the same as shyness?

Shyness is another trait that often gets mixed up with social anxiety and introversion. It’s even been suggested that social anxiety simply represents an extreme form of shyness. Like people with social anxiety, shy people usually feel uncomfortable around strangers and hesitant to open up in social situations.

How do you focus externally with social anxiety?

If you are working at a job, try to focus on your job-related tasks, if someone is talking to you, give them your full attention. DO NOT go internal and dwell on / try to “figure out” your anxiety feelings, because you won’t come to any conclusions, and you will be in the same place you started, if not worse.

Does social anxiety affect focus?

Socially anxious individuals tend to shift their attention away from external socially threatening cues and instead become highly self-focused. Such heightened self-focused attention has been suggested to be involved in the development and maintenance of social anxiety disorder.