Social Anxiety/Performance Anxiety
Beyond "shyness"
Social anxiety may lead you to avoidance–turning down job opportunities, skipping important events, and having difficulty forming relationships. Social anxiety may be limited to performance situations, like public speaking, or generalized to social interactions. Social anxiety is not the same as introversion:
| Social Anxiety | Introversion |
| Fear of social interactions or performance situations | Is about your social energy and how you recharge |
| Developed based on your environment | Is a personality trait you are born with |
| Prevents you from doing what you want | Is a way of life; you are in control of your choices |
| Solitude only provides temporary relief | Solitude helps you recharge your energy |
| Fears judgement from social interactions | Isn’t afraid of what others think |
| Wants to meet others but fearful or avoids doing so | Keeps social circle small and meets people on their own terms |
| Fears of embarrassment or humiliation make it difficult to enjoy social interactions | Able to enjoy social activities |
| Negatively critiques their performances | Doesn’t have to have a perfectionistic attitude |
Performance anxiety describes anxiety that impacts the ability to perform to potential. Some anxiety associated with performance is normal–activation of the sympathetic nervous system can improve reaction time, cognitive processing speed, and intuitive responses. However, when performance consistently leads to high anxiety states, essentially the far right-side of the bell curve, anxiety impairs the ability to function and perform. Shaky voice, tremulous hands, excessive sweating, mind going blank–all of these signal activation–or even over-activation–of the sympathetic (fight/flight/freeze) aspect of the nervous system, and adversely impact the ability of the individual to perform.
Various strategies, from therapy (exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy) as well as pharmaceutical interventions (SSRI’s, non-controlled anxiolytics, beta-blockers) afford opportunities to intervene and reduce the over-response.
We can help! If social or performance anxiety impact your ability to function to your best or enjoy life, reach out to us!