Those of you who are familiar with social anxiety will understand how hard social interactions may be for people suffering from this disorder. Simple everyday situations that seem perfectly fine to most people, such as talking to a stranger in the street or making a phone call, can lead to intense disturbing symptoms that accompany anxiety and stress: high heart rate, trembling, excessive sweating, etc.
And it’s not only about physical symptoms. It seems that socially anxious people can’t have a “normal” life – meeting new people, making friends, going out and partying – as almost any social situation causes discomfort and confusion. Many of them believe that something is wrong with them and they need to be “fixed”. But it’s not always as it seems, and there may be much more profound causes behind social anxiety disorder than we are used to think.
The prevailing point of view on the causes of social phobia in psychiatry states that the condition is associated with the fear of being judged by others. But what if socially anxious people are simply too sensitive to other people’s energy and emotions, which are so intense and devastating that they are forced to avoid any social interactions?
