Shyness and social phobia have common ground, although shyness is generally much less aggressive in terms of symptoms.
In both cases, can we feel the same things: desire to escape, fear, nervousness, etc. ?But when it comes to social phobia, these symptoms are so strong that you avoid exposing yourself to feared situations. On the other hand, they may even feel unwell, but that doesn’t prevent them from exposing themselves without harming their health. Let’s say the main difference between shyness and social phobia is the extent of symptoms when the person is exposed to a situation they fear.
- Poorly managed shyness could.
- Over time.
- Trigger a social phobia.
- If the shy person accepts himself.
- Controls the symptoms.
- Is exposed to situations that embarrass him and his thinking is constructive.
- It will not get worse.
- Even perhaps over the years.
- It will improve until he eliminates it.
A shy person who begins to avoid situations and who has negative and destructive thoughts tends to get worse over time, it is not the climate that improves or aggravates people, time only does nothing, is the person who, over time, depending on the situation The thoughts he has and the actions he undertakes, will improve or worsen.
These are: anxiety, sweating, muscle tension, tremors in the hands or voice, redness, rapid pulse, strong need to urinate, chest pressure, headaches, stomach problems, sleep disorders and dizziness.
Believing that others will notice how nervous we are, fear that they will see us doing something inappropriate on our nerves, feeling that everyone is looking at us, fear of being judged negatively, feeling unreality, panicking about meeting new people and doing new things.
The person tends to isolate themselves so that no one realizes they have a problem. The same may feel like a shy person, but the intensity of symptoms felt by a person with social phobia is tripled, sometimes preventing them from being exposed to different situations.
In addition to the intensity of symptoms, there are more differences between shyness and social phobia. If you ask someone with social phobia to list situations where you feel unwell, they will be very abundant; almost every situation involving people makes them feel terrible.
Already shyly, when you are asked to list situations in which you do not feel well, they tend to be more specific, in some specific environments they do not feel shy, even if there are people, while in other situations they do.
Suffering would also make a clear difference; In general, a person with social phobia suffers most of the day. Shy people suffer, but they also like situations, although sometimes they may feel inappropriate.
For example, if you invite someone with a social phobia to a birthday party, they probably won’t go, and if it’s because they convinced you, they won’t enjoy the party and will be tormented after thinking about how deastrous it all was. . Before and after the party, you’ll suffer.
If you invite a shy person to a birthday party, you can go and enjoy a few moments, even if you don’t socialize much, but you won’t be as tormented and the symptoms won’t be as strong as those of social phobia. Let’s say the discomfort will be more ephemeral; There will be moments of discomfort, inappropriate feeling, but there will be times when you will enjoy it. The before and after the party will not be as aggressive as in social phobia, it will be a much more bearable nervousness.
The word that would define social phobia would be “continuity. “Symptoms, suffering, stress and negative thoughts are continuous. People with social phobia rarely benefit unless they are with trusted family members (or friends).
The word that would define shyness would be “passenger”. The symptoms, the suffering, the negative thoughts are fleeting, during the day not everything suffers, they also appreciate social situations even if they have to intervene a little shyly, they have their moments of satisfaction and pleasure.
Avoidance would also be another characteristic of people with social phobia, they tend not to face fear and to become increasingly isolated to avoid suffering. Shy people also avoid it, but much less; they are able to play themselves in unknown situations, without implying limiting nervousness.
Remembering that the information I provide in this article is general, but diagnosing shyness or social phobia requires a personalized study of each specific case.
Image courtesy of Kiezuz and Khalis Karl