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Passive communicationis a style in which you avoid directly saying what you think or want and that often involves uncomfortable body language. Many people with social anxiety end up using passive communication.
Social anxiety disorder(SAD) is the second most commonly diagnosed anxiety disorder and can be a hindrance to your daily life.If you have social anxiety, your communication skills may be weak because you are anxious about social gatherings, meeting new people and confrontation. One of the key areas that may be impacted is communication. Below is a description of how passive communication and social anxiety disorder may be related.
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Defining Passive Communication
Passive communication is a pattern of not sharing your opinions and failing to protect your rights and get your needs met. Passive communicators fail to be assertive and allow others to take advantage of them.
Passive Communication Examples
Passive communication can be shown in many different ways.
Impacts of Passive Communication
Individuals with a passive communication style may:
Problems With Passive Communication and Social Anxiety
If you have social anxiety and avoid conflict, passive communication can cause more discomfort and hurt. Because you do not address conflicts when they happen and allow grievances to go unnoticed, your irritation can grow.
Eventually, you will need to express these feelings, but because they have mounted for so long, it may come out explosively and damage your relationships. Afterward, you may feel tremendously guilty, causing you to be more passive in the future.
This can lead to even more social anxiety when interacting with others or trying to assert yourself. This vicious cycle can perpetuate itself for a long period if there is no intervention.
Passive Communication Versus Assertive Communication
For many with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and poor confidence leads to a passive communication style. This can cause a cycle in which passive communication leads to your needs going unmet, which makes you feel more anxious and then makes you even more passive. This cycle can be extremely hard to break and often needs professional intervention.
By contrast,assertive communication:
Atherapistspecializing in social anxiety can help you work through your anxiety issues as well as help you communicate more assertively and confidently.
It is not something that can happen overnight; however, a good healthcare provider with a background incognitive behavioral therapycan help improve your comfort in social settings and empower you to advocate for yourself.
The Best Online Therapy ProgramsWe’ve tried, tested and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, Betterhelp, and Regain.
2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understand the facts: social anxiety disorder.UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.Additional ReadingAntony M.The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook.New Harbinger Publications. 2008.Social Anxiety Institute.Acting Assertively.University of Texas at Dallas.Assertiveness.UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.
2 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understand the facts: social anxiety disorder.UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.Additional ReadingAntony M.The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook.New Harbinger Publications. 2008.Social Anxiety Institute.Acting Assertively.University of Texas at Dallas.Assertiveness.UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understand the facts: social anxiety disorder.UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.
Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Understand the facts: social anxiety disorder.
UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.
Antony M.The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook.New Harbinger Publications. 2008.Social Anxiety Institute.Acting Assertively.University of Texas at Dallas.Assertiveness.UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.The Four Basic Styles of Communication.
Antony M.The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook.New Harbinger Publications. 2008.
Social Anxiety Institute.Acting Assertively.
University of Texas at Dallas.Assertiveness.
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