{
  "id": 10816744,
  "title": "Hidden habits that make your social anxiety worse - and how to break them",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/hidden-habits-that-make-your-social-anxiety-worse-and-how-to-break",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-30T00:44:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Health",
    "slug": "bbc-health",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm4gl1yllg6po?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mary's social anxiety began during her teenage years and worsened to the point of depression during her university years. By the time she started her degree, she avoided group settings and made no friends. Social anxiety affects up to 12% of people at some point in their lives, with students returning to university experiencing increased levels of anxiety. Mary describes her anxiety as an out of body experience, feeling disconnected from her body when speaking to new people. She would often feel shame after social situations, believing she had done something terrible. Neil Greening, chair of the Social Anxiety Alliance UK, explains that people with social anxiety often internalize their feelings, viewing it as a personality flaw rather than a recognizable condition that can be treated. He emphasizes that it's normal to feel shy or anxious in new situations, but social anxiety is when it hinders people from participating in activities. The key to managing social anxiety is to stop obsessive self-focus and engage in behavioral experiments by trying new things and observing the outcomes. People with social anxiety should avoid safety behaviors such as rehearsing every sentence, avoiding eye contact, and sticking close to one person. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the gold standard treatment for social anxiety, encouraging people to reframe their thoughts and change their behaviors. Prof David Clark, a psychologist at the University of Oxford, suggests that people should also avoid post-event rumination, as it's easy to distort what happened and can exacerbate anxiety. Mary, who now manages her social anxiety better, attributes her progress to therapy and self-acceptance, joining smaller groups and an astronomy club to push herself out of her comfort zone.",
  "summary": "Social anxiety is more common than many think. Here's what you need to know about the condition.",
  "key_points": [
    "Mary's social anxiety started during teenage years, worsening to depression in university",
    "Avoiding group settings led to lack of friendships by the time she began her degree",
    "Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is gold standard treatment for social anxiety"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Recognizing social anxiety as a treatable condition rather than a personal failing allows individuals to shift their focus from self-criticism to changing their behaviors and thought patterns.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Hidden habits that make your social anxiety worse - and how to break them",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/hidden-habits-that-make-your-social-anxiety-worse-and-how-to-break-10822679",
        "published": "2026-09-30T00:44:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}