Hey guys

Do u feel really nervous while talking to strangers ? Do u find it hard to socialize with people? Do u get nervous even at the thought of going to a social event ?

People often confuse social anxiety and shyness. Shyness is just a personality trait while social anxiety is a mental illness.

Here are some pointe through which u can decide if u r suffering from social anxiety or not.

1.) You are always self conscious.

One of the biggest fear of person with social anxiety is the fear of being judged. You'll worry about the way u look or act or what others think of u. whereas , a shy person will be afraid to be judged in certain situations only , life if they have to speak on stage or when they have to meet someone stranger. 

2.) Your anxiety never leaves you. 

It's normal to feel shy or nervous sometimes, when u r with strangers , like if u join a new school or have to perform in front of an audience. But a person with social anxiety will even find it difficult to make an eye contact with someone or travel in public transport or even eating in front of others. He will always be afraid. 

3.) It affects your performance.

Social anxiety highly affects ur performance. With the constant fear of people's judgement , u may even be afraid to do well to avoid people's attention. Due to ur anxiety, You'll not raise hand in class or at work, in meetings , even if u know u r right.

4.) It affects your relationships.

A shy person will just find it hard to start a conversation but after sometime they get normal. But that's not the case for a person with social anxiety. Such a person will find it nearly impossible to contact strangers. You'll feel uneasy around people, even if u r close to them or know them for a long time. 

5.) It doesn't go away with familiarity.

If a person is just shy , then it will be difficult to be in a new relationship.. but with time , the shyness fades away , but a person with social anxiety will always experience embarrassment and fear whenever they r around people. They'll always be stressed and uneasy unless they r alone.

6.) you over analyse everything. 

You'll focus very much on analysing other person's facial expressions, tone of voice or body language to see if they really mean what they are saying or not. You'll always overthink. 

7.) You avoid social situations.

 People with social anxiety always try to avoid any Kind of social gathering. If they have to join it ,then they'll always avoid contact with everyone, they'll just sit in a corner in order to stay away from everyone's attention. 

8.) You have physical symptoms.

Some physical symptoms that u might feel when u are in a social situation are - chest palpitations, dizziness, sweaty palms, nausea, shortness of breath, lightheadedness , trembling .