Over the past month, in each situation…
0 of 12 ratedWhat social anxiety is, in short
Social anxiety disorder is an intense, lasting fear of situations where you might be watched or judged, out of proportion to the real risk. People either avoid those situations or endure them with strong distress, and it gets in the way of work, study or relationships.
Shyness is a personality trait; social anxiety disorder is a treatable condition that usually lasts six months or more. This test uses a fear-and-avoidance format common in clinical scales, with our own situations, so the bands are a rough guide rather than a diagnosis.
By What's Your IQ · Reviewed 4 Oct 2026- Format
- 12 situations × fear (0–3) and avoidance (0–3)
- Score
- 0–72; guide bands at 20 and 40
- How common
- About 12% of US adults at some point in life
- Treatment
- Individual CBT is recommended first
WHY IT KEEPS GOING
What feels like protection keeps the fear alive
The cognitive model of social anxiety describes a loop. Click each step to see how it feeds the next, and where the loop can be broken.
WHAT HAPPENSYou rehearse lines, avoid eye contact, hold a drink to hide shaking or leave early.
BREAK ITDrop one safety behaviour at a time. They feel protective but stop you learning that you'd cope without them.
12%of US adults have social anxiety disorder at some pointThat makes it one of the most common anxiety disorders. It usually starts in the early teenage years, and many people wait more than a decade before seeking help.1
1995The cognitive model. Clark and Wells described how self-focused attention and safety behaviours keep social fear going, the loop above.2
2005How common. The US National Comorbidity Survey Replication estimated lifetime prevalence at about 12.1%.1
2013Treatment guidance. NICE in the UK recommended individual CBT built on this model as the first treatment for adults.3
2014 · metaWhat works best. A network meta-analysis of over 100 trials found individual CBT had the strongest evidence among psychological treatments.4
- Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602.
- Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In R. G. Heimberg et al. (Eds.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment (pp. 69–93). Guilford.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2013). Social anxiety disorder: Recognition, assessment and treatment (CG159).
- Mayo-Wilson, E., et al. (2014). Psychological and pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder in adults. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(5), 368–376.