What keeps social anxiety going?
Our thoughts, feelings, 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 cycle.
The four elements are self-focused attention, unhelpful thoughts or images, feelings and physical anxiety symptoms, avoidance and safety behaviours.
Learning techniques to tackle each element, and the relationships between them, can break the cycle that keeps social anxiety going.
Please also see our pages on Focus of Attention, Challenging negative thoughts and beliefs, Fight or Flight Response, Avoidance and safety behaviours.
Please see our page on How to make progress.
Further reading:
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au – Vicious Cycle of Anxiety PDF.
www.nationalsocialanxietycenter.com – Anxious about being anxious
