Self-Image and Social Anxiety Disorder

When you’re suffering from a social anxiety disorder, you are scared that others will think negatively of you. When you suffer from social anxiety, you often underestimate your social functioning and overestimate how other people will react. A negative self-image can worsen a social anxiety disorder.

Negative self-image

Your self-image is – as you can probably tell – the image you have of yourself, therefore, the opinion you have of yourself. If your self-image is negative – when you think that nobody likes you, for example – then you behave accordingly. You may have a tendency to withdraw and rarely interact with others. Your environment then responds by not paying that much attention to you. These elements reinforce each other: the more you withdraw, the less others will reach out to you.

The vicious circle

If you think of yourself as someone with nothing interesting to say, it will be difficult for you to share a story or start a conversation. As a result, you are less likely to connect with others, and, in turn, you won’t learn (through experience) that you do in fact have something interesting to say. In short, you’ll find yourself in a vicious circle. During the NiceDay treatment process, you will therefore examine your self-image with the help of your practitioner.

Exercise

Write down all of the positive qualities you have or what positive things you have done in the past day. It can be anything!

How do you feel when you write down your positive qualities?

Source:

Keijsers, G. P. J., Van Minnen, A., Verbraak, M., Hoogduin, C. A. L. & Emmelkamp, P., (2017). Protocollaire behandelingen voor volwassenen met psychische klachten.