Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It’s a phobia born out of our evolutionary past. But that raises a puzzling question: why do so many of us fear human interaction when we’re supposed to be the most sociable species on the planet?
by DR DEAN BURNETT
SOCIAL ANXIETY
Many people are afraid of many things.
For good reason. But many people are afraid of things without good reason. Phobias – irrational fears such as a fear of spiders or enclosed spaces – are commonplace and familiar. They’re deemed irrational because the average person in the modern world has little or nothing to fear from such things.
Unfortunately, the instincts and subconscious processes that influence and guide our thinking and behaviour run on much older programming. We instinctively fear certain things because we evolved in environments where they were a threat. So much so that ancient fear instincts, expressed in modern, rational contexts, can disrupt mental functioning and wellbeing. Hence phobias are anxiety disorders.
But while familiar, arachnophobia and claustrophobia aren’t the most common phobias. Public speaking, talking on the phone, meeting new people, asking someone out… So many people are irrationally terrified of these objectively harmless actions that social anxiety isn’t just the most common class of phobia, it’s one of the most common mental disorders.
But why? Humans are arguably the most sociable species ever. So if we’re so friendly and keen on interaction, why do so many of us fear this exact thing? To answer, we need to understand why humans are so social in the first place.
Humans aren’t the most impressive species. We’re not the strongest or fastest. We can’t fly, we don’t have armour or weapons, or even camouflage. And yet we’ve managed to completely dominate the planet anyway. How?
THE SECRET TO OUR SUCCESS
It’s because we’re social, cooperative. A wolf or sabre-toothed tiger could easily dispatch a single human. But five people, all working together? No chance. The human tendency to form harmonious, cooperative tribes is what has made us so successful.
And if your species’ success is due to cooperation and cohesion, then that affects how you evolve. The ability to interact with others, to understand, anticipate and coordinate with them, to please and reassure them, even to manipulate them via deceit (it’s not all positive), these qualities led to success in primitive human societies. And the mos
