Social anxiety, does it only affect introverted people?

[greenman]

Just wondering whether its useful to recognise how personality type affects Social Anxiety.
It is possible that we may have both. Intovert and extrovert qualities. Any thoughts?

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[gregarious_introvert]

I think most of us have tendencies to introversion and extroversion, depending on the situation and the company in which we find ourselves; I consider myself an introvert, but there have always been times when I'm found myself "holding court" and these have become more frequent as I've gained more social practice.

I believe that social anxiety is felt more keenly by extroverts (as they need a greater level of social contact), but there is also the possibility that introverts have less incentive to overcome the condition.

[Mr. Nobody]

given the right situation(s) I possibly would have been more extrovert?
I recall I always used to like talking to groups in class and always volunteered for parts in plays and stuff,
if a teacher asked who wanted to read out passages in books or a play to the rest of the class, I always volunteered,
I also wanted to be a part of whatever groups etc were on the go and be the centre of things,
when SA kicked in,. things changed to the opposite really.
so I adapted myself around that particular problem and adjusted my behaviour to suit this odd new phenomenon in my life.

trouble is, how do you know if your 'introversion' is simply due to SA or an underlying personality trait,

I'm sure SA is no respecter of types and affects many different personality types,

[Kevin Hodge]

Originally Posted by Vasco Da Gama

given the right situation(s) I possibly would have been more extrovert?
I recall I always used to like talking to groups in class and always volunteered for parts in plays and stuff,
if a teacher asked who wanted to read out passages in books or a play to the rest of the class, I always volunteered,
I also wanted to be a part of whatever groups etc were on the go and be the centre of things,
when SA kicked in,. things changed to the opposite really.
so I adapted myself around that particular problem and adjusted my behaviour to suit this odd new phenomenon in my life.

trouble is, how do you know if your 'introversion' is simply due to SA or an underlying personality trait,

I'm sure SA is no respecter of types and affects many different personality types,

i think i'm supposed to be, maybe not an extrovert, but yknow, a bit more of a people person than my sa allows. theres a conflict between wanting to engage with people and have a laugh, and years of bad experiences in childhood that "taught" me that i was a worthless piece of shit

so while my personality makes me want to engage with people at the same time i have a lot of "bad programming" that makes this problematic

[greenman]

Originally Posted by greenman

Just wondering whether its useful to recognise how personality type affects Social Anxiety.
It is possible that we may have both. Intovert and extrovert qualities. Any thoughts?

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Ive read some interesting experiences on here and it shows that SA can affect both introverts and extroverts to different degrees, so thanks for sharing.

Ive read that introverts tend to like less stimulating environments or quieter places where they can be alone with their thoughts. Wheras extroverts need more stimulation such as busy active environments, with lots of people to interact with.

I suppose then if this is the case, extroverts feel more pressure to interact which may cause issues if they have SA. Someone who is more introverted may avoid social interaction or limit it in some ways that allow them to be more comfortable. They may like me have learned to put on an act of appearing to be confident whilst feeling uncomfortable. Some on here have elements of both which just shows that SA happens irrespective of personality types.

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[Messer]

Not sure about extroverts, but I'm definitely an introvert. I can be in company but need tonnes of alone time. Some people drain all the energy out of me in about 5 minutes.

I think it's interesting to think of though, I would never have thought about extroverts having a harder time with SA. I deal (!) with SA by trying to stay in my comfort zone and ignoring it, I guess an extrovert would be more miserable doing that.

[jez9999]

Surely social anxiety can make you in to an introvert. Being introverted basically means that social situations tire you rather than giving you energy. Feeling anxious about interacting with people causes that.