Social anxiety is more than just shyness or introversion. It’s a deep, often overwhelming fear of social situations, driven by concerns about judgment, rejection, embarrassment, or not belonging. This fear can become so intense that it activates the body’s natural fight-flight-freeze-fawn response, even when there’s no real danger.
While social anxiety may look like avoidance or disinterest on the outside, internally it often feels like panic, shame, or emotional paralysis. It can make simple moments—like walking into a room, making eye contact, or speaking up—feel like impossible tasks.
Intense fear of being judged, embarrassed, or rejected
Racing heart, sweating, trembling, or nausea in social settings
Avoidance of social situations, or enduring them with deep discomfort
Overthinking interactions, both before and after they happen
Struggles with eye contact, group settings, or public speaking
Feeling frozen or blank when asked a question
Fear of being seen as awkward, boring, or unlikeable
These reactions aren’t signs of weakness. They are nervous system responses that once served as protection — often rooted in past experiences like bullying, exclusion, or early environments where approval was conditional or criticism was common.
Social anxiety often begins early — sometimes in childhood or adolescence. It may be shaped by experiences such as:
Being teased, excluded, or ridiculed in school or social settings
Growing up in environments where being quiet, agreeable, or invisible felt safer
Internalising cultural or family expectations about how one “should” be
Relational wounding from peers, caregivers, or authority figures
Over time, these moments shape our beliefs about connection and visibility. The body learns that social engagement may lead to harm, and begins to respond with hypervigilance or shutdown.
People with social anxiety often want connection deeply. It’s not that they dislike others — it’s that the cost of being seen feels too high. The anticipation of judgment or rejection can be so painful that it feels safer to stay silent, withdraw, or avoid.
This can lead to a painful cycle of isolation, shame, and missed opportunities. But there is a way through — one that doesn’t require you to perform confidence, but instead helps you build it, gently, from the inside out.
Social anxiety doesn’t disappear by forcing yourself into more social situations. For many, that only deepens the overwhelm. Healing begins with safety — internal and relational.
At Sol Therapy, we work with individuals to:
Understand the early experiences and emotional injuries that shaped their fear
Build internal and relational safety at a pace that feels manageable
Support the nervous system in moving out of chronic hyperarousal or shutdown
Explore the inner narratives that fuel shame and self-consciousness
Gently reclaim the right to take up space, to be seen, and to connect
This process might involve talk-based therapy, somatic work, breath awareness, or guided inner exploration — always held in a space that prioritises compassion, choice, and co-regulation.
You don’t have to force yourself to be confident. You don’t have to “just get over it.”
With time and care, you can begin to feel more at home in yourself — and less afraid of being seen.
If social anxiety is getting in the way of how you want to live or connect, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to navigate it by yourself. Therapy can offer a safe space to understand what’s happening inside, and to gently create new possibilities for connection, confidence, and ease.
You’re allowed to move at your own pace. You’re allowed to take up space. And when you’re ready, we’re here to walk alongside you.
Beneath the surface of social anxiety are often subconscious associations and fears — of being rejected, criticised, or humiliated. Clinical hypnotherapy guides you into a deeply relaxed state, where the subconscious mind becomes more accessible and open to gentle, supportive change. In this state, we can work to update outdated belief systems, reframe emotionally charged memories, and support the body in finding a new sense of safety in social engagement. This isn’t about erasing fear, but about softening the inner alarms that get triggered in social spaces.
Social anxiety is rarely just about social skills — it’s often about how safe we feel being seen. In therapy, we explore the roots of your anxiety, whether from past relational wounds, internalised beliefs, or experiences that made visibility feel unsafe. Psychotherapy and counselling offer a space to gently examine the stories you carry about yourself, others, and social situations. Together, we can untangle patterns of self-doubt, unpack fears of judgment, and build emotional tools to support confidence, authenticity, and connection — at a pace that feels manageable.
For many, social anxiety is not just a mental experience — it’s felt deeply in the body. Trauma-Informed Relational Somatic Therapy focuses on working with those physiological responses: the heart racing, the frozen tongue, the urge to disappear. Through a slow, attuned process, we help you reconnect with your felt sense, gently expand your capacity for social presence, and build a sense of internal safety. Rather than forcing exposure, we create space to notice, pendulate, and build trust in your system’s ability to stay present, even when old fears arise.
Social anxiety goes beyond shyness. It involves intense fear or dread in social situations, often driven by worries about being judged, embarrassed, or rejected. Shyness may cause mild discomfort, but social anxiety can feel overwhelming, even debilitating, and may lead to avoidance of people or places.
For some, yes. Social anxiety can develop in response to relational trauma — moments when visibility led to shame, rejection, or emotional pain. But it’s also shaped by chronic stress, high-pressure environments, or repeated experiences of not feeling “enough.” Trauma isn’t always big or obvious — sometimes, it’s what didn’t happen: attunement, safety, or unconditional acceptance.
Yes. Therapy can help untangle the roots of your anxiety and support you in building a new internal experience of safety and connection. It’s not about pushing you into social situations, but about creating space to understand your responses, gently build capacity, and foster self-trust.
Not at Sol Therapy. We work gently and relationally. While facing fears is sometimes part of healing, we focus on working at the pace your system can hold. Therapy is a space of choice, not force. You’ll never be asked to do something before you’re ready.
You’re not alone. Many people with social anxiety appear confident on the outside but are overwhelmed internally. Therapy can help you tend to the invisible labor of “performing” in social settings and support you in moving toward more genuine comfort and presence — not just outward composure.
Social anxiety isn’t always tied to the size of the crowd. It often stems from the fear of being seen, misunderstood, or judged — even by people we know. The nervous system can perceive certain social dynamics as unsafe based on past experiences, not logic, and may go into high alert in seemingly ordinary moments.
Yes. Social anxiety can emerge or intensify after distressing life events, ongoing stress, or relational ruptures that shake one’s sense of security or identity. Sometimes, what once felt manageable begins to feel vulnerable again — and that shift deserves understanding, not shame.
Absolutely. Longing for connection while feeling afraid of it is a tender and very human place to be. Therapy doesn’t rush the process — it honors your longing and helps you move toward connection with safety, self-compassion, and steady support. There is nothing wrong with you for finding it hard.
For more information on our therapy for social anxiety in Singapore, please WhatsApp us at (65) 89422211 or email us at beinghuman@soltherapy.sg
"And to heal, you must first allow yourself to feel everything."