Mental Health Matters

Introverison Vs Social Anxiety

Yes, Introversion and Social Anxiety Are Two Different Things

You have a small social circle and fiercely protect your alone time. It takes a while before you feel comfortable opening up in the company of new people. At work or school, you hang back and avoid speaking up until you absolutely have to.

Parties and crowds of people tend to make you nervous, if not outright overwhelmed. You’ve elevated the act of canceling plans to an art form. Others call you reserved, quiet, or shy.

Do the above characteristics describe you to a T? If so, you quite possibly describe yourself as an introvert.

Yet maybe you’ve also spent some time considering whether something else drives your lack of interest in social situations. Does your personality simply fall toward the introverted end of the spectrum, you might wonder, or could you actually have social anxiety?

The answer depends on two things:

the reasons why these behaviors feel most natural to you

your feelings about spending time alone

The difference between the two

On the surface, social anxiety and introversion can seem pretty similar. After all, they involve many of the same signs.

These two experiences aren’t one and the same, though, and they have less in common than you might think.

Introversion

There’s one key difference between introversion and social anxiety: Introversion is a personality trait, not a mental health condition.

Introverted people draw energy from within. As an introvert, you probably dedicate plenty of time to solitary pursuits. Relaxing and unwinding alone appeal to you, so you might prefer, more often than not, to make plans with yourself over anyone else.

If you’re an introvert, you might:

have strong listening skills

carefully consider options before making a decision

dislike confrontation

prefer to share feelings and thoughts through writing or art

Since introversion is a personality trait, it’s part of who you are — not necessarily something you can work to change. Learning and developing certain skills can help you feel more relaxed in groups of people, but new skills can’t really change how you get your energy.

Social anxiety

Living with social anxiety, or social phobia, typically means you experience significant nervousness and fear in social situations or when simply thinking about social situations. This fear generally stems from the idea that others will reject you or judge you negatively.

If you’re introverted, you might keep to yourself because you enjoy solitude. With social anxiety, on the other hand, you may actually want to join the crowd but feel nervous of your reception — and potential rejection.

When you do go to parties or hang out with friends, you might spend a lot of time thinking about what you’ve said or done and worrying what people think of you.