A short segment from Dr. Aziz arguing that social anxiety is commonly misunderstood: it is not a fear of social interactions or of people themselves, but specifically a fear of rejection or being disliked. He frames social anxiety as a phobia of negative evaluation and suggests confronting that fear is the route to liberation.
Most people, including most therapists, don't know what social anxiety really is. If you look up the definition of social anxiety, it says, well, it's a fear of social interactions. Afraid to approach people, afraid to start conversations, afraid to speak out. You're not afraid of other people. Just like you're walking down the road and there's another human walking the other way and it's like you had a spider phobia and you're like, eee, a human, human. Get it away from me. No. What are you really afraid of with social anxiety? It's not a fear of humans, it's not a fear of socializing, it's not a fear of interactions. It's a fear of one thing, my friend. It's a fear of rejection. It's a fear of that dislike. Someone's going to have a negative thought, a negative feeling towards you. That is what you're phobic of, that's what you're freaking out about. And that is how you free yourself by confronting that fear and liberating yourself once and for all.
