As IZ reports with reference to Psychology Today, social anxiety is an emotion that often increases sensitivity to possible future threats and is accompanied by high levels of stress and uncertainty. This can change the way we interpret the actions and emotions of other people. People suffering from social anxiety are prone to the so-called “hyper-mentalization”, when they over-analyze the intentions, thoughts, and emotions of others, even when these interpretations are inaccurate. This approach, while it can promote empathy, often does not provide a clear and truthful picture of what is going on in the minds of others.
Research shows that anxiety can be beneficial for developing cognitive empathy—the ability to understand the emotions and needs of others. However, people with social anxiety often do so through the lens of their own experiences and fears, which can lead them to misinterpret situations and other people's emotions. For example, they may misinterpret subtle social cues as signs of rejection or misunderstanding.
Anxiety can lead to so-called egocentric thinking, when a person attributes their own thoughts and feelings to other people, which causes misinterpretations of their intentions. This distortion of reality makes interaction with others less accurate and more distorted, since a person relies on their own fears, rather than on real facts and signals coming from other people. This phenomenon significantly complicates the process of mutual understanding in social situations.
No less important is the fact that an increased level of anxiety often prompts a person to project their own beliefs onto others. This happens because of the desire to find confirmation of their fears and beliefs, which creates the illusion of being more similar to other people than they actually are. Such distorted perceptions can lead to even greater social isolation and communication difficulties, as a person does not check their interpretations, but simply accepts them as given.
Recall that we previously wrote about why excessive use of vitamin B6 can cause nervous disorders.