What keeps social anxiety going?
Our thoughts, feelings, inward-focus and behaviours often interact in ways that reinforce our social anxiety. The large arrows in the middle of the image represent how the various factors can create a continuing loop.
The four elements are self-focused attention, unhelpful thoughts or images, feelings and physical anxiety symptoms, avoidance and safety behaviours.
Learning the skills to tackle each element, and the relationships between them, can break the cycle that keeps social anxiety going.
Please see our page on How to make progress.
Please also see our pages on Fight or Flight Response, Challenging negative thoughts and beliefs, Avoidance and safety behaviours, Exposure therapy and hierarchies.
Further reading:
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au – Vicious Cycle of Anxiety PDF.
www.nationalsocialanxietycenter.com – Anxious about being anxious
