<p>It's pretty difficult to imagine a person with Social Anxiety Disorder being an extrovert.  The symptoms of SAD include <sup>[1]</sup>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
  <li>Intense fear of interacting with strangers and of being judged</li>
  <li>Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself or that others think that you look anxious</li>
  <li>Anxiety that disrupts your daily routine, work, school or other activities</li>
  <li>Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment</li>
  <li>Avoiding situations where you might be the center of attention</li>
  <li>Difficulty making eye contact or talking</li>
  </ul>
</blockquote>

<p>Signs and symptoms include blushing, sweating, trembling or shaking, fast heartbeat, upset stomach, nausea, shaky voice, muscle tension, confusion, diarrhea, and cold, clammy hands.</p>

<p>Extroverts, on the other hand, usually don't have any problems with the above situations.</p>

<p>Introversion and extroversion are not either/or, but exist on a continuum. One can have attributes of both, and empathy with both. SAD is not on this continuum.</p>

<p><sub>[1] <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20032524" rel="noreferrer">Mayo Clinic</a></sub></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-04T04:59:18.760Z
2014-09-04T04:59:18.760Z
anongoodnurse
<p>There is a big difference between <em>being</em> X and <em>showing signs</em> of X. </p>

<p>In particular, given reasonable incentives (that are quite abundant in society), people can fake appearances of extroversion and empathy, and some people can do it quite successfully. Some disorders may make it hard[er] to accomplish, but people with a severe lack of empathy (psychopathy) often are able appear more empathetic than the average.</p>

<p>Similarly, a highly introverted person (though probably not with Social Anxiety Disorder) could plausibly behave as very extroverted; it could be unpleasant and stressful for them, but they can do it if they choose, and have focused on the relevant skills that might have come naturally for the more extroverted people simply by more exposure and practice.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-09T20:25:31.657Z
2014-09-09T20:25:31.657Z
Peteris
<p>Extraversion is a personality trait that, as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia article</a> describes, causes people "to enjoy human interactions", to be sociable, outgoing and love crowds.</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety_disorder" rel="noreferrer">Social anxiety disorder</a> (SAD), on the other hand, causes people to fear being judged and often makes them avoid social situations, either in general or at least those aspects that would lead to the person to "stand in the spotlight".</p>

<p>From their definitions, extraversion and SAD seem to exclude each other. It seems impossible that they can co-occur in the same person.</p>

<p><strong>Is it possible that an extraverted person suffers from social anxiety disorder?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-03T21:44:21.290Z
We tend to steer clear of self-help issues here, so I have removed the personal aspect of the question.  I think you will still get an applicable answer this way.
Chuck Sherrington
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-03T22:39:28.273Z
I'd guess that empathy should be fairly independent, but that social anxiety and extraversion ought to contradict one another in general...Could you clarify what you mean by social anxiety and extraversion? They don't necessarily manifest as described in textbooks, so I'd hesitate to infer what you mean from other sources.
Nick Stauner
<emotion><personality><anxiety><extraversion>
Can an extravert suffer from social anxiety disorder?
Elizabeth
# Can an extravert suffer from social anxiety disorder?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-09-03)

Extraversion is a personality trait that, as the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion) describes, causes people "to enjoy human interactions", to be sociable, outgoing and love crowds.

[Social anxiety disorder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety_disorder) (SAD), on the other hand, causes people to fear being judged and often makes them avoid social situations, either in general or at least those aspects that would lead to the person to "stand in the spotlight".

From their definitions, extraversion and SAD seem to exclude each other. It seems impossible that they can co-occur in the same person.

**Is it possible that an extraverted person suffers from social anxiety disorder?**

**Tags:** emotion, personality, anxiety, extraversion

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: We tend to steer clear of self-help issues here, so I have removed the personal aspect of the question.  I think you will still get an applicable answer this way.  
> **username_2**: I'd guess that empathy should be fairly independent, but that social anxiety and extraversion ought to contradict one another in general...Could you clarify what you mean by social anxiety and extraversion? They don't necessarily manifest as described in textbooks, so I'd hesitate to infer what you mean from other sources.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-09-04. Score: 5

It's pretty difficult to imagine a person with Social Anxiety Disorder being an extrovert. The symptoms of SAD include [1]:

> * Intense fear of interacting with strangers and of being judged
> * Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself or that others think that you look anxious
> * Anxiety that disrupts your daily routine, work, school or other activities
> * Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment
> * Avoiding situations where you might be the center of attention
> * Difficulty making eye contact or talking

Signs and symptoms include blushing, sweating, trembling or shaking, fast heartbeat, upset stomach, nausea, shaky voice, muscle tension, confusion, diarrhea, and cold, clammy hands.

Extroverts, on the other hand, usually don't have any problems with the above situations.

Introversion and extroversion are not either/or, but exist on a continuum. One can have attributes of both, and empathy with both. SAD is not on this continuum.

[1] [Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20032524)


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-09-09. Score: 1

There is a big difference between *being* X and *showing signs* of X.

In particular, given reasonable incentives (that are quite abundant in society), people can fake appearances of extroversion and empathy, and some people can do it quite successfully. Some disorders may make it hard[er] to accomplish, but people with a severe lack of empathy (psychopathy) often are able appear more empathetic than the average.

Similarly, a highly introverted person (though probably not with Social Anxiety Disorder) could plausibly behave as very extroverted; it could be unpleasant and stressful for them, but they can do it if they choose, and have focused on the relevant skills that might have come naturally for the more extroverted people simply by more exposure and practice.


---

