Identifying thoughts and fears in social anxiety

In Social Anxiety Disorder (or social phobia), the core of the problem is not social interaction itself, but rather intense thoughts and fears related to the possibility of being negatively evaluated, judged, humiliated, or rejected by others.

Identifying these cognitive patterns is a crucial step in treatment.

Nature of Social Fears

People with social anxiety fear acting in a way that they find embarrassing or that might lead to the disapproval of others.

Specific fears can vary, but often include:

• Fear of being the center of attention.

• Fear of saying or doing something inappropriate or "foolish."

• Fear of having anxiety symptoms (blushing, trembling, sweating) noticed and of being judged by it.

• Fear of not knowing what to say or of coming up blank in a conversation.

• Fear of being perceived as boring, incompetent, or uninteresting.

Characteristic Negative Automatic Thoughts

These fears manifest themselves through a stream of negative automatic thoughts before, during, and after social situations.

Some common examples include:

• Anticipatory: "I'm sure I'll make a fool of myself," "Nobody's going to like me," "I'm going to run out of things to say."

• During the situation: "Everyone is looking at me," "They're thinking I'm an idiot," "I'm turning red, how embarrassing."

• Post-situation (rumination): "I shouldn't have said that," "They probably thought I was boring," "I'll never go to a party like that again."

These thoughts are often filled with self-criticism and catastrophic predictions.

Dysfunctional Underlying Beliefs

Beyond automatic thoughts, social anxiety is often supported by deeper underlying beliefs about oneself and social interactions, such as:

• "I must