How Social Anxiety Affects Relationships

Social Anxiety and Relationships

How Social Anxiety Affects Relationships

Living with social anxiety affects us to varying degrees, and that includes how it affects our relationships. In today’s blog post, we will discuss how this disorder meddles with our relationships, be it social or family relations.

The common phrase “Communication is key” is often problematic to someone who suffers from anxiety, the immense difficulty of simply opening our mouths to speak, leading to rambling about unrelated gibberish, stumbling over words, or ultimately not saying anything at all. This trait is prevalent from the very beginning.

Let us dig deeper into more details about how social anxiety affects our relationships

Social anxiety and social relationships

One of the most desired connections most humans want to have is an intimate relationship, almost everyone wants to share their lives with someone they feel safe and secure with. However, there are hurdles whenever someone with this disorder gets into that kind of connection.

The setbacks that occur could be noted almost immediately. These could include, difficulty building trust, fear of intimacy, trouble communicating feelings, and being dissatisfied in a relationship.

Emotional intimacy can be complicated for those with this disorder because it requires vulnerability and honesty, pushing the bounds of trust and connection even further. 

People afflicted often stray away from vulnerability because being vulnerable opens them up to rejection, criticism, and closeness. Because of this overwhelming fear, there is a tendency to push partners away.

All these put together can cause partners to find themselves in an unhappy relationship, and the effects of these become a hindrance with time. It takes a lot of effort and intention to have and maintain a healthy relationship.

In family dynamics, people with social anxiety often find it hard to fit in and blend in with their families, especially those from large families.

They mostly prefer to live in isolation, in the comfort of their own company. 

This is often misconstrued as rudeness or lack of social skills, but people like this suffer intense anxiety when in company of family relations whose personalities are more on the extreme end and it is almost impossible to keep up with the energy.

Conclusion

It is important to keep an eye out for loved ones who are likely to be victims of this disorder, and create a safe space for them.

A timely reminder that You are not alone! 

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope it was informative, insightful, and most importantly, useful to you. Mental health is an important topic that affects us all, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.

If you have any thoughts or comments, I encourage you to leave them in the comment box below. Your feedback is essential to me and helps me create content that is tailored to your needs.

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