11 Uncomfortable Signs Your ‘Shyness’ Is Actually Social Anxiety

1. When a friend doesn’t text back immediately, you think you did something wrong.

You go into a full on frenzy when you don’t receive texts or snapchats back. You wrack your brain trying to think of what you did or said wrong, and it kills you to see a ‘read’ receipt but to not get a reply right away.

2. Saying ‘no’ to an event or a party makes you feel sick.

As much as you don’t want to go to a certain event or gathering, saying ‘no’ to the host terrifies you. you hate disappointing your loved ones and are afraid that you canceling will result in them not liking you anymore. You always feel guilty for rescheduling and it eats you up inside.

3. You worry about upcoming events months before they occur.

You excessively worry about things that haven’t even happened yet. You always imagine in your mind the worst possible things that  could happen, and it makes you being to dread going, even if it’s months away.

4. Going on a first date isn’t exciting for you — it makes you want to run the other direction.

First dates are something that you rarely go on because it causes so much anxiety. You get everything from the sweats, to the chills and to nausea, and you honestly want to give up on dating forever because that’s how huge your hatred is for first dates.

5. You feel incredibly excited for a party the day before it happens, but once the day comes you dread it.

You don’t understand why it happens, but sometimes even if you’re super thrilled and looking forward to your friends 21st birthday party, or to your long awaited family reunion, when the day comes you don’t want to go. And instead of being excited, you feel a sense of doom.

6. You feel like your heart is going to explode at what seems like random times.

You could be out with your girls for happy hour, or kicking back on a Sunday watching football with your best friends, when suddenly your heart beats at a scary rate, and you feel like you’re going to be sick. It’s really terrifying to experience this, especially when it seems to be coming out of nowhere.

7. Many of your loved ones have expressed concerns and think you’re depressed.

A lot of people around you are concerned because you see to be spending more and more time alone. They are worried because you keep canceling fun events that you normally would love to attend.

8. You start to sweat when people make small talk with you.

You don’t know what it is about small talk, but it really gets your anxiety skyrocketing. It takes so much effort for you to engage in meaningless conversation and you are always worried about being judged by what you are saying or not saying .

9. Sometimes you can’t sleep because you know you have to see someone tomorrow.

Your sleep is continuously being disrupted by the thoughts that are going on in your head. You’re always trying to come up with every event you have to go to and think of everything you are going to say or do. You can’t stop yourself from having your mind race with thoughts of what is to come and how badly it will turn out.

10. You’re excellent at coming up with excuses to cancel.

You’ve become known as the flake in your friend group and amonsgt your family members because you have good excuses for literally everything and anything. You always know what to say in the case of an emergency and you always have an excuse in your mind to whip out when necessary.

11. After certain events, you find yourself so incredibly exhausted it’s almost alarming.

It never used to be like this for you but now, social gatherings and dates and activities make you exhausted instead of excited. It drains every ounce of energy out of you and makes you not want to go to anything else ever again.