No one is truly fearless. There are always things that we’re going to be nervous about doing because they put us out of our comfort zones; that’s just part of being human. Introverts who are also shy or socially anxious tend to have their own set of unique fears that they must face each day.
And being an introvert – an introvert with high-functioning anxiety to be precise, takes fear to a whole different level. If we talk about an anxious introvert’s fears, we’ll probably be combining the effect of an introverted personality, shyness, and social anxiety to come up with the most common fears anxious introverts share.
These are some of the fears that many shy or anxious introverts, in general, may have:
Socializing
For introverts, it’s tiresome more than fearful to attend social events. It’s out of their element to stick around for longer periods during social events and socialize the whole time.
It’s dreadful going to such events because it requires much more energy than they’re willing to give. When they think of an upcoming wedding ceremony or any other social event that requires their attendance, they get anxious and overthink the event even before it happens.
Small Talk
Ah, the meaningless chatter that makes introverts more uncomfortable than anything else. In situations where they’re forced to make idle conversation, introverts find themselves getting nervous and forgetting how to talk to another human being. They love to talk about things that matter or allow them to get to know the other person on a deeper level. Small talk, however, feels not only pressuring, but pointless.
Small talk feels irrelevant and according to them, things like the weather that you could learn about on dozens of news channels or by simply stepping outside really don’t need to be a focal discussion piece unless it really is your passion or career.
Phone Calls
Introvert are frightened by people who call when a text or email would be more than sufficient. There is a certain anxiety that comes with an open-ended conversation, since phone conversations are expected to take longer than the 10 seconds necessary to transmit the information.
Introverts are often extremely observant, so when part of their ability to observe is stripped away from them, they can sometimes go into panic mode. This anxiety is compounded by the lack of visual cues during a phone call that are vital to introverts, but are often summarily ignored by extroverts.
Meeting New People
Getting to know new people can sometimes be hard for introverts, along with the earliest stages of forming a relationship. The way society often dictates how we go about making and sustaining those interactions is against them. Introversion does not lend itself to relationships being started and sustained by small talk in large, loud group settings.
Introverts prefer to get to know people one-on-one and by talking about things that will help them actually get to know who they are. Days like the first day of school or the beginning of a new job are often incredibly stressful because they bring with them the prospect of meeting new people.
Big Crowds
Much like their fear of meeting new people, being in the middle of large masses who they know nothing or little about can be overwhelming. Swarms of strangers can be a fear for many people for various reasons, but it is particularly common for anxious introverts.
Introverts gather their energy from being alone, but that doesn’t mean the “all alone in a crowd of people” thing always works. Big crowds may isolate introverts in a way they don’t enjoy or gain energy from. A huge group full of unknowns is about as bad as it gets — and for some anxious introverts, it may even induce a full-on panic attack.
Public Speaking
Being forced to speak in front of people (be it ones you know or strangers) can be an introvert’s worst nightmare. A situation where they’re the center of attention and everyone is waiting for them to speak can terrify them.
They’d probably stammer at the beginning of the speech, and their hands will shake like crazy. But if the topic they’re speaking about is of interest to them, they might do just fine.
Loneliness
Being afraid of feeling lonely when you prefer solitude over interacting with others is so ironic, right? But to be honest, on an emotional level, this fear is the most draining to introverts.
Sometimes when introverts are surrounded by people having fun together, it seems like they are the only wallflower around and no one wants to deal with them. They begin to feel lonely, and the worst part is going home and instead of resting, they go through the experience that they just had, and that feeling of loneliness is back by tenfold.