There generally isn’t just one reason why someone develops social anxiety disorder (SAD). Instead, it usually arises from a combination of factors, which can differ from person to person.
However, there are some important factors that can increase someone’s chance of developing SAD including both nature (our genetics) and nurture (our life experiences).
Causes often interact, shaping how we perceive and respond to social situations, our behaviours, and how we manage fear and rejection.
Some of the factors and causes are listed below:
Genetics
Higher rates of SAD are reported in relatives of people with the condition than in relatives of people without the condition (see Ref 1), suggesting that genetics may play a role. Genetics may well influence the way the brain processes emotions like fear and stress.
Personality and temperament
Personality develops through an ongoing interaction between genetic factors (your inherited temperament) and life experiences. Both nature and nurture playing significant roles in shaping your personal growth and how you learn to interact with others. Social anxiety may often be associated with introversion or social shyness but social anxiety disorder can happen to anyone.
Upbringing and learned behaviour
Our upbringing and early environment may influence the development of social anxiety. Childhood experiences, such as bullying, criticism or rejection may mean we develop unhelpful coping mechanisms or become particularly vulnerable to social anxiety.
Children often learn by observing the behaviour of adults around them. If you grew up around people or parents who avoided social events or coped with them in unhelpful ways, you may have picked up similar learned behaviours.
Other difficult life experiences
Difficult life experiences can shape how we view ourselves and the world around us. Some people can identify when their social anxiety began and may associate it with a particular event or period of their life. Our self-esteem, core-beliefs and sense of self-worth may be affected and exacerbate any vulnerability to social anxiety.
The vicious cycle of social anxiety
Once social anxiety disorder begins to develop, it can sometimes become a self-perpetuating sequence of further symptoms, behaviours, fear and avoidance – see social anxiety maintenance cycle.
The Pandemic
The pandemic – and the enforced isolation it created – meant that many people got out of the habit of socialising and that social anxiety symptoms developed, or were exacerbated, as they returned to life after lockdown.
Conclusion
SAD can develop for many different and interconnected reasons. Each individual’s experience will be unique. But, no matter how it started, you’re not alone.
Social anxiety can respond well to self-help and therapy. There are several different ways to access support and treatment for social anxiety, including What the NHS offers, NHS webpages and guidance, self-help books, support groups and forums, courses and practical help, other internet websites and our page on How to make progress.
Ref 1 – Stein et al., 1998a
