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Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms:
An Entire List

There are 5 types of social anxiety disorder symptoms. These are: -

Physical Social Anxiety Symptoms

Behavioural Symptoms of Social Anxiety

Mental Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

Emotional Symptoms of Social Phobia

'Lifestyle' Social Phobia Symptoms

Click the above links to find out exactly what the symptoms are. Click the headlines (1. to 5.) below to see WHY they happen.

1. Physical Social
Anxiety Symptoms

SA affects a person physically, although it really depends on the person which social anxiety disorder symptoms are present.

Chest tightness - the chest can feel very compressed and small

Short & rapid breathing - this is called hyperventilation

Blushing - blood rushing to the face when under stress

Sweating - this is a bi-product of another symptom - hot flushes

Upset stomach - sufferer's stomach may ache, or may feel like vomiting

Fast & forceful heart rate - a pounding heart is a common symptom

Pulse in ear - blood being pumped at such a rate that you can feel it in the ear

Shaking or trembling

Difficulty in speaking and swallowing

Bad guts - bouts of wind or diarrhoea can happen

Clammy hands - bodily overheating can make your hands sweat

Trouble sleeping - often not too serious, but can sometimes become insomnia

Dry mouth - the throat and mouth often dry up during anxiety

Tight throat - it can feel like the muscles in your throat are constricting

Muscle tension - it's normal during anxiety to feel tense

Dizziness - feeling lightheaded, or like the room is spinning a little

Derealisation - feeling as if the situation you're in isn't actually real

Poor concentration - an inability to focus during conversation

Twitching muscles - involuntary spasms, especially in the face

Hot flushes or chills - feeling overly hot or cold (usually hot)

Instant need to urinate

No appetite - feeling full even when you know you've not eaten

2. Behavioural Symptoms of
Social Anxiety

The way anxiety can make you feel will often manipulate your behaviour, possibly bringing on some of these social anxiety disorder symptoms.

Avoidance of eye-contact - involves a lot of looking down

Avoidance of social situations - bars, clubs, parties, school

Passive behaviour - letting people do what they want, rightly or wrongly

Hesitancy - delaying speaking etc

Passivity - avoids taking the lead, driving things forward

Keeping views or opinions private

Only going to familiar places

Only communicating with familiar people, like family or old friends

Agreeing with the majority

Dressing very 'plain' to avoid being noticed

Dressing immaculately so that people will at least appreciate looks

Overly helpful or agreeable

Talking very quietly, or, very loudly

Stuttering on words, or mumbling words, making it difficult to talk

Fidgeting, biting nails, tapping fingers

Almost doesn't talk, seemingly inadequate social skills

3. Mental Symptoms of
Social Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety affects the way the mind works, possibly allowing these social anxiety disorder symptoms to manifest.

Extreme focus on the self - monitoring how you appear to people

Focusing on what to say next, instead of what is being said to you

Difficulty remembering what someone else said because of the above

Finding it hard to think because the mind goes blank

Limiting beliefs and assumptions. E.g. "I must...or they won't like me"

Imagining bad outcomes from social situations

Picturing the physical symptoms happening

Imagining what you look like to others. Trying to 'mind read'

All or nothing thinking. "Any less than perfection is unacceptable"

Deep-level negative beliefs about the self and others

4. Emotional Symptoms of
Social Phobia

A problem like SA is obviously going to affect the way a person feels. Such feelings can turn out as 1 or more of these social anxiety disorder symptoms.

Fear - it's scary to be feeling the other types of symptoms

Nervous - in case of doing something 'wrong'

Paranoid - like others are looking at you, much more so than they really are

The desire to get out of the location, when anxious

Feeling ashamed - of the anxiety, or the consequences of it

Frustration and anger; with yourself and/or other people

Feeling inferior to others, who appear not to suffer anxiety

Feeling depressed or sad

5. 'Lifestyle' Social
Phobia Symptoms

The 4 above types of social anxiety disorder symptoms are nasty experiences for someone to have. The unpleasantness of it will usually cause a person to make lifestyle decisions based on avoiding those symptoms, such as...

Rejecting invites from friends

Friendships weakening from a refusal to go out

Few, if any, relationships with opposite sex

A poor attendance record at school

A job below potential

Above shows the major social anxiety disorder symptoms. Perhaps
you'd like to see my free guide to overcoming social anxiety?

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