Is Social Awkwardness And Social Psychology the Same?

That's me!" if this crossed your mind after reading this headline, you probably are not a social animal and are curious to know if social awkwardness bothers me. Or is it concerning social psychology? You might think you are a lovely home to both, just because you are unaware of the differences and think it's the same. 

People tend to care less about such differences, but it's essential to know them as they affect our daily lives, mainly us. Knowing the differences between social awkwardness and social psychology helps us to recognize and understand ourselves better. Let's hop in there and learn that social awkwardness and social psychology are the same.

First, Let's Understand Social Awkwardness

We all have been there during birthdays when your friends and family sing the happy birthday song for you while cutting your birthday cake. Now you are done cutting the cake before they finish the song, you are just standing and waiting for them to finish, or when everyone, your friend, ditches you at an unknown party with a bunch of strangers, and you stand there clueless what to do? How do I talk to everyone? And most importantly, where is my friend? Because you now want to hold them and not let them go and maybe throw a few kicks for leaving your introverted friend alone.

The feeling we experience in such situations and our desire to be acknowledged by others in the room get us to turn inward and change how we behave to the behavior we think others might like to fit in with the group. That is what we call social awkwardness, which is a Part of Behavioural psychology.

Symptoms Of Social Awkwardness

• Emotional and behavioral Symptoms:
  
  • Constantly worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself.
  • Intense fear of talking with strangers.
  • Fear of positions in which you may be judged negatively
  • Fear or Anxiety during social situations
• Physical Symptoms
  
  • Blushing
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Trembling 
  • Sweating
    Nausea or upset stomach

These symptoms might have been struck on you or anyone who faces social awkwardness. 

Complications Of Social Anxiety Solution

Social awkwardness disorder can control your life. Anxieties can disturb your work, school, relationships, or enjoyment of life. This disorder can cause:

• Low self-esteem
• Isolation and complex social relationships
• Negative self-talk
• Hypersensitivity to criticism
• Poor social skills
• Trouble being assertive
• Low academic and employment achievement,
• Substance Abuse, such as drinking too much alcohol
• Suicide or suicide attempts

Now Let's Understand Social Psychology

Dr. Sheldon Cooper, this name rings a bell to everyone. Yes, this character from the American sitcom, namely "The Big Bang Theory," was a physicist and the smartest one in almost every room but had many social psychological issues. 

Such as, Sheldon did not understand sarcasm, he could not understand being in love, tense situations would startle him, was not a fan of social gatherings, but would want his friends to have parties and outings, as he was comfortable around them and much more.

You can now get a clearer picture of the difference between social psychology and social awkwardness, and you realize there is a vast difference between birthdays and relating to Sheldon Cooper.

Social psychology studies and examines how groups or situations affect one's thoughts, feelings, and actions. For instance, a noisy social situation can get one frustrated and angry and the other shy and inverted. 

Social psychology helps to learn about human behavior in different situations, their feelings, and how it affects their personal life, including their interpersonal relations like friends or family and professional ties. 

Symptoms Of Social Psychology

Social Anxiety is one of the most found symptoms in social psychology. People suffering from social anxiety are plagued with negative thoughts.

• Self-doubts are at their peak, and questions like
  
  • Do I look okay?
  • Do I sound stupid?
  • Am I boring everyone in the room?
  • Should I shut my mouth?
  • What If I am too quiet?

Questions like these can be hell for anyone, especially when you are out with many people, and this is all you can think of. 

• Increased heart rate, pain in the chest, shortness of breath, or too much sweating are also panic disorders.
• Avoid participation in activities and talking to people out of fear of embarrassment.
• Always expecting the worst out of every situation, even when there's nothing to worry about.
• Feeling uncomfortable or wanting to run away when one becomes the center of attention. 

Social Awkwardness vs Social Anxiety

Social awkwardness may describe a different way of living, and Social Anxiety is a defined mental condition that can cause severe social impairment. As per the Social Anxiety Institute, social Anxiety disorder (SAD) describes an intense, recurrent state of emotional stress in social situations. Individuals with SAD may fear.

• Being introduced to others
• Teasing or criticism
• Interpersonal relationships
• Being the center of attention
• Being watched while doing something
• Meeting authority figures
• Social gatherings, especially with those whom they don’t know
• Public speaking, even in small groups

You can try to get away from such situations and think for your betterment. There is a lot of difference between the two. Just be confident and get away from it.

Bottom Line From Practical Anxiety Solution

Though it feels like the end of the world, it isn't for people going through social-psychological troubles. Human interaction is undoubtedly a complex curious phenomenon, and humans are naturally social creatures, but the ability to interact with others doesn't come easily. 

Most of us have experienced social awkwardness in our lives, and most of us have also experienced social psychological issues and may have thought that both are the same. But as we all know, social psychology is the study of our reactions to other people and understanding of our thoughts and feelings, along with many other concepts. 

In contrast, social awkwardness is the desire to feel accepted and behave the way we think others might demand. Professional help must be considered if you feel it's needed.
 
In the end, we all must remember that life begins at the end of our comfort zone, and humans thrive best there, and people are just people; there is no need to be nervous about them.