Shyness Vs Social Anxiety

The argument of whether shyness is social anxiety is different or the same is a tough one, since they are so similar it is hard to tell. Shyness is usually the concept people are identified with when a one avoids social situations. Shyness and social anxiety can be classified as the same since most definitions of both use the fear of social situations. The American Psychological Association says that “Shyness is the tendency to feel awkward worried or tense during social situations” and Thomas A. Richards of the Social Anxiety Institute says that “Social anxiety is. the fear of interaction with others”. Social anxiety and shyness are hard to tell apart and to argue that they are different but there seems to be a difference in the definitions

They can be considered one in the same in this sense according to CalmClinic. Social phobia is a kind of anxiety that can bring down your quality of life. Shyness can make it hard to talk to people but not impossible. Also, shyness is a personality trait and does not come with negative emotions and feelings that social anxiety has. Shyness may have some similarities with social anxiety but because there are differences they are not the same. Social anxiety affects one 's life negatively by bringing negative emotions and feelings. Anyone who has social anxiety tends not to show their full potential because they 're afraid of social situations. Also, Social anxiety is not considered a normal facet of life like shyness is. People with social anxiety may also feel shy. Knowing the differences between the two helps identify what treatment should be taken. Not knowing the difference can cause under treatment or over treatment. Shyness might be treated as social anxiety(over treatment) or social anxiety could be treated as shyness(under treatment). Social anxiety could cause depression which would be good to treat accordingly while shyness doesn 't bring any disorders. The negative effects of social anxiety have to be watched in order to provide proper treatment. The treatment used can help uplift one 's

Someone who is shy usually doesn 't meet the criteria to have social anxiety. However about one half of people with social anxiety are shy. According to Dr. Thomas A. Richards “A diagnosis of social anxiety disorder is associated with: greater presence of co-existing or additional disorders with reference to an initial diagnosis, greater severity of avoidance, and impairment to life, and poor quality of life”. Only about 25%of people with shyness meet the criteria for having social anxiety. The criteria determines that shyness and social anxiety may overlap but they are not the same. The parts that overlap are their similarities which are also the parts that are often confused for being from the same thing. The confusion allows for false diagnosis and might lead to not enough treatment for social anxiety or too much treatment for shyness. It will have give the patient a false impression on what they are experiencing. It is not good to add to the negative effects of social anxiety. This can add to the anxiety even if it 's not that negative. Social anxiety is a negative disorder that will bring other negative disorders with it or increase their presence. Shyness will only be a half negative. Shyness might not be the best thing to have but it will show what good friends are. Social anxiety won 't show good friends but only the fear of them leaving for