I know I'm coming across wrong. I'll be alone the rest of my life. The socially anxious person, on the other hand, can define the simplest of social interactions as a performance . Even shaking someone's hand in a casual setting can lead to performance anxiety and extensive, critical analysis afterwards. Their anxiety can cause them to forget their train of thought, stumble over words, respond to questions with one word answers, or begin laughing at inappropriate moments.
Some people only fear a few situations.
Others, suffering from generalized social phobia , dread a broad number of situations where there is some chance of receiving disapproval. The following chart lists the common situations which socially anxious people can dread. Initiating conversation with someone attracted to Social anxieties often begin to surface in adolescence , although there is much variation. About twenty percent of the U.S. population suffers some degree of social anxiety, with two to three percent so significantly impaired that they fit the diagnosis of social phobia . Over eighty percent of people with social phobia never seek professional help .