You never know the silent battles someone is fighting. Not even the people you think you’re closest to. There are stories hidden behind smiles, and pain carried in ways that aren’t always visible. A burden stacked on your mind, controlling how you perceive everything. You will never walk in my shoes, and I will never walk in yours. But we shouldn’t have to, to empathize with each other.
Studies find that on average, 1 in 3 teens experience social anxiety, while 9% experience a more severe version of this called Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).
The amygdala is the internal part of your brain that controls emotional responses, and it has a large importance in controlling your fear, anxiety, and rage. It triggers a danger response within your mind by creating projections through the hypothalamus and the brain stem. Its almond-shaped structure allows it to fit medially in the anterior temporal lobe, above the hippocampal formation. The hippocampus provides context and memory. It allows us to differentiate real threats from harmless situations, but in fear-response (social anxiety), the hippocampus retrieves past negative social experiences, like embarrassment, rejection, etc, and uses them to create a belief that social situations are inherently threatening.
Most people experience a spotlight effect, which is the most common reason people experience social anxiety. It is the idea that everything you do, other people notice. The idea that people are always thinking about you negatively at all times. The idea that you’re on a stage and everyone can see what you’re doing. Common spotlight effects happen when messing up in a sport, fearing annoying someone, or being pessimistic towards yourself.
Social anxiety can improve over time by changing your mindset on social situations. You have to remember that about 50% of teens experience a spotlight effect, but if the majority experiences it, then who is there to judge you, who is there to notice all your mistakes when most people are thinking about themselves? Embarrassment is a mindset you create for yourself. It only affects you if you allow it to. If you feel this doesn’t help, scientists recommend writing in a journal or talking to a trusted adult
