Social Anxiety Physical Symptoms & Sensations
Social anxiety symptoms include mental, emotional and physical signs. The self critical thought patterns and fearful or panicky emotional feelings that characterize social anxiety are often accompanied by troubling physical sensations as well.
Have you ever been speaking to someone or even just thinking about saying something, and your stomach goes into a hard cold knot?
Or you see someone you know and suddenly you can feel a searing hot feeling rise up your face.... and you know you are blushing?
Or you have to speak in front of a group and your hands become clammy and your legs begin to shake uncontrollably or you find that suddenly you can't speak at all?
Those are just some examples of some of the most common physical sensations that are often part of social anxiety.
Sometimes the most troubling parts of social anxiety are physical
We dread blushing, shaking and other physical symptoms of social anxiety because we feel that these broadcast to the world that we are experiencing anxiety. Most people who feel socially anxious are already trying to blend into the crowd, appear "normal", and not draw attention to themselves. Outward signs of social anxiety are most definitely not a welcome event.
There are several very common physical social anxiety symptoms
Common physical social anxiety "symptoms" include nausea, pounding heart, feeling faint, dizziness, blushing, feeling very hot or very cold in some or all parts of the body, shaking, trembling, unable to speak, shaky voice, stuttering, feeling "frozen", sweating, difficulty breathing, or feeling breathless.
Focusing on the physical symptoms usually makes them worse
Often when we become aware that we are blushing or shaking or experiencing other anxiety signs, we find ourselves feeling even more anxious, which has the effect of worsening our symptoms.
Social confidence training reduces social anxiety symptoms such as shaking, blushing and nausea
If you have social anxiety, you might be desperately wishing to be rid of these symptoms, perhaps more than anything. These symptoms will be dramatically reduced as you learn to become more confident, and will soon no longer bother you if they do occasionally arise.