Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is an intense fear of being judged, embarrassed, or negatively evaluated in social or performance situations — strong enough that you avoid, endure with dread, or replay it for hours afterward.
How it can show up
- Fear of saying the wrong thing, blushing, shaking, or “looking anxious”
- Avoiding speaking up, meetings, dating, or social events
- Replaying conversations afterward, scanning for mistakes
- Relying on safety behaviours — rehearsing, over-preparing, staying quiet
- Intense self-focus and self-monitoring in the moment
What is social anxiety?
Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is a marked, persistent fear of social or performance situations in which you might be scrutinized. It’s far more than shyness — it can shrink your world, holding you back at work, in relationships, and in everyday interactions.
What keeps social anxiety going?
The influential Clark & Wells (1995) cognitive model explains the trap: in feared situations, attention turns inward onto how you think you’re coming across, “safety behaviours” (rehearsing, avoiding eye contact, gripping a glass) prevent you from learning you’re okay, and anticipatory and post-event rumination keep the fear alive. Rapee & Heimberg’s model adds how we over-estimate the standard others hold us to and the cost of falling short.
How therapy helps
Clinical guidelines recommend individual CBT based on the Clark & Wells model as a first-line treatment for social anxiety. Together we shift attention outward, drop safety behaviours, and use behavioural experiments and graded exposure to test feared predictions in real situations — so your confidence is built on evidence, not avoidance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best treatment for social anxiety?
Individual Cognitive Behavioural Therapy based on the Clark & Wells model — combining attention-shifting, dropping safety behaviours, and graded exposure — is recommended by clinical guidelines as a first-line treatment for social anxiety disorder.
Is social anxiety just shyness?
No. Shyness is a temperament; social anxiety disorder is a more intense, persistent fear of judgment that causes real distress and avoidance and interferes with work, relationships, or daily life.
Does exposure for social anxiety mean being thrown into scary situations?
No. Exposure is graded and collaborative — we plan each step together and you control the pace. The aim is to test feared predictions gradually, not to overwhelm you.
Free self-help resources
Evidence-based CBT workbooks from the Centre for Clinical Interventions (Government of Western Australia) — a helpful complement to therapy you can start on your own:
Selected clinical references
The approach to this concern is informed by established clinical models and treatment guidelines, including:
- Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia.
- Rapee, R. M., & Heimberg, R. G. (1997). A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia.
- NICE (2013). Social anxiety disorder: recognition, assessment and treatment (CG159).