Following up from the post I did about misconceptions of bulimia, I have decided to do the misconceptions of social anxiety as this is something I have experienced for a few years and there are a lot of misconceptions that can go along with it.

Social anxiety is just shyness
False. Social anxiety can cause fear surrounding everyday activities even if its just speaking over the phone (this is one of the things that I hate having to do). Shyness is more of a trait of someones personality and shy people tend to be able to cope with situations that somebody with social anxiety would have difficulty doing.

People with social anxiety are just rude
This is NOT the case. People who have social anxiety can feel uncomfortable and anxious in social situations so may become withdrawn and not give eye contact when socialising. This doesn't mean that they are being rude though. Most of the time people with social anxiety want to be able to socialise with their friends but fear they may become embarrassed easily.

Social anxiety disorder isn't common
Most people will have some sort of experience with social anxiety in some part of their life. Which could be anything from feeling nervous about an upcoming event to having panic attacks when dealing with social situations.

You are born with social anxiety
Again this is incorrect. People presume because it is a disorder that you must be born with it to have social anxiety. For a lot of people social anxiety can develop because of a certain situation they have had to deal with and social anxiety can develop at any time or age. Don't presume that because someone seemed fine at an earlier time, they must not have social anxiety now.

It is untreatable
This is not the case. Sufferers can get help through using the methods such as, taking medication or having cognitive behavioural therapy. If you feel like you need help please contact your GP