Many therapists and psychological experts say that our social anxiety fear of being judged by others is irrational. That people aren’t really thinking the negative things about us that we believe they are. While it’s true, you can never know what another person is thinking, we can’t ignore the fact that people do judge other people, often negatively. I know, because I do it myself. When I see someone do or say something foolish, I’ll negatively judge them— find them stupid, weird, or whatever else. Which is exactly what I and others with social anxiety are so afraid of other people doing to us. The irrationality of social anxiety comes with how much importance we give to those negative judgements of others. Continue reading →