Find Out If Social Anxiety May Be Affecting Your Life

Do you feel uncomfortable or nervous in social situations? This quick, anonymous quiz can help you understand whether you’re dealing with social anxiety and what to do about it.

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL ANXIETY

Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It is an intense fear of being judged, embarrassed, or rejected in social settings, and it can make everyday interactions feel overwhelming.

It’s often linked to core beliefs about oneself (e.g., “I’m not good enough”) or the world (e.g., “People will always reject me”), which trigger social anxiety when activated. 

Guys often face pressure to be confident, outgoing, and “in control”, but social anxiety can make that feel impossible. In fact, social anxiety affects about 1 in 16 men,[1] and can be incredibly debilitating, with studies finding that it’s associated with impairment in diverse areas of life, including increased suicidal ideation.[2] 

Not Sure If It’s Social Anxiety?

You might be wondering:

  • Why do I get so nervous around people?
  • Why do I avoid social events?
  • Why do I overthink everything I say?

If you’ve asked yourself such questions, you may be dealing with social anxiety. 

SOCIAL ANXIETY ASSESSMENT

The assessment below is a free, anonymous test that asks a few questions about how social anxiety may be affecting your daily life. It doesn’t provide a formal diagnosis, but tailored feedback will be provided based on your responses. You can also print your results to use as a conversation starter with a therapist or healthcare professional.

Come back and track your progress

This test can be used as a tool to help you track the impact that social anxiety is having on you and monitor how it changes over time.

Disclaimer

This assessment is based on the Severity Measure for Social Anxiety Disorder, a psychometrically-validated tool that is used in clinical and research settings to screen and assess the severity of social anxiety disorder. 

This assessment tool should not be used on its own for self-diagnosis. You may wish to save or print your results to share with your primary healthcare provider as a way of starting a conversation.

Privacy

This survey is anonymous and does not collect directly identifying information. However, under UBC policies and BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), some demographic data may still be considered personal information.

Responses are securely stored on Canadian servers and used only for research and content development. For questions, contact [email protected].

Contact information for our email newsletter (if you choose to opt-in) and your responses are stored separately. 

See our terms, privacy, and conditions for more information.

References

  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Any anxiety disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder
  2. Fehm, L., Beesdo, K., Jacobi, F., & Fiedler, A. (2008). Social anxiety disorder above and below the diagnostic threshold: prevalence, comorbidity and impairment in the general population. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 43(4), 257–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-007-0299-4