The SANE Blog

Five myths about social anxiety

If you have social anxiety, you know what it feels like to experience intense anxiety in social situations. It can involve a fear of judgement or embarrassment and can sometimes result in you avoiding social situations altogether.  

While it’s quite common (around 7 per cent of Australians have experienced social anxiety in the past 12 months), there are a lot of myths surrounding it. Debunking these myths is important, so that they don’t create stigma and self-stigma, or prevent people from seeking help.  

Here are five myths about social anxiety – and the facts that prove them wrong.  

While the easing of public health restrictions is a big milestone and something to celebrate, it’s also a huge shift in what we have become used to. Many people are surprised to find they have mixed feelings or find it tough as lockdowns and restrictions lift.  

However, this might make more sense than we realise at first.  

Bushfire trauma can have a profound impact on existing mental health issues. Finding the right support is key to getting through disaster recovery and bushfire anniversaries.

The town of Wolumla, on the New South Wales south coast is a small village just south of Bega, surrounded by picturesque farmland. But over the summer of 2019/20, the landscape changed. On New Year’s Day, a ring of flames surrounded the region, with fires burning to the north and south. The sky turned orange, blotting out the sun. The ground was blanketed in ash. Fear gripped the town.

Bushfire trauma puts huge pressure on even the strongest relationships. It’s important to realise you’re not alone as you recover.

Bushfire disaster is a perfect storm for anxiety. A lack of control of the situation combined with the threat of loss can be a fertile ground for feelings of despair, uncertainty and hopelessness.

Grace, from Long Beach NSW, knows this all too well. She and her family were evacuated three times during the Black Summer fires. And while their house survived, her childhood home, where her parents still lived, was lost to the flames – an event she describes as heartbreaking.

The menacing fires and displacement both brought out strong anxious feelings for Grace. “It’s hard when you suffer from anxiety as it is,” she says. “Then, when you’re faced with that fear, it’s even harder.”

Do you make mountains out of molehills? Is it all or nothing? Do you imagine the worst possible outcome for future events?

This type of anxiety is common. It can be debilitating and all encompassing. It can impact your ability to enjoy life, make decisions, or take action.

Most people can relate to the frustration of having a ‘bad hair day’. This anxious feeling can be enough to make you want to pull your hair out! Yet unfortunately for some, the urge to pull out their own hair is a very real battle they face every day.

Recent research revealed that almost 20 percent of Australians believe people who suffer from anxiety are ‘putting it on’ and are using this condition as an excuse to ‘get out of things’. This news is likely to leave the two million people in Australia suffering from anxiety feeling even more isolated and misunderstood.

But there is another side to this story which is more encouraging. The same research shows that more than 50 percent of us disagree with this idea and another 30 percent have no particular viewpoint. This means that at least half of the Australian population understands anxiety is real and exists on a continuum.