At some point in life, we all feel some unnecessary jitters. It might manifest in stuttered words during a presentation or a hammering heart in an unfamiliar crowd. Often, we confuse these nerves with an actual disorder. However, the difference between introverts and the socially anxious lies in the persistent dread of socialization: being a homebody who thrives in ‘me-time’, versus having a panic attack at the thought of attending a party, distinguishes the two.
Whether it’s a full-blown disorder, or a random disturbance that pops up every once in a while, there’s a way to tackle these difficulties. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), a type of talking therapy, is widely used to deal with debilitating social anxiety. The core philosophy behind CBT lies in relearning & rewiring our thoughts. It usually involves identifying maladaptive beliefs, and then restructuring or eliminating them. Some of these ingrained thought processes, targeted by CBT, are called Cognitive Biases.
Cognitive Biases are subjective, irrational & far from reality. They are skewed due to our faulty perceptions and can cloud sensible decision-making. Indeed, certain unconscious biases make us more susceptible to social anxiety.
Psychoeducation is a transformative tool that CBT employs to substitute distorted beliefs with informed rationale. It demystifies the how’s & whys of our inner workings and provides invaluable insights that guide us to reevaluate & regulate our emotions and actions. As a writer & mental health counsellor, the mere knowledge of cognitive biases helped me minimize my own anxiety around social situations. This allowed me to recognize, analyse and offset my triggers.
Here are a few biases that may be exacerbating your social anxiety.
Biases of Attention
Remember when you tried to go on a diet or cut your carbs intake? And suddenly all you could see was people devouring pizzas and pasta. This is called Attention Bias. Our moods, affiliations and needs determine what we focus on. As a result, we can become so engrossed in our current train of thought that all irrelevant stimuli are blatantly ignored. For instance, a low mood might make you notice more depressing news than positive developments.
For the socially anxious this bias augments their fears. Since our attention span is limited & highly skewed, situational anxiety makes us attend more threatening stimuli. It becomes hard to detach from social threats or divert towards positivity. Since we become selective in picking cues of positive interactions; our attention is solely oriented towards disapproval from others. For instance, while giving a speech, a socially anxious person might hyperfocus more on the frowns in a crowd rather than their pleased expressions, awaiting criticism and ignoring praise.
Biases of Memory
How we remember an event is based on its intensity, importance, prevalence and emotions attached to it. As much as we like to pride ourselves on our recall prowess, people rarely remember the exact replicas of reality. Each snippet is tinged with our personal preferences. There are multiple biases based on the selective nature of our memory recall.
Confirmation Bias - This bias refers to our tendency to seek & believe information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs. This takes us farther from facts and leans towards vague or false assertions. For instance, believing a dog breed is more violent than others because it barked at you once, and then looking for evidence that perpetuates your theory while ignoring other breeds that statistically attack more people. Or a person with a fear of rejection might enter every situation certain of getting rejected.
Recency Bias - A fresh memory is far more prominent in our mind and affects us more deeply than the older ones. We are quick to build long-lasting beliefs based on a single recent incident & let it overshadow all our past experiences. For instance, if a person is recently mocked over their outfit, they’d ignore all the times when they were praised for their fashion sense in the past.
For the socially anxious these memory distortions play highly against their favour. They tend to remember more negative events than positive ones. They barely recall pleasing social interactions & events and if they do, these memories are blurry at best. This further makes them apprehensive of future social interactions.
Biases of Interpretation
How one perceives the world depends on the intricate balance of their beliefs. In turn, their perception dictates their feelings & emotions around any situation. More often than not, there is no big bad threat around us. Yet, with an anxious mind, we feel perturbed in ambiguous social situations. We find it much easier & more believable to infer such moments as negative. To an anxious person, two colleagues whispering and giggling over a meme might seem like they are laughing at their expense. A partner’s frown over a soggy breadstick might feel directed to them as contempt. With social anxiety, we tend to misinterpret social cues and others’ actions. This further fuels the anxiety.
Biases of Imagery
All of us have a solid mental picture of ourselves. The adjectives we use to describe our persona sum up our self-image & self-concept. A positive perspective can amp up our self-esteem while a negative view diminishes our self-worth. The socially anxious often find it hard to imagine themselves in a favourable light. An impaired vision of one's traits, capabilities, and goals intensifies their social anxiety. They fail to see themselves as relevant, fun or worthy individuals and thus expect rejection & abandonment.
Tackling Cognitive Biases
While we can’t completely escape these biases, their effect on our social anxiety can be mitigated. Take some time to see what ticks you off, and analyse when and why it happens. Diving into the root cause can help you gain a clear sense of self. Learning why certain situations make you uneasy can let you know how to counteract them with reason. Understanding these cognitive biases makes it easier to rationalise & neutralise them.
Recognizing these biases and reorganizing your thought process is the first step. Usually, psychoeducation is paired with professional help and gradual exposure to anxiety-inducing situations. Rewiring your beliefs to align with a more positive outlook can allow you to self-soothe in the throes of social anxiety. Take a look at life & others with an impartial lens and you’ll be able to see beyond these cognitive biases.
To read more about cognitive biases in anxiety you can read Inspire The Mind’s previous blog.
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