Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide, affecting about 300 million people, according to WHO. The good news is they’re also among the most treatable disorders.

This is a fundamental misunderstanding about social anxiety. It is not about a preference. When we think about preference for socializing, it’s more akin to introversion … Anxiety is about a fear of the social interaction, a fear of the evaluation and rejection,” said Dr. Fallon Goodman, an assistant professor of psychology at the George Washington University and director of the Emotion and Resilience Laboratory.

People do get better with exposure, practicing social skills, and challenging their thoughts, Goodman added. “On the other side of that is a life that’s rich and filled with positive experiences and wonderful social relationships that can lead to a life that feels so much more full than a life of isolation or fearing those social relationships,” she said.