[mulan]

For you what is the line betwen social anxiety and shyness. I guess someone would say the anxiety itself...and what is the diference betwen avoindant personality?
I classify somewhere on these. I just can't tell in which.
In the presence of new people is very hard for me to talk, I barely can say some words. I'm quiet... I suffer with what people may think about me when I do something embarassing, I avoid some social situations because I know they just won't work, because of my past experiences and I know they will make me sad and I don't have the hability to do them. But I don't feel anxious, not to much. I rather feel sad about it than anxious. I can't speak sometimes because I don't feel comfortable and I fear people won't like me and they will think I'm stupid. But there's no blush, or swetting, or heart racing, or shaking, any anxiety symptoms...not that I notice. Even so there's many times I fear I am doing stupid things under other people watching, and all I want is to running away and hide. If I have to I face not comfortable situations...I did that a lot. If it is importante I don't avoid them.

[glok]

Hello, mulan. Perhaps, you might get some insight here: Ask the Therapist

I wish you well.

[jean17]

Originally Posted by mulan

For you what is the line betwen social anxiety and shyness. I guess someone would say the anxiety itself...and what is the diference betwen avoindant personality?
I classify somewhere on these. I just can't tell in which.
In the presence of new people is very hard for me to talk, I barely can say some words. I'm quiet... I suffer with what people may think about me when I do something embarassing, I avoid some social situations because I know they just won't work, because of my past experiences and I know they will make me sad and I don't have the hability to do them. But I don't feel anxious, not to much. I rather feel sad about it than anxious. I can't speak sometimes because I don't feel comfortable and I fear people won't like me and they will think I'm stupid. But there's no blush, or swetting, or heart racing, or shaking, any anxiety symptoms...not that I notice. Even so there's many times I fear I am doing stupid things under other people watching, and all I want is to running away and hide. If I have to I face not comfortable situations...I did that a lot. If it is importante I don't avoid them.

Dear mulan. I know what you mean. It's really hard to find the difference between some of these things. Is shyness a personality characteristic, but social phobia is a mental illness? Where is the line? I don't know. And if you are anxious and avoidant, but don't have some of the usual defining characteristics does it mean you aren't suffering and really need help and understanding? Hope you can get some of this sorted out for your own situation. All the best.

[ks33182]

I know for me, I used to think I was just shy, but I fear certain social situations so much sometimes that I avoid them. Sometimes if I force myself to do something, I'll have anxiety symptoms beforehand, like I'll feel sick to my stomach, I get palpitations thinking about the "what if's"...but I don't necessarily feel that way all the time. But sometimes when I do go through with avoiding something, there's like a feeling of relief and I don't feel the anxious feelings until later when I regret not doing something.

It wasn't until therapy when i discovered that this is more than shyness, my therapist has said that I have some social anxiety. But now I am learning how to deal with it.

Hope you can figure this out for yourself

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

Good question(s). Let's look at it on the base principle that social anxiety is a mental health disorder, whereas shyness is a simple personality trait; there you should find the difference.

[dwfieldjr]

Social anxiety keeps from interacting with people for fear of how they will think. Shyness is just a awkward feelings that are easily overcome and doesn't stop you from meeting people.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AbsurdBlackBear]

Social anxiety disorder makes an impact on the way someone lives and can even prevent them from living the way they want.

Avoidant personality disorder is in most cases a broader and more intense version of Social Anxiety Disorder, a lot of people who have one can often be diagnosed with the other as well.

[Harmacy]

For me I'd say shyness is a style of communicating with others. Shy people may be quiet but still able to talk to others, just coming across as slightly awkward and more reserved than most.

SA is when it becomes a lot deeper so we may cease being able to communicate effectively in certain situations or spend a long time worrying about what others are thinking in a way a shy person may not. And I'd even suggest that some people with SA aren't shy at all - they may have confident underlying personalities that are completely hidden by the fear of being judged negatively by others or a fear of imagined social disasters.

[lifestruggles]

I think it depends on how much it negatively affects your daily life, and if it is causing a lot of distress.