SOCIAL ANXIETY
WHAT WILL THEY
THINK OF ME? It’s hard to believe that a Hollywood superstar like Johnny Depp or former teen idol Donny Osmond could suffer from social anxiety.
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ut this crippling condition devastates lives regardless of sex or status. Robin Peters, a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with Talk Liverpool talking therapies service says it’s common among people in the public eye. “Social anxiety is a fear of negative evaluation from other people – will I make a fool of myself? What will they think of me? They react to that perceived threat and become anxious.” Depp self-medicated with alcohol. Osmond described the feeling saying “Once the fear of embarrassing myself grabbed me, I couldn’t get loose. It was as if a bizarre and terrifying unreality had replaced everything that was familiar and safe. I felt powerless to think or reason my way out of the panic.” Social anxiety affects everyday activities, self-confidence, relationships, work and school life. People worry about a diverse range of issues from blushing, dropping or spilling things through to talking to strangers in everyday situations. Psychological symptoms include difficulty speaking to other people, worrying about doing something embarrassing, appearing incompetent. Sufferers report feeling sick, blushing, sweating, shaking or panic attacks.
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Coping strategies include avoiding eye contact, using safety mechanisms such as making excuses to leave early – or avoiding social situations altogether.
WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? Robin Peters: “It relates to how we view ourselves. It’s quite often related to events in our lives, so if someone’s been bullied as a child or isolated or singled out at work they can perceive social situations as a threat and
become anxious. Their perception is that ‘this will be terrible. I’ll say or do something stupid then people will judge me’. So they avoid putting themselves in the situation. But the reality is rarely that bad.
