No, they don't. That's not to say introverts don't experience social anxiety but many of us don't have anxiety more just a general desire to not be around people as much as possible. Then of course you have the conundrum that introverts are less likely to tell you that so extroverts tend to assume and they will say their assumptions. After a while everyone starts to assume what they're hearing is the truth since they hear it so often. Which brings us to this^. Instead of introverts this is really just describing someone with social anxiety which could be anyone.
I used to have pretty bad social anxiety (getting shaky hands and cramped stomach, having to psych myself up for 30 minutes just for a phone call) but then I realized just how much people do not give a shit.
I know it won't work for everyone, you can't simply reason your way out of a mental illness, but for me this was a total lightbulb moment and now my anxiety only ever rears its ugly head when it's a completely new situation or an extremely stressful one.
So for anyone who needs to hear it right now: people aren't judging your every word and move, they're too preoccupied with their own stuff to care about a particular interaction. If you fumble your words or stutter a little bit, they probably won't even remember it the next time you meet. Remember how you felt when it happened to someone else: you probably thought "it's fine, can happen to anyone" right? Guess what, other people are thinking the same (unless they're Karens lol). So don't judge yourself too hard, you're awesome <3
This is some important self realizations right here. All kinds of mental illness stem from the assumed thoughts of others about yourself when in reality it's seldomly done. Most people only make surface impressions of the strangers around them. Generally they fall into two categories, sexual attraction and danger. But these are, like I said, just surface impressions that rarely get a second thought. This is also the exact reason things like acting like you belong, are on an important errand, or are angry, work so well when you want to avoid attention or be left alone. Are brains just go, nope, and move on.
I know it won't work for everyone, you can't simply reason your way out of a mental illness, but for me this was a total lightbulb moment and now my anxiety only ever rears its ugly head when it's a completely new situation or an extremely stressful one.
So for anyone who needs to hear it right now: people aren't judging your every word and move, they're too preoccupied with their own stuff to care about a particular interaction. If you fumble your words or stutter a little bit, they probably won't even remember it the next time you meet. Remember how you felt when it happened to someone else: you probably thought "it's fine, can happen to anyone" right? Guess what, other people are thinking the same (unless they're Karens lol). So don't judge yourself too hard, you're awesome <3