A Giant List Of Common Social Fears

As the title says, this article is going to list a ton of social situations that people may get nervous about. If someone is uncomfortable in a setting, it may be to an extremely mild degree, where it doesn't really affect them aside from the odd bit of hesitation. Or their fear could be totally debilitating and cause them to miss out on important things in life.

I'm going to go over some well known fears, but also a few more subtle ones that someone may not even realize they have. More than anything, I wrote this piece so people could realize that they're not strange or alone in worrying about the things they do. Like I said, all of these are fairly common.

I'm going to list scenarios that people feel uneasy in. The situations themselves vary, but they involve one or more of the same few core worries:

In many social settings there is some element of risk, but when you have a fear you blow the stakes out of proportion. For example, you could be nervous about sharing your vulnerabilities. You do need to use some discretion when doing this. You wouldn't want to spill your darkest secrets to an acquaintance you run into on the street, or tell something embarrassing to a mean-spirited gossip. However, most of the time nothing too bad will happen if you let others know some of your quirks or insecurities. Even if something negative does happen, it's often not nearly as bad as you worry it would be.

As I explain in another article, the best way to get over a fear is to face it in real life. Like I just mentioned, fears involve unrealistic thoughts that distort the potential for danger, and learning to recognize and handle that kind of thinking helps as well. Someone may also fear a situation because they lack the knowledge or skills to do well in it (e.g., someone will be more uncomfortable giving a speech if they have no public speaking training or experience). However, in the end you've still got to deal with your fears head on to fully get over them.


Here are the commonplace fears. The list is long, so you 'll probably just want to skim the headings, and only read more on the sections that stand out to you. I've tried to divide them into categories for the sake of organization, but some of them could easily fall under several headings. The fears can also combine, like if someone is afraid of talking on the phone, and of speaking with authority figures, they'll be extra nervous to call their boss to ask them something.

Making conversation

Conversation is a core part of socializing, and many people's fears revolve around it. They worry that they'll come off badly by running out of things to discuss, saying something stupid, or generally being boring and awkward to talk to. They may see speaking to someone as a high-pressure, audition. This article on worries shy or insecure people often have can give you a pretty good idea of some of the other things they may be concerned about.

Certain types of conversation

There are varieties of conversation that people tend to feel more nervous about:

Approaching people to start a conversation

It can be scary to try to initiate a conversation. The biggest fear is that someone won't be interested in talking with you, or that they'll reject you outright. Someone may also not be sure how to start a conversation, or join one that's already taking place. Then, once the conversation begins, they often feel on the spot, and like the onus is on them to keep it going at first.

Having to end a conversation

Out of a desire to not possibly offend the other person, someone may feel slightly nervous about having to exit a conversation. If that fear is bad enough they may have a related worry around having to speak to the type of chatty, oblivious person who may "trap" them in an exchange.

Mingling

That involves having to circulate around a room and start conversations with lots of people, some of whom you may not know. It's often associated with having to make short bursts of painful small talk, rather than sticking with one person to have a more interesting, in-depth discussion. At certain events you may also be expected to network and sell yourself, which many people also dislike.

Meeting new people

Of course, the fear here is that they may not like you. Also, when we're meeting people we're sometimes hoping to make new friends, and have worries we may not succeed. Some situations where this may come up for someone:

Specific social situations

Hanging out with people who all know each other

A worry here is that they'll ignore you and spend all their time chatting to each other, leaving you to awkwardly watch from the side. People can believe they've "failed" if they don't win everyone over right away.

Hanging out with new people

Say you've met some potential friends and invited them to have coffee with you. You may be nervous when you're first getting to know them, because you're not sure if the relationship is going to take off or not. It can feel a bit like a first date.

Specific settings

Parties

This is usually about feeling ill at ease with the idea of mingling and meeting new people. Someone may have discouraging thoughts of everyone noticing what a lame, lonely wallflower they are after they fail to strike up any conversations. Some people may also not be comfortable with the rowdy atmosphere at some parties, and be unsure of how to behave.

Fancy, formal events

Someone may worry they'll commit a faux pas from not knowing all the etiquette rules. The cliche example is someone being singled out for using the wrong type of spoon for the soup course.

Bars and clubs

Someone may be anxious about going to a bar or nightclub because they don't have a lot of experience with them, and have an exaggerated idea of how dangerous and sketchy they can be. They may think they'll get whacked across the face with a pool cue if they so much as look at someone the wrong way. When people go to dressy, high-end clubs they may worry they'll be judged and picked apart by all the supposedly hip, rich, intimidating patrons.

Specific activities

People can be anxious about doing certain activities because they think they'll look foolish while doing them. It may lead them to avoiding the social situations where they're likely to come up. Some examples are:

Asking something of people

The worst-case-scenario here is that they'll say no, and leave you feeling rejected and unworthy. Someone may also feel that the act of asking for something is awkward and uncomfortable, and that they're bothering and imposing on the other person.

Revealing personal information about yourself

People often worry about sharing certain aspects of themselves. Someone may fully realize they have this fear, and that they may be too guarded and secretive. At other times it may be much more subtle, and they may say something like, "Well, I'm just not a very expressive guy", when a discomfort with opening up is really at the heart of it.

Aside from the obvious worry they may be judged for the things they reveal, they might also fear their disclosure will create an awkward vibe, or that the information will be used against them somehow. A related belief is thinking that you're lame and boring and have nothing interesting to say about yourself. Also, some people just aren't used to sharing certain things about themselves, maybe because of how they were raised. They may hesitate to do it because it feels weird and unfamiliar more than anything. Some ways you can reveal personal information are:

Asserting yourself / stating your needs

It can be hard to ask for what you want, or what you think you deserve. Many people don't like anything that even remotely feels like a confrontation, or as if they're being self-centered and imposing their will on others, and will settle for less in order to avoid it. Someone could also believe that their needs and opinions don't matter.

Saying what you'd like to do

It's a bit of a joke that some people, when they're asked what they'd like to do, will always reply, "I dunno. Whatever you want is fine." Sure, sometimes they may really not care either way, but often they have a subtle fear of putting their preferences out there, and find it easier to just defer to other someone else. They feel like they couldn't handle it if one of their suggestions got shot down.

Saying no to things you'd rather not do

Later in this article I talk about how some people can feel bad about having to reject others. This point is more about being able to turn down unreasonable requests. Such a request doesn't necessarily have to come from a selfish jerk who's trying to take advantage of you. A well-intentioned friend could ask you to help out with a charity project which you don't have the time for.

Having to disagree with someone

This can feel too tense and confrontational. The disagreer may also worry that they'll be cast aside if they go against the grain of the group.

Standing up for yourself

Occasionally someone will be treated badly enough that they'll need to tell the other person that their behavior isn't acceptable. They're afraid the other person will react badly, or that they'll look foolish by appearing weak, overly upset, or flustered and inarticulate as they state their case.

Interacting with certain types of people

I write about this more in this article about how we may feel overly intimidated by certain types of people. Some common ones are:

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Being the center of attention

I tried to put together some sub-categories for these, but they really all overlap each other. For someone who's shy, just being the focus of everyone's attention, period, is often a scary possibility. They don't want to be scrutinized, evaluated, or judged in any way. They'd rather blend into the scenery.

Situations where you're on the spot in front of everyone

Situations where what you're doing is being watched by others

Often people aren't really watching or evaluating you at all, but you still feel like they are.

Situations where many people's eyes are on you temporarily

There are a lot of quick little scenarios where this one comes up:

Public speaking and performing

These two similar fears are incredibly common. In fact, it's odder not to have them. Pretty much everyone gets nervous if they have to give a speech or play the guitar on stage or whatnot, especially the first few times they have to do it.

A less intense, though still limiting, fear of public speaking or performing may come up in front of smaller, more familiar audiences. Someone may not want to:

Giving and receiving feedback

Getting a compliment

Many people feel awkward and flustered when they get a compliment. This may partially be because they feel put on the spot, and don't like the attention. They may feel uneasy because they aren't sure if they should just say thank you, or if they need to be modest and try to brush it off. Hearing something good about ourselves can also stir up our insecurities and make us feel off balance, and then we can worry about how we look when we're in that state.

Giving someone a compliment

You'd think it would be simple to say something positive about another person, but doing so can make some of us hesitate. How do you phrase the compliment? How will they react when they hear it? Will they think it was a weird thing for you to have said? It's one of those situations that feels just awkward enough that it can be easier to keep quiet instead.

Receiving negative feedback

Whether it's a harsh put down or the most sensitively worded piece of constructive criticism, no one really loves hearing about their weaknesses. Most people feel anxious in situations where they might be told something bad about themselves. An example would be going into an annual performance evaluation meeting at work. Someone may avoid developing their talent because doing so will lead to them getting critiqued down the road.

Having to reject or turn someone down

No one likes to be the bad guy and shoot another person's hopes down. Even in simple situations, like having to turn down an invitation when they already have plans, someone may feel guilty or awkward about doing it. Sometimes this leads to people making vague excuses or giving an acquaintance the run around, because they feel uncomfortable turning them down more directly. Things get scarier if the rejection will be way more serious, like having to tell a friend you don't want a relationship with them any longer.

Having to give someone else negative feedback

This is another thing that's really easy to put off or avoid altogether. It just feels bad to deliver this kind of information to someone. You don't want to see their feelings get hurt. It can also make us nervous beforehand because we don't know how the other person will react either. What if they get angry and try to cut you down in return? A formal example may be a supervisor who has to tell an employee about how their work isn't up to snuff. Informally, someone may not want to tell a friend or roommate about a mildly annoying trait of theirs.

A general fear of something embarrassing happening

This one could apply to any number of things in any number of situations. Maybe someone worries about doing something out of a movie like spilling all their papers in the middle of class, or dropping a plate full of dishes while working at a restaurant.

Fear of having certain bodily responses in social situations

Some people develop a second-order fear of sorts, where an unpleasant bodily response often occurs in social settings that make them anxious. On top of what they're already worried about, they also start to fear that the physical response will happen as well, and that it will lead to humiliation and embarrassment. This often happens to people with Social Anxiety Disorder. This obviously makes things more difficult for them, because now they have to deal with two fears at once, and one gets in the way of making progress on the other.

Fear of appearing visibly anxious

Some people get so nervous in some situations that they develop a fear of becoming noticeably anxious. They worry everyone will notice them trembling, sweating, struggling to get out their words, or looking wide-eyed and stricken.

Fear of blushing

Some people turn red when they're feeling evaluated or embarrassed. It can develop to the point where their blushing response seems to run away from them, and they get flushed at the drop of a hat. Worrying about it, and seeing blushing as something shameful that must be avoided at all costs, just seems to make it worse.

Fear of your voice not behaving

Someone may worry that their voice is going to crack, be too weak and quiet, or sound obviously nervous and shaky. People who stutter can develop a lot of anxiety around it as well.

Fear of getting so nervous you'll throw up, need to use the bathroom, or panic

If someone gets really anxious they may feel pukey, like their guts are churning and they need to find a toilet, or like they're going to freak out and have a panic attack. The physical sensations associated with any of those things aren't the slightest bit pleasant, so someone may start to avoid the settings where they make an appearance. They may also understandably believe they'd be embarrassed if they threw up, lost control of their bowels, or panicked in front of everyone. That, or they feel it would draw unwanted negative attention if they even did something like excuse themselves to use a bathroom or go outside to get some air.

This fear often takes on a life of its own and becomes linked to situations where it would be difficult or embarrassing to escape if the unpleasant symptoms did occur. There's still a social component to the fear, but it also starts to become about worrying about feeling sick for its own sake. Of course, being in those hard to escape situations is often anxiety provoking enough that the physical sensations are likely to pop up. It's a wonderful Catch-22. Some common scenarios are:

Another thing that can happen is some people will develop anxiety around eating around others. They're not worried about being judged for getting sauce on their face, like the earlier point about having a fear of being watched mentions. Instead they feel pukey and anxious and have no appetite in situations where they're expected to eat. Their mouth may become dry too, making the act of eating physically harder. They believe they have to do their best to choke down their food, and can't admit what's really going on. They worry that people will notice they aren't eating much and ask them about it.

Making eye contact

Someone may feel uncomfortable with having to make eye contact with others. It may feel awkward or too intense while they do it, and like it'd be so much simpler to look away. They may not know the rules of how or when to do it either.

Technology-related

Talking on the telephone

This one is fairly common. There are a lot of people who instinctively cringe whenever their phone rings. There are a couple of sub-fears. The first is when people are afraid of having to make conversation on the phone. It's just them and the other person's voice, and they feel very on the spot and worry about an awkward silence developing. They may also not be sure of the unwritten rules for phone conversations, and want to avoid a situation such as needing to hang up and get back to work, but the other person is still talking away.

A second phone-related fear is of having to leave a message. People worry they're going to stammer and ramble their way through it and sound like an idiot. (Fortunately, a lot of modern voicemail systems now let you preview or re-record your message, so you aren't under so much pressure to get it perfect the first time. Of course, you can't count on being able to access this feature every time.)

Lastly, some people are fine talking on the phone when no one else is around, but don't like doing it when their friends or co-workers can overhear them. They fear that everyone is listening in on their conversation and judging them on it. They'll go to a different room to talk, or only return work-related calls when the colleagues they share an office with aren't around.

These days people often use text messages, social media, or email to have conversations they used to have by telephone. In a way this is a blessing for a phone-shy person, since they can avoid having to make a lot of calls. However, avoiding things doesn't help get over a fear of them, and on the relatively few occasions they do have to use the phone they may even be more nervous about it.

Having your picture taken

If someone has this fear it usually has to do with feeling self-conscious about their appearance, or how they'll look in a photo. They may worry they'll get caught in an unflattering pose or captured from a bad angle. Of course, when people look through the photos from last weekend's night out, 99% of the time they just want to see if they look good, and totally glance over the images of everyone else.

Being recorded on video

This is similar to the point above in that someone will worry they'll look bad on video. Many people also find it hard to relax and act like themselves when a friend is sticking a camera in their face.

Video chatting

This is similar to feeling nervous about talking on the phone. It feels like a high-pressure one-on-one conversation, but it's extra bad because now you have to worry about how your face comes across as well. At least on the phone if you're feeling nervous no one can see how you look.

Job-related

I've already mentioned some of these. Several anxiety-inducing social situations only really come up on the job.

Interacting with customers

A cashier or bartender may feel awkward having to make small talk with customers. Someone working retail may hesitate to approach people on the sales floor and ask them if they need a hand with anything. Some jobs also require employees to handle angry, complaining, or abusive customers. They may be expected to adopt a cheery, outgoing persona that doesn't fit them.

Sales

This could involve a dedicated sales or fundraising role, or just being expected to upsell customers while working in retail or at a restaurant. Especially when making cold calls or canvassing, people grapple with a fear of rejection, and a sense that they're bothering everyone. Someone may feel guilty or skeevy about trying to sway people into buying something too.

Work-related public speaking

A manager may have to make the odd presentation. Someone at a grocery store may hate it whenever they have to make an announcement over the loud speaker. Some jobs are mostly public speaking, like being a tour guide.

Feedback related

For example, performance evaluations, having to critique someone who works under you, etc.

Having to ask your boss for something

Such as a pay increase, or if you can work from home part-time.

Things you need to do to get ahead

To rise in the ranks someone may have to learn the art of subtly promoting themselves and drawing attention to their achievements, which they may not be comfortable with. A lot of us were raised to be modest and not brag, and self-promotion clashes with those lessons.

Job seeking-related

Before you can even get a job, there are some nerve-racking things you may need to do:

Interacting with businesses

These points involve fears of tasks like dealing with certain types of people, having to be confrontational and stand up for what you think you deserve, and having to give negative feedback. Some examples:

Dating-related

Many people's most crippling social fears are in this area. Rejection seems way more scary when it's coming from someone you're romantically or sexually attracted to.