
Complete Guide to Social Anxiety

Disclaimer:

This eBook was written by (your name). 
I am not a doctor or mental health 
professional and cannot be held liable 
for the information written here. 
This book is meant to provide 
information that helps you decide on the 
right path for improving your mental 
health. It is not intended to provide 
medical advice. Do not use it as an 
alternative to seeking help from a 
medical or mental health professional.



Table of Contents

Part One: Understanding Social Anxiety	5
Chapter 1: Social Anxiety Defined	6
Chapter 2: How Many People Suffer From it 	9
Chapter 3: Why Some People Have Social Anxiety 	10
Chapter 4: Common Symptoms in People With Social Anxiety 	13
Chapter 5: How it Affects Your Daily Life 	15

Part Two: Living With Social Anxiety 	18
Chapter 1: Triggers for Social Anxiety 	20
Chapter 2: Finding Your Triggers	22
Chapter 3: Taking Medications for Anxiety	24
Chapter 4: Why You Should Go to Therapy	26
Chapter 5: Tips for Surviving Social Anxiety Daily	29


Introduction

If you’re reading this book, you are probably interested in learning more about social 
anxiety. Perhaps you have some symptoms you think suggests social anxiety, or you 
have someone close to you that is suffering from it.

What you will soon learn is that there are a lot of interesting facts about this anxiety, but 
also a lot of things people assume that simply aren’t the case.

Like any other anxiety disorder, social anxiety is something that people struggle with 
every day. It can affect your way of life, keep you from living up to your potential out of 
fear and severe panic attacks, and can also keep you from having lasting relationships.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to. Even with social anxiety, you can still live a 
normal, happy, fulfilling life. It is just a matter of accepting that you have this anxiety 
disorder, then working hard to find a remedy for it. 

There are many ways to treat it, from going to therapy and taking medications, to trying 
natural and lifestyle remedies. There is really no right or wrong way to deal with it, aside 
from not dealing with it at all.

The worst thing you can do is just continue suffering in your daily life because you don’t 
understand your form of anxiety, or you simply assume that there is nothing to be done 
about it. When in fact, millions of people have this form of anxiety, and many of them 
have learned how to cope with it on a daily basis. 

Stop letting your anxiety keep you from living the life you want. Understand that you 
were born with social anxiety, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to deal with it.
When you’re ready to learn more about social anxiety and finally take control of your 
life, keep reading.

Part One:
Understanding 
Social Anxiety

Chapter 1: Social Anxiety Defined

Social anxiety has often been confused with other anxiety disorders and behaviors. If 
you have social anxiety, you might have been a child that was especially quiet and 
withdrawn from others, and people just called you shy or quiet. As you got older, 
perhaps people looked at you as being someone that was just unfriendly and didn’t 
want to participate.

These perceptions are often where the issues with social anxiety begin. Social anxiety 
is a very complex disorder that can affect anyone, no matter their age or gender. Some 
people have other mental health disorders with social anxiety, while this is the only 
anxiety disorder others will experience.

This section is going to go over the definition of what social anxiety is and what you can 
expect when you are living with it.

What is Social Anxiety?

Social anxiety is a type of anxiety disorder that involves being in social situations and 
how your body and mind reacts to them. It is not shyness like many people think, but is 
something your body experiences when you are around other people. 

The definition you will often hear is that it is a fear of social situations. Though there are 
so many factors to consider with just this single statement. Many people believe it is 
only the fear of being judged in a group of people, while others think it is linked to 
specific types of people or the number of people.

So what is the right answer? All of the above. This is what makes social anxiety so 
complex. It is not the same for every individual with the disorder. There are certain 
triggers – or situations – that will cause someone to react due to this type of anxiety. 
You might find that it is the massive amount of people in a certain situation that causes 
you to have panic attacks from social anxiety, while your sister has it, but she only 
experiences the effects when around certain types of people, like her co-workers or her 
peers.

Social anxiety can also affect people differently, from causing intense emotional issues, 
to physical effects like a panic attack. This might include:

Racing heartbeat 
Sweaty palms 
Tunnel vision 
Shaking or trembling 
Loss of proper concentration 
Mumbling speech 
Sweating 
Heart palpitations 
.. and lots more signs

As you will soon see, the simple definition of being afraid of social situations has many 
layers to it that you should consider. 

What Does This Anxiety Stem From?

So where exactly does the root of social anxiety come from? You will learn more about 
the causes and risk factors of social anxiety in another section, but for now, you might 
be curious as to what someone feels when they have this type of anxiety.

It is not like generalized anxiety disorder where you get a panic attack from no triggers, 
or post-traumatic stress disorder that is linked to a previous traumatic event. Social 
anxiety is from something specific that occurs and causes the feelings or fears.

It often stems from a feeling of being judged. It is not just being around people that the 
majority of social anxiety sufferers experience, but of being judged. This can be any 
negative feeling, from how you look to what you will say or how you act. You have an 
intense fear of saying or doing something embarrassing, humiliation, or simply feeling 
inferior compared to other people.

This is why many people with social anxiety find that it is only triggered by certain 
groups of people making them feel more inadequate.

What do Others See?

When you have any form of anxiety, you often feel even more fearful and embarrassed 
because you think others can see how it is affecting you. But you might like to know this 
is very rarely the case. Usually, others don’t even see a change unless you make it very 
obvious. It might feel as though your facial expressions are changing rapidly, that you 
are simply pacing more than normal. 

But with social anxiety in general, you might have traits others notice in you, but don’t 
always realize it is from your anxiety. They often see someone who is:

Shy around other people 
incredibly quiet 
Doesn’t often start conversation 
Mumbles or seems nervous when asked a question 
Anti-social 
Withdrawn from others 
Flaky and skips parties a lot 
Uninterested in social events 
Unfriendly or stuck up 
Aloof

This might be what others see, instead of that you are suffering from social anxiety. You 
don’t owe it to anyone to change who you are and how you feel, but it can help to 
understand what your behavior looks like to people who don’t know you suffer from this 
form of anxiety.

Social Anxiety Vs Other Anxieties

Before moving onto the next chapter, I want to talk a little bit about social anxiety as it 
relates to other types of anxiety disorders. While there are similarities between this type 
of anxiety and others, you should still be fully aware of how they might be different. 

      1. Social Anxiety vs Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The first anxiety disorder to compare social anxiety to is generalized anxiety disorder 
(GAD). With this form of anxiety, you typically have an overwhelming sense of worry, 
fear, and stress almost constantly. It is often not triggered by anything and can occur at 
any time or place. You can experience anxiety in crowds of people, like social anxiety 
sufferers do, but it may also happen when you are home alone, at work, in the car, on 
an airplane, even when enjoying time with friends. 

The main difference is that with GAD, while you can have symptoms appear when in a 
crowd, that is not the only time you experience your anxiety and panic symptoms. It is 
also not uncommon for someone to have both social anxiety and generalized anxiety 
disorder. 

      2. Social Anxiety and Panic Attacks

You may also notice some similarities between your social anxiety and panic attacks. 
The interesting thing is that panic disorder is frequently linked to social anxiety, but just 
because you have panic attacks as a response to your social anxiety, doesn’t mean you 
actually have panic disorder.

Why? Because panic disorder is usually defined as panic attacks that are not always 
triggered by something, similar to GAD. This means while you can get a panic attack 
while in a crowd of people or another place where you feel uncomfortable or 
inadequate, you may also get panic attacks while in an elevator alone or when driving 
on the highway, if you have panic disorder.

      3. Social Anxiety vs Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Lastly, you should know about the differences between social anxiety and post-
traumatic stress disorder. With post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), your anxiety and 
panic is from a specific traumatic event you experienced. This is mostly different from 
social anxiety, though there can be a few links.

First of all, if your traumatic event occurred in front of an audience, then you might have 
social anxiety that worsens as a result of your PTSD. This can happen if you already 
had social anxiety and something horrifying happened in front of other people, which 
now causes the social anxiety to be worse, but might have given you some mild PTSD 
from it as well.

Chapter 2: How Many People Suffer From it

Before getting into more details about social anxiety, I really want you to understand 
how common social anxiety is. The reason is because if you find that one of the 
frustrating things about your anxiety is the fact that others don’t understand, you might 
be surprised by how many people are out there struggling with the exact same thing.

Here is a graphic that will show the following:
15 Million Adults Have Social Anxiety in the U.S. Alone 
Symptoms Show Up Around 13 Years of Age 
36% of People Don’t Get Treatment For 10 Years or Longer
 
Chapter 3: Why Some People Have Social Anxiety

This chapter is going to be all about the causes and risk factors of social anxiety. It is a 
common question among anyone who has suffered from this anxiety disorder: Why me? 
Anxiety is typically a genetic disorder, so you may never find a solid link for why you 
have social anxiety, aside from genetics. Though it is interesting to note some people 
do tend to have a higher risk due to a wide range of factors.

While most anxiety disorders and many mental health conditions are simply something 
you inherit, post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the only disorders that you can get 
from a specific situation or traumatic event. However, with social anxiety, it is probably 
something you would have always had. 

Here are some things to know about the causes and risk factors of social anxiety.

The Primary Causes

As mentioned, genetics is going to be related to one of the main causes of this type of 
anxiety disorder. There are three primary causes for social anxiety, which include 
genetics, environment, and brain response. Here is a rundown of each of these main 
causes:

      1. Genetics

When talking about a genetic link for social anxiety, it is a type of inherited trait. This 
doesn’t mean if your parent or grandparent has a type of anxiety, you will get it, but if 
you do have social anxiety, you should look at others in your family. Having an inherited 
trait like this is simply a higher risk factor. It is possible that among your siblings, you are 
the only one that inherited one of your parent’s anxiety disorders. 

Though one interesting thing to keep in mind in terms of an inherited trait, is that if you 
are aware of the social anxiety of your parent as a young child, it can also become a 
learned behavior. At that point, it becomes difficult to determine if it was truly caused by 
your genetics, or if it was something you picked up in your environment (more on that 
next). 
 
      2. Environment

The next common cause for social anxiety is actually from the environment around you. 
This is less known by people, not realizing it can be a learned behavior. The good news 
is that if your therapist believe you got it from your environment, then it might be easier 
to treat. 

This doesn’t mean everyone who sees other showing signs of social anxiety will 
automatically develop the behaviors themselves. Many specialists believe you also 
need other risk factors for anxiety in order to learn it as a developed behavior. There are 
also some mental health specialists that think a parent who is more controlling when 
they are a small child can also add the likelihood of developing social anxiety.

      3. Brain Response

Your brain can be the culprit in the last of these three common causes for social 
anxiety. This is also related to your genetics, since your brain structure is something you 
are born with. There is a specific structure in the brain known as amygdala. This has to 
do with your fear response to various people and situations. If this structure is 
overactive in your brain, then it can cause you to have a higher-than-normal fear 
response. This in turn causes anxiety, frequently with social anxiety. If you find that you 
are fearful in many other situations as well, this is likely the cause of your social anxiety.

What You Should Look For

The reason figuring out the potential cause for your anxiety is so useful is because it 
can help you determine which treatment option is best. You shouldn’t be like the large 
percentage of people with this anxiety disorder who choose to skip treatment. It is really 
important that you get help so that you can go on to live a fulfilling, happy life.
If you want to figure out what the cause of your social anxiety is, here are some things 
to look for:

1. Does anyone in your family have social anxiety or other anxiety disorders?
2. Do you remember your close relatives showing signs of social anxiety?
3. Do you find that you experience a lot of intense fear very easily?

Risk Factors 

Not only are there these primary causes for social anxiety, but some other risk factors 
as well. These risk factors apply when you might have a genetic link to anxiety. Not 
every child of a parent with social anxiety is going to get it, but if you also have some of 
these risks, you are much more likely to develop it.

Here are some common risk factors for developing social anxiety:

Experiencing negative reactions as a child – One of the risk factors for developing 
social anxiety is when you have a reason to feel inadequate or fearful in a social setting. 

It is often brought on by being bullied or ridiculed in public or around your peers. 

Perhaps you slipped and fell at school in front of a large group of kids who laughed at 
you, or another embarrassing situation happened in front of people. This isn’t the cause 
of social anxiety, but it can be what triggered your anxiety and increased your risk.

Having other anxiety disorders – Generally speaking, any time you have an anxiety 
disorder, it creates a larger risk for other disorders. This applies to social anxiety, 
generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and many others. If you know you have 
GAD, then suddenly you become more fearful in social situations, you might also have 
social anxiety along with your regular anxiety disorder.

Having a physical condition that creates more attention – In some people, their 
social anxiety is triggered in part by something about them that creates more attention. 
You might feel more fearful around others because of a physical trait, disability, or 
deformity that you believe creates more attention, often fearful it will be negative 
attention. 

Suddenly experiencing more social demands – This is also not a cause for social 
anxiety, but can be a risk factor I f you also have other risks. Sometimes, adults don’t 
experience the effects of their anxiety until they are in a more fearful situation. You 
might be fine in regular social situations, but when you need to speak at a convention or 
do an oral presentation at work, you suddenly get severe panic attacks. 


Chapter 4: Common Symptoms in People With Social Anxiety

It is hard to talk about social anxiety without discussing the symptoms. If you already 
know you have social anxiety, a lot of this will sound familiar, but some might now. 
Why? Because like all anxiety disorders, the symptoms are merely a collection of 
possible things you might experience. You and a close friend might both have this 
anxiety disorder, but have completely different symptoms.

As you will see in this chapter, there are different types of symptoms of social anxiety, 
from emotional ones to physical ones. Some symptoms might also be similar to other 
forms of anxiety, particularly if you also experience panic attacks. Knowing these 
symptoms can help you discover when it is a good time to talk to your doctor or 
therapist about your social anxiety.

Take a look at these collection of symptoms and side effects common for people who 
struggle with social anxiety:

Emotional and Mental Symptoms

The first category of symptoms for social anxiety are the ones related to emotional and 
mental changes. These will be related to how you feel, how you perceive certain 
situations, and where your thoughts and feelings go. The root of social anxiety is having 
an intense fear of being judges or ridiculed in front of others, so naturally experiencing 
that fear is one of the top emotional symptoms you are going to experience.

This fear can present itself in a number of different ways, from making you feel anxious, 
to then causing physical symptoms like sweaty palms or a racing heartbeat. 

After fear, you might just experience an overwhelming sense of worry and anxiety, 
similar to what people experience with disorders like generalized anxiety disorder or 
panic disorder. You often have so many thoughts in your head, many of which are 
creating scenarios of embarrassing things that could happen in front of these people, 
that your anxiety continues to worsen.

With the right therapy and treatment, you can at least keep these worsening thoughts at 
bay and have a better handle on the emotional symptoms related to your social anxiety.

Physical Symptoms

In addition to the emotional and mental symptoms of social anxiety that were 
mentioned, you might also notice some physical symptoms as well. These are often 
from the fear or worry you experience when in a social situation, though some of them 
can also be related to panic attacks experienced while going through this type of 
anxiety.

Here is a list of common physical symptoms that may be experienced when you have 
social anxiety: 
 
Racing heartbeat 
Heart palpitations 
Nervousness 
Butterflies in the stomach 
Increased temperature 
Sweaty palms 
Tunnel vision 
Blushing or warmth in the face 
Dizziness and lightheadedness 
Shaking and trembling 
Trouble swallowing 
Dry mouth 
Muscle twitching

These can be physical symptoms of a panic attack coming on as a result of your fears 
in a social situation, but this is not always a full-blown panic attack. You can experience 
any of these symptoms along with the emotional symptoms when you are in a group of 
people that create that anxiety or fear for you.

What Can Trigger These Symptoms

Lastly, I also want to address some triggers in this chapter. You might have heard about 
triggers before, because are situations or even people that can cause you to experience 
certain reactions. In this case, it will be something that triggers these emotional, mental, 
or physical side effects from your social anxiety.

Because we want to go more in-depth about triggers in part two of this book, here is a 
summarized version of things that can trigger your mental or physical symptoms of 
social anxiety:

Having to speak in front of an audience 
Being asked questions in front of people you don’t know 
Going to a restaurant, bar, or other places with a lot of people 
Just being around anyone you don’t know 
Starting a new job 
Performing tasks in front of others, like at work or school 
Being around large groups of people, such as parties 
Having a lot of attention, like during a birthday party or wedding
Keep in mind many symptoms and triggers are personal to just you and what situations 
you personally find to be the most difficult.

Chapter 5: How it Affects Your Daily Life

This will be the final chapter of part one of this book all about social anxiety. For the fifth 
chapter, I want to discuss ways social anxiety can affect your daily life. In the next 
chapters, you are going to learn all about what you can do about it. But for now, let’s go 
over some things you might experience when you are dealing with social anxiety. 

The Daily Challenges

First of all, there are the basic, daily challenges of having social anxiety. These are the 
things you are kept from on a regular basis, whether you have difficulty going out to eat 
with your co-workers during lunch, or you find attending each college class pure torture. 
No matter who you are and what your life is like, you probably have a lot of difficulties 
every day.

It is nearly impossible to avoid all people all the time, and it’s not good for you. You 
need to have friends and family in your life, but if you have trouble being around others, 
it can make this really hard. This is why you should seek treatment for your social 
anxiety instead of just letting it control everything you do or don’t do.

Some things that can be harder to handle on a daily basis as a result of social anxiety 
includes:

Talking to co-workers 
Going out to lunch or happy hour with colleagues 
Being social with neighbors 
Enjoying coffee with others at a café
There are many other things that might seem very small to some people that can be 
extremely difficult for you.

Trouble Making Friends

You may also notice that because of your social anxiety, you have a lot of trouble with 
making new friends. Some people with this type of anxiety have one or two close 
friends, but when it comes to making new friends, it is more difficult and takes a lot more 
time.

This applies to everyone, no matter your situation or how old you are. Children and 
teens tend to have a harder time with this, but even as an adult, you should still 
understand the importance of strong, lasting friendships. When you can’t easily talk to 
people at a new job or you have difficulty at parties, it makes it hard to meet people you 
can continue spending time with. 

Falling Behind in Work or School

Social anxiety can also affect your life by keeping you from achieving your fullest 
potential. You are smart and talented, but you are falling behind because you can’t 
attend work functions, are afraid to raise your hand in school, or you keep skipping out 
on events where networking opportunities present themselves.

There are many things that tend to come up in both work and school where you have to 
be around others or speak in front of an audience, which can make everything more 
difficult. Even things like attending graduation at the end of college can seem like the 
hardest thing you have ever faced. In the professional world, it can keep you from 
succeeding or advancing your career because you don’t go above and beyond, have 
difficulty networking, and can’t be someone who talks in front of others.
As you can see, social anxiety really affects every area of your life.
 
There is Hope

All of this can sound worrisome, but the good news is that there is hope. In the next part 
of this book, you will learn all about how you can live a happier life even with social 
anxiety.

There are many treatment options and lifestyle changes you can make that will help you 
get through your life without struggling too much. You will learn all about these 
treatments in part two of the Complete Guide to Social Anxiety book.

Part Two:
Living With Social 
Anxiety

Chapter 1: Triggers For Social Anxiety

Welcome to part two of the Complete Guide to Social Anxiety book. This part is going to 
be all about dealing with your social anxiety, now that you know more about what it is 
and what happens when you have this type of anxiety. You will learn about the different 
treatment options and how to have a fulfilling life with the anxiety disorder.

The first step is to learn all about your triggers. As mentioned in a previous section, you 
need to understand what your triggers are so that you can avoid them. This doesn’t 
provide a permanent cure for social anxiety, but it can definitely help you reduce how 
much it affects you on a daily basis.

Why Triggers are Important

You may have some basic knowledge about triggers, but don’t completely understand 
what they are or why you need to learn more about them. The basic definition is this: a 
trigger is a situation, person, or event that can cause you to experience anxiety. In this 
case, it is often surrounding a social setting or situation that leads to those mental and 
physical symptoms we discussed in part one of this book.

So why do you need to know what the triggers are? Because for many people with this 
form of anxiety, the effects are brought on by something. It is not like generalized 
anxiety disorder where you feel that worry or anxiousness at any time, but is usually 
brought on by something. When you work at finding what your triggers are, you can 
learn to live with social anxiety.

This is not the easiest mental health disorder to have, because it often keeps you from 
spending time with others and enjoying life outside your home, but it is definitely 
something you can manage. The first step is finding out what your individual triggers 
are. 

Typical Triggers for Social Anxiety

Before figuring out what triggers you as an individual – since it can be different for 
everyone – I want you to understand what some typical triggers are. I mentioned this 
briefly near the end of part one of this book, but let’s go over them again and add a few 
more.

      1. Being the Center of Attention

One of the biggest causes for social anxiety and the resulting effects is being fearful of 
how you will be perceived. This often includes what you will look like or seem like to 
others, particularly with someone who has a history of ridicule or bullying. Any time you 
are the center of attention it can be a major trigger for your social anxiety, such as at a 
birthday party, dance, wedding, training during a new job, or the first day or work, 
school, and similar activities.

      2. Ending Up in a Crowd of People

A large number of people with social anxiety will be okay with one or two people, but 
have great difficulty when in a large crowd of people. Your triggers might be related to 
being at a restaurant or busy coffee shop, bar or nightclub, or at a party or work event.

      3. Having to Talk in Front of Others

It is not uncommon to have a trigger related to talking in front of others. Social anxiety 
typically gets worse when you are expected to do something that draws in the attention 
of others. So if you are a keynote speaker at a work conference, need to perform on 
stage, or any type of public speaking, it can be extremely difficult to do. 

      4. Meeting People for the First Time

People with social anxiety are often called shy because they have trouble meeting new 
people, whether on their own or being introduced. This is often from social anxiety when 
it goes beyond just being quiet or shy, but causes you extreme fear and worry. 


      5. Basic Daily Issues
There are a lot of small triggers that occur on a daily basis, including things that might 
seem silly to someone without this anxiety disorder. They include having to make small 
talk when you are in a public setting, being around a crowd of people while at an airport, 
or taking public transportation. Even going to the gym can bring on a panic attack as 
you are surrounded by other people. 

Now that you know a little more about triggers, you can learn how to find your own in 
the next chapter.

Chapter 2: Finding Your Triggers

In this chapter, we are going to talk all about anxiety triggers, but go beyond what was 
discussed in the previous chapter. This time, you are going to learn about how to find 
your triggers. One of the reasons it is so important that you understand what triggers 
are for anxiety, is because they can be different for everyone.

As a unique individual, what affects you the most and triggers your social anxiety can be 
completely different or slightly similar as someone else. You may have a parent with 
social anxiety, but while they have a harder time with outings like going to parties and 
restaurants, you deal more with things like small talk, even with just one other person.

Here are some tips for finding your own social anxiety triggers:

Keeping a Social Anxiety Journal

This is probably the suggestion you will see the most, because it allows you to record 
your anxiety and panic attacks, so that you can then look to see what triggered it. Keep 
in mind that journaling in an anxiety journal has more benefits than just finding your 
triggers. For example, it can help with:

Expressing yourself without judgment 
Providing a creative space 
Giving you something to do when you’re in a public setting 
Allow you to distract yourself during moments of panic

If you are using the journal specifically to find triggers, then the main function is to write 
down all the times when you feel anxious. No matter how miniscule it seems, write 
down as many details as you can. This includes where you were at the time, who was 
around you, what you were doing, the date and time, and anything else you can 
remember. Also record how you felt and what you did to improve things. 

The more details you can include in your anxiety journal, the more helpful it is going to 
be.

Looking for Common Trends

After you start journaling, you are going to use that information to look for your triggers. 
Some of them will seem obvious in the beginning, such as always getting a panic attack 
when you are standing in line at Starbucks, or feeling more anxious when you arrive to 
the office if others are already there. But there will be some things that might be less 
obvious at first. What you are looking for are the patterns.

Are all the days when you had severe anxiety on work days or school days only?

Do you have difficulty when you arrive somewhere and don’t know anyone, or is it a little 
better if you arrive before others start piling in?

Is it just talking in front of others, or with an audience?

Have you noticed that how you feel about yourself on a particular day influences how 
much anxiety you have when around others?

These and other questions are what you should be asking yourself when trying to figure 
out what is triggering your social anxiety. This is going to help you work on avoiding the 
situations as much as possible in the future.

Trying to Avoid Your Triggers

As you begin looking at the patterns for your social anxiety, you will begin to get closer 
to reducing those triggers. Unfortunately, not everything can be avoided completely, but 
you can definitely get yourself a little closer. 

Start by looking through your journal and trying to find a pattern of occasions when you 
had the worst anxiety, fears, or panic attacks. 

You can mark these pages, highlight sections, or keep another notebook that simply 
lists the different things or people that is causing the most anxiety.

Once you have done that, you can then take that list and work from it, trying to figure 
out what can be avoided and what can’t.

In many cases, it is something very minor and simple. As easy as getting up a little 
earlier so that you arrive to the office before everyone else. This can reduce anxiety 
when walking past desks and cubicles and feeling like everyone is staring at you. 

Here is a little checklist that can help you figure out how to avoid your triggers:

1. Look at the list of people or situations that causes you the most anxiety.
2. Consider whether or not it is something that can be avoided. Is it something you 
absolutely can’t avoid, like public transportation, or can you try to re-work your patterns 
or schedules?
3. Ask yourself if ignoring that situation will help or hurt your life. This is often the most 
difficult part. You don’t want to hinder your success or happiness because you are 
avoiding every situation that causes anxiety.
4. Make a scale of how much anxiety something causes you to determine if it is worth 
avoiding that trigger or not.
5. Begin working on a new plan that helps you to avoid the worst anxiety triggers, and 
accept the easiest ones.

Chapter 3: Taking Medication For Anxiety

Finding and avoiding your triggers is the first way to ease up on your anxiety, but it is 
definitely not the only option available to you. The next thing you can consider doing is 
taking medication. 

Benefits of Medication for Social Anxiety

The first question you might be asking yourself is about why you should even bother 
taking medication. This is a common question and one that requires you asking yourself 
this: why not? 

If you found something that helped with how you feel every time you walk into a 
crowded restaurant or someone tried to make small talk with you, wouldn’t you want to 
try it? In the end, it is entirely up to you and your doctor, and what you feel comfortable 
with. But for many people, medication ended up really helping to save their life and 
make it manageable with this type of anxiety.

Types of Medications Available

For social anxiety, as well as other forms of anxiety, there are three main types of 
medications you can try. These include medications specifically for easing anxiety, anti-
depressant medications, and beta blockers. Here is a summary of each option so you 
can decide which one is best for you:

      1. Anti-Anxiety Medications

The main difference between the anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants is that 
anti-anxiety medications are used for severe anxiety that comes on during a moment of 
fear and panic. These are not meant as long-term medications you take on a daily 
basis, but instead something that works quickly to ease acute anxiety, such as when 
you have a big speech to make or are going somewhere you know will cause severe 
anxiety and panic.

Some of the anti-anxiety medications available are:

Clonazepam 
Diazepam 
Alprazolam 
Oxazepam 
Lorazepam

      2. Antidepressant Medications

The next type of medication your doctor or therapist might recommend for your social 
anxiety includes antidepressants. While these help for depression, they are also ideal 
for most types of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety.

With antidepressants, they are going to help the most with the side effects of your 
anxiety on more of a long-term basis. These tend to be safer for taking on a daily basis, 
consistently, as opposed to anti-anxiety medications that should be more for your panic 
attacks or severe anxiety episodes. If you have other anxiety disorders or depression 
addition to anxiety, you are probably a good candidate for these types of medications.

Most antidepressants are classified as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These 
include:

Citalopram 
Fluoxetine 
Sertraline 
Escitalopran 
Paroxetine

You may recognize these more by their brand names, such as Celexa, Prozac, Zoloft, 
Lexapro, and Paxil, respectively.

Just be aware that they can sometimes come with side effects, like insomnia or 
headaches. It also takes a couple weeks before they start working, so be patient and 
keep taking your antidepressants every day.

      3. Beta Blockers

The last category of medications that can help with your social anxiety are the beta-
blockersr. These are going to reduce the effect that your anxiety has on your body, such 
as avoiding the sweating and rapid heart rate. Here are some beta-blockers your doctor 
might subscribe: 

Bisoprolol 
Atenolol 
Acebutolol 
Nebivolol 
Nadolol

If you are having difficulty managing your anxiety with the other treatment options, talk 
to your doctor about introducing medications.

Chapter 4: Why You Should Go to Therapy

The next important treatment option to discuss is seeking therapy. Social anxiety affects 
nearly every aspect of your life, from how you interact with friends and family, to places 
you can go, the type of job you have, and just grabbing your morning cup of coffee.

In addition to taking medications to manage the symptoms or help with severe anxiety 
when it arises, you should also consider therapy. This helps you to learn coping 
mechanisms for surviving social anxiety every day, further helping to live a life that 
makes you happy and reduces the anxiety overall.

Therapy as a Social Anxiety Option

The type of therapy you need will depend on the severity of your social anxiety, the 
cause, and whether or not you have other mental health issues as well. However, the 
majority of people with this type of anxiety disorder will often go to cognitive behavioral 
therapy. Throughout this chapter, you will learn more about this form of therapy and why 
seeing a mental health professional is vital to living with social anxiety.

When deciding if therapy is a good option for you, think about all the ways your anxiety 
has negatively affected your life.

Are you afraid to ask your boss for a promotion?
Do you find it difficult to make friends?
Are your personal relationships failing?
Do you stay indoors most of the time because you’re afraid of leaving the house?
Are you in college and your grades are failing because of poor participation?

There are so many things to think about when it comes to managing your social anxiety. 
Just think what a difference it would make if you could fix a lot of these issues just by 
going to therapy.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that is usually for people with 
anxiety, as well as some other mental health disorders. This type of therapy is not just 
getting to the root cause of your anxiety, but is going to give you the tools you need to 
live with your social anxiety. This type of anxiety does not have a ‘cure’, so you really 
need therapy that is going to give you what you need to handle it moving forward.

Through cognitive behavioral therapy, you learn how to change your thoughts. You 
replace negative thoughts and fears with positive thoughts. It is an ongoing type of 
therapy, so you should continue going on a regular basis. It can also take time, just like 
any other treatment for anxiety, so be patient with it and keep learning and improving.

Benefits of Therapy for Social Anxiety

You might be asking yourself why should you bother going to therapy if you can just 
take medications. This is a common question among people who have any type of 
mental health disorder, including anxiety like social anxiety. An important thing to 
remember is that for many people, one form of treatment is not going to be enough. You 
typically need multiple forms of treatment in order to figure out what works for you.

This doesn’t mean everyone with social anxiety needs to go to therapy, but it is 
definitely worth giving a try. Here are some benefits of therapy for people with social 
anxiety:

You can treat other mental illnesses at the same time
It teaches you how to manage your physical and mental side effects
You will learn how to communicate with others and deal with the anxiety
It provides more happiness and fulfillment in your life
The therapist can help you find the triggers and causes for your anxiety
Tips for Getting Started

If you are currently struggling with social anxiety, the hardest part can be to make the 
first step to seeking out therapy. Here are some things to do when you want to get 
started, but aren’t quite sure how:

1. Find out if your insurance covers it – Money is often an issue when people are 
deciding whether or not they should try therapy. Naturally, the first step to take is to find 
out if it is covered by your insurance policy. If not, there are still plenty of financing 
options. However if it is, this makes it a lot easier to find a good therapist for your 
anxiety.

2. Ask your general practitioner for referrals – Choosing a therapist is usually the 
next hardest thing to do. Your regular family doctor might have some referral ideas, or 
at least be able to give you some direction in finding a good therapist.

3. Talk to friends or family who go to therapy – Another good way to get referrals is 
by talking to anyone you know who has gone to therapy, specifically for anxiety.

4. Research different therapists and what they treat – Before deciding on a 
therapist, research the list of people you are considering. You want someone who not 
only does cognitive behavioral therapy, but frequently treats social anxiety.

Before your first session, you will likely meet with the therapist for a type of interview, 
where they learn more about you and what you are dealing with.

Chapter 5: Tips For Surviving Social Anxiety Daily

You have made it nearly through this entire book on social anxiety. By now, you have 
plenty of information to get you started on finding help for your anxiety. This last chapter 
is about the daily tips and lifestyle changes you can make to begin managing your 
social anxiety right now, even before medications and therapy.

Daily Lifestyle Changes

To start with, there are some lifestyle changes you can start doing right now that will 
make a big difference. These are not meant to cure or get rid of the social anxiety, since 
that is not going to happen. Instead, they reduce the anxiety effects on your body and 
mind, and can keep the panic attacks at bay.

Here is a list of helpful lifestyle changes for managing your social anxiety on a daily 
basis:

Change your diet – Yes, changing your diet can definitely help with your anxiety. If you 
are eating foods that have a lot of sugar and fat, it could be affecting your hormones 
and cortisol levels, which might in turn cause more sever anxiety side effects. Try to eat 
a healthy diet that is well-balanced and includes plenty of nutrients.

Reduce stimulants – Stimulants have a tendency to make anxiety worse, increasing 
your worries, and speeding up your heart rate during a panic attack. Try to cut back on 
stimulants like caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and cigarette smoking. Talk to your doctor if you 
need help quitting.

Join a support group – This might take some time working up to, but when you feel 
ready, consider a support group. If you can go with someone you know who also has 
social anxiety, that will help you feel more comfortable.

Get plenty of sleep – Lack of sleep can also have a negative effect on your anxiety. 
Sleeping more is not going to cure your social anxiety, but it can reduce the severity and 
frequency of its affects, especially if you get panic attacks as a result of the anxiety. Try 
to get 6-8 hours of sleep a night, and talk to your doctor if you are struggling with 
insomnia.

Exercise daily – Getting regular exercise is a great way to start feeling better, and can 
even get you more accustomed to being around other people. To start with, exercise 
releases endorphins, which boosts your mood and can make you happier overall. When 
you exercise outside, whether it is going for a walk or heading to the gym, you start 
getting used to other people, but in an environment you feel more comfortable with.

Consider getting a pet – For some people, having a pet at home provides stress and 
anxiety relief. Dogs and cats are great, but it can be any type of pet you prefer. With 
dogs, you can bring them places with you to make you feel more at ease as well.

Avoiding Your Triggers

You should also remember some of the things discussed in previous chapters, including 
avoiding your triggers. This is something you can work on every day to help reduce the 
effects of your social anxiety. As a reminder, here is what to focus on:

Start writing in a journal every day, recording your anxiety and panic attacks, including 
as many details as possible.

Look for patterns in your journal, such as certain situations or people that tend to cause 
you more anxiety.

Decide if these are situations you can and should avoid. Keep in mind your own goals 
and aspirations, compared to how the situations make you feel.

Look for ways to avoid your triggers when necessary.

Knowing When to Push Yourself

Next is learning when you should push yourself and try to get out there, and when it is 
best to avoid certain situations. This is really important because it ensures you remain 
as anxiety-free as possible, but aren’t kept from everything in life just because of your 
own fears and worries.

Think about the end result of being at a certain venue, speaking at a conference, or 
talking to someone who makes you feel anxious. Ask yourself if it is worth it, and what 
you will get from it when you’re done. This often helps you decide if it is a good idea to 
push yourself in that scenario or not. As yourself important questions like:

Is the anxiety worth the end result?
How will the public speaking help your life and/or career?
Are you sure your anxiety is from a practical place?
Have you experienced something like this before?
How will it help with your personal or professional goals?

Taking Small Steps

Finally, take some small steps that will help you get to the place where you want to be. 
You don’t need to do everything all at once, as that not only doesn’t help, but it can 
make your anxiety much worse. Be patient with yourself, but also open-minded to new 
opportunities. Here are some things you can do to start taking small steps toward 
managing your social anxiety:

      1. Attend a Function With Minimal People

You might not be ready to go to a concert or attend a party that is filled to the brim with 
people you don’t know, and that’s okay. Start slow and just go to a social function with a 
handful of people. Perhaps a neighbor is having a small Tupperware party, with just 5 or 
6 people. This is really the ideal situation.

      2. Think About the Positive Qualities You Possess

Social anxiety comes from fear and not wanting to be judged. Instead of thinking about 
qualities you think others would ridicule and making your anxiety worse, think of your 
good qualities. Everyone has things about themselves they can be positive about, 
including behaviors, looks, and personality traits. Think about these and remind yourself 
of them regularly.

      3. Practice Conversations or Questions Beforehand

Are you going to a job interview where you will be asked questions? Look up common 
interview questions and practice your answers. Do this alone first, then with someone 
you know and trust. Keep doing it until you start feeling more comfortable.

      4. Spend Time With a Close-Knit Group of People

Spending time with a group of people can be terrifying to you, but this doesn’t mean you 
should avoid everyone. Instead of trying to make plans with a lot of people at once, 
choose just a couple people you can spend more time with. Call them and arrange 
plans with them regularly, which can help you meet new people through your close 
friends, and become more comfortable with conversation at the same time.

      5. Do Small Things to Make You Feel Comfortable Around Strangers

When it comes to people you don’t know, small talk is often very hard for people with 
social anxiety. Instead of stressing about the right thing to say, just do or say very small 
things. Practice making eye contact, compliment someone, or ask a simple question. 

This usually gets a conversation started.

If you seek out the right treatment options, are patient with yourself, or surround yourself 
with people who understand your anxiety, your life will be much happier and everything 
becomes easier.

Resources Page

The following resources were mentioned throughout the Complete 
Guide to Social Anxiety eBook:

Anxiety and Depression Association of America - 
https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety-
disorder
National Institute of Mental Health - 
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/social-anxiety-
disorder-more-than-just-shyness/index.shtml
Psych Central - https://psychcentral.com/lib/in-depth-cognitive-
behavioral-therapy/

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