Very interesting article. The author makes some great points.
Perhaps we need to rethink our approach to social anxiety: to address the pain, but to respect the temperament that underlies it. The act of treating shyness as an illness obscures the value of that temperament.
It's unfortunate that the world tends to frown upon shyness and introversion. I especially enjoyed this quote:
It's just that it can be tough to distinguish between healthy shyness and unhealthy SAD. People often don't recognize it can be healthy and normal to be shy. Part of the reason I'm afraid of getting help is because I'm not very willing to change who I am. I think I'd like to be functionally shy and introverted. I'm more of a dysfunctional recluse right now though. I just don't want to be expected to be sociable. I don't want to be treated like it's not okay to enjoy being alone and doing things by myself instead of wanting to talk and make friends and have parties. Maybe if more people just accepted that others are shy and introverted, we wouldn't end up feeling so insecure about it. Then maybe it wouldn't escalate into social anxiety disorder.
Very well said, it definitely is a matter of respecting and embracing our temperament, personality, and what makes us
us; all while relating, comparing, and understanding what is anxiety related, what evokes it, and the approaches we can take to challenge it.
Here are a couple other links touching the subject that I found interesting alongside the main article on this thread.
Introversion, Shyness, and Social Anxiety: What's The Difference? - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com
Psych Central - All About Shyness
There was definitely a time in my life where I despised myself for feeling different, as I tried to do what
others were doing. But over the last couple years I've been slowly accepting my temperament, discovering strengths, and pursuing things that I genuinely enjoy doing. It has been advantageous to my peace of self. I also feel that while it is important to explore yourself, it is equally important to explore other people. To embrace their ideas and personalities and try to understand why they think what they think.
I still harbour a massive amount of anxiety outside of my comfort zone but I think I'm finally starting to feel comfortable with myself which is very important for the process of recovery, I think.
