subject: The Difference Between Shyness And Social Anxiety [print this page] Shyness and social anxiety can be very detrimental to the quality of the lives of those who suffer from them. It is a common mistake to think that they are one and the same, but that is not the case. If you suffer from social anxiety, then you will display symptoms of shyness, but you can display symptoms of shyness, even quite severe ones, without actually having a social anxiety disorder.
Being shy is actually not that uncommon at all, and most people suffer from it at some point in their life. Social anxiety on the other hand manifests itself in a variety of ways that does not only include shyness. People often find it hard to differentiate between the two, so lets now look at the underlying characteristics of each of them, with the intention of making it easier.
Lets take a young girl being presented by her parents to a young boy as an example. The young girl will often feel shy and find it difficult to talk freely in front of the young boy. If she suffered from social phobia, she would first refuse to even meet the boy, then on being made to, she would say nothing to him, and then she would make an excuse to leave as soon as possible. In that manner, one can say that shyness is a milder form of social anxiety.
That, however, may not be entirely accurate since being in a subset varies only in degree when compared to the whole. Thus, for shyness to be a milder form of social anxiety, the subject must exhibit other characteristics related to social anxiety. For example, someone suffering from social anxiety often trembles and physically cannot say words properly.
Without the additional symptoms of social anxiety, the behavior shown by the girl could thus only be labeled as shyness. Shyness is different from social anxiety in that it can be treated with constant exposure and repetitive contact with groups of people. The same can also be effective in social anxiety. Thus it may be good to expose the subject to a small group of 1 to 2 people and then when the subject shows willingness, the group may then be placed in a slightly larger group composed of 3 or more people.
In the end, shyness and social anxiety are not permanently debilitating conditions. If shyness or social anxiety are a problem for you then you should not hesitate to ask for help. There are proven methods and techniques available that have worked on even severe sufferers, so you can rest assured that however bad you think your problem is, there is hope for you.
