There is a fine line between social phobia, shyness and introversion, so fine that we sometimes confuse the terms. How many times have you refused to go to a party saying that you are too shy when in reality you are an introvert and you did not feel like seeing so many people? We tend to use shyness as an excuse for everything and it’s not always about that. We are going to resolve the differences and find out if you are a shy person, an introvert or suffer from social. Pay a lot of attention!
Social phobia, shyness and introversion
Surely everything will be clearer if we start by defining each term. Shyness is a lack of ability in social relationships that can be motivated by insecurity or even a lack of habit. In general, it is low self-esteem that makes you shy, fearful of social contact for fear of not measuring up or for the need for approval from others.
For its part, introversion is a personality trait characterized by a preference for introspection and the search for solitude. It is not that you do not like to be with people because you feel insecure, but because you prefer to be alone or with your inner circle because extensive social relationships do not bring you satisfaction.
Social phobia is already an anxiety, in fact you can know it as phobia or social anxiety and it is characterized by an excessive fear of social situations. Social phobia is more linked to shyness than to introversion, since it would be a kind of shyness taken to the extreme.
How are shyness, social phobia and introversion different?
All three share common traits, especially the avoidance of social events. Both social phobia and introversion can use shyness as an excuse, and anxiety appears in both social phobia and shyness. That’s as far as their similarities go, but if you want to know if you’re a shy person, an introvert, or suffer from social phobia, you’d better pay attention to their differences.
We can start with social phobia and its character as an anxiety disorder, which implies that you need treatment to overcome it. Social phobia can also appear suddenly without you having been a shy or introverted person before. The degree it is so high that you can suffer a panic attack at a social event.
Shyness, for its part, is not a disorder, so it does not need treatment. If anything, it is convenient to learn to develop social skills and improve self-esteem so that you have more security in your social life. In addition, shyness is usually a trait that you would like to change, you would like to be with people and behave naturally, but you have a hard time.
And we move on to introversion which isn’t really a problem for you, although others may see it that way. If you are an introvert, you don’t suffer from not going to a party, for example. You don’t go because you don’t want to go, because you feel like being alone, or with your partner or with your family, but it does not generate a feeling of frustration or incapacity as it does with shyness.
Did you get it? Now it’s your turn. Think about the times you have said no to a social event and review the reasons for that refusal.