When most people think of college, they think the time of your life. New friends. New places. New experiences. What is not to love, right? Well, for some, this time of endless fun can be total misery. Picture college students that suffer from intense social anxiety.
So, what is it like to be a college student with social anxiety exactly? Disaster is perhaps the best word in English to describe it. While most normal college students are making new friends, the anxiety-filled one is afraid to talk to anyone. “What if they think I’m weird?? How do I even begin to make new friends?? I don’t want to annoy them!” These are just a few of the thoughts that come to the anxiety-filled college student’s mind when trying to talk to new people.
Well, how does the anxious college student handle first day? It, too, is a struggle. While most normal students walk into class, answer roll call, do the whole introduce yourself, talk to the professor, and leave, the thought process -- and often the outcome -- is much different for the college student who suffers anxiety. Walking into class makes those with anxiety constantly question and second-guess themselves on if that is the right room. Roll call is often a pain because they have to actually speak out loud in front of the entire class. If it is one of “those professors,” and they make the class do the personal introduction, the anxiety-filled college student is left questioning what to say, how to say it, and if the other classmates will think what they say is stupid. When it comes to talking to the professor, even if it is something important, you may as well shove bamboo shoots under the anxiety-filled college student’s nails because it is seriously that painful.
When it comes time to eat lunch, or breakfast, or anything in public, the anxiety-filled college student is put into another mentally tough situation. Where do they sit? They cannot just sit anywhere. Where is the area with the fewest number of people? While the college student suffering with severe social anxiety has these in addition to many other similar thoughts running through their minds, the average Joe college student is happily enjoying their lunch.
Yes, college is supposed to be fun for everyone, but too often this group of students that suffers from anxiety are far from having any fun. Sadly, we all know that student. There is at least one of them in each one of our classes. The one that is really quiet and tries to isolate themselves. Although this “behavior” from them seems totally abnormal, these students genuinely cannot help it and I promise that they want to enjoy their time in college just as much as you do. So, what can we do to help them enjoy their college career? Be a friend to them. Reach out to them. When someone reaches out, maybe not in front of a large group, it makes things so much easier for these students. Plus, when you reach out to these people, you will have gained an awesome new friend that is just too shy to show it!
