The Connection Between Social Anxiety and PTSD
Today I was sitting at work DREADING making a phone call I needed to make and it just made me realize how much my social anxiety really paralyzes me. It also made me curious about how often Social Anxiety and PTSD are related to one another.
The Connection
According the the article I found on psych central only about 3.2-16% of individuals with social anxiety have a PTSD diagnosis, however almost half of people diagnosed with PTSD also have social anxiety disorder. This suggests that for SOME people, social anxiety may be related to social trauma.
While there is debate over whether or not social trauma meets the criteria for PTSD, it does seem to create some of the same symptoms such as flashbacks, avoidance, distorted thoughts, or changes in reactivity. If you’re experiencing these symptoms because of a social trauma, your experience is completely valid (and not uncommon).
Social anxiety presents itself in an individual when they experience a large amount of stress in social situations including a fear of being judged or humiliated. It can also be accompanied by physical symptoms such as a racing heart, interfere with ability to speak or interact with others, it may also make going to work or school feel impossible. Sometimes social anxiety feels pretty debilitating.
Having social anxiety makes you more prone to experiencing social trauma and developing PTSD symptoms related to the trauma because of increased sensitivity and stress in social situations. A study in 2020 that looked at the prevalence of PTSD in individuals with Social Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and a control group without a diagnosis of Social Anxiety or OCD. What they found is that ⅓ of individuals with social anxiety experienced had PTSD whereas the prevalence of PTSD in the control group and OCD group was not significant. This research suggests a correlation between Social Anxiety and some sort of trauma.
Treatments
The good news is that there are professional treatments that can help you manage social anxiety disorder and PTSD. The article recommends
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
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Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Some treatments that have been shown effective for social anxiety, but not specifcially trauma include:
Interpersonal Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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Psychodynamic Therapy
There are also some classes of medications that help with social anxiety that you can talk to a healthcare professsional about if therapy alone isn’t helping.
Tips to try on your own
Some tips for in the moment that help with both PTSD and social anxiety are:
Name the feeling: If you’re able to name what your experiencing and recognize it as a response to a trigger, the feelings tend to pass more quickly.
Breathe: Focusing on your breathing and slowing down and deepening your breaths is a proven way to calm the nervous system which will reduce the symptoms you are experiencing in the moment.
Connecting to your surroundings: shifting our attention to your senses can help you get out of your head and have a calming effect. If you’re paying attention to your senses it’s a lot harder to pay attention to your thoughts.
Distraction: Some people use humor to distract from the discomfort. Other ideas include calming music or simple activities that take your mind of the anxious feelings.
Discussion Questions
What are your thoughts on Social Anxiety and PTSD?
Does Social Anxiety interfere with important aspects of your life?
What is your experience with social anxiety? Do you think your social anxiety and PTSD are interconnected?
What are some tips you have that might help those of us struggling with social anxiety manage our symptoms?
Any other thoughts about the information?
