You rehearse conversations before they happen. You replay them for hours after. You turn down invitations, dread work meetings, and feel a wave of dread before anything that involves other people watching or judging you.

You know, logically, that it's probably fine. But that doesn't make the fear go away.

Social anxiety is one of the most common anxiety disorders — and one of the most misunderstood. It's not just shyness. It's not a personality quirk. It's a pattern of fear and avoidance that can quietly shrink your world over time, affecting your career, your relationships, and your sense of who you are.

The good news: social anxiety responds well to treatment. I'm Katie Hummel, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in St. Petersburg, FL, and I work with adults across Tampa Bay and throughout Florida who are ready to stop letting fear make their decisions.

What Social Anxiety Actually Looks Like

Social anxiety isn't just about being nervous before a big presentation. It shows up in a lot of different ways — some obvious, some subtle.

Common situations that trigger social anxiety:

• Speaking up in meetings or classes
• Eating or drinking in front of others
• Making phone calls or initiating conversations
• Being introduced to new people
• Dating and romantic relationships
• Using public restrooms or being observed doing everyday tasks
• Posting on social media or being tagged in photos
• Asking for help or asserting yourself

What's happening underneath:

Social anxiety is driven by a core fear of negative evaluation — the belief that others are watching, judging, and finding you lacking. This fear triggers the body's threat response: heart racing, face flushing, voice shaking, mind going blank. Which then becomes its own source of anxiety ("What if they notice I'm nervous?").

The avoidance that follows makes sense in the short term. If you skip the party, you don't have to feel that way. But avoidance is what keeps social anxiety alive. Every time you avoid, you send your brain the message that the situation was genuinely dangerous — and the fear grows.

How Social Anxiety Is Different from OCD

Social anxiety and OCD can look similar on the surface — both involve intrusive thoughts, both involve compulsions (reassurance-seeking, avoidance, mental reviewing) — but they're distinct conditions that respond to treatment differently.

With social anxiety, the fear is centered on social evaluation: what others think of you, how you come across, whether you'll embarrass yourself. With OCD, intrusive thoughts can be about anything — harm, contamination, relationships, morality — and the compulsions are driven by a need to neutralize the thought or prevent a feared outcome.

That said, they frequently co-occur. Some people have both. And the treatment approaches overlap significantly — which is why working with a therapist who understands both is valuable.

ERP for Social Anxiety: What It Is and Why It Works

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is best known as the gold-standard treatment for OCD — but it's also highly effective for social anxiety.

The core idea: you gradually face the situations you fear, without doing the things you normally do to manage the anxiety (avoiding, escaping, seeking reassurance, over-preparing). Over time, your brain learns that the feared outcome either doesn't happen, or that you can handle it if it does.

In practice, ERP for social anxiety might look like:

• Making a phone call without rehearsing it first
• Saying something in a meeting without checking with a friend afterward
• Going to a social event and staying for a set amount of time, even if you're uncomfortable
• Posting something online without deleting it

This isn't about forcing yourself to be fearless. It's about building evidence — through experience — that the threat your brain is perceiving isn't as dangerous as it feels.

CBT for Social Anxiety: Changing the Thought Patterns

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) works alongside exposure by targeting the thought patterns that fuel social anxiety.

People with social anxiety often hold beliefs like:

• "If I say something awkward, everyone will think I'm an idiot."
• "I need to be interesting and funny or people won't like me."
• "I can tell by the look on their face that they're judging me."
• "I have to be perfect in social situations or something bad will happen."

CBT helps you examine these beliefs — not to dismiss them, but to test them. Are they accurate? Are they helpful? What would you say to a friend who believed this about themselves?

Over time, CBT helps you develop a more realistic and flexible relationship with social situations — one where imperfection isn't catastrophic and discomfort isn't danger.

Mindfulness and the "Observer" Perspective

One of the most useful shifts in treating social anxiety is learning to observe your thoughts rather than fuse with them.

When you're in a social situation and your mind says "they think you're boring," mindfulness helps you notice that thought — and recognize it as a thought, not a fact. You don't have to argue with it or push it away. You can let it be there while still choosing how you want to show up.

This isn't about clearing your mind or staying calm. It's about changing your relationship with the anxiety so it has less power over your behavior.

Telehealth and In-Person Options in Tampa Bay

I see clients in person at my office in St. Petersburg, FL — which is accessible to people throughout the Tampa Bay area, including Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, and surrounding communities.

I also offer telehealth throughout Florida. If you're in Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, or anywhere else in the state, we can work together online with the same quality of care.

Telehealth has made it easier than ever to access specialized treatment. You don't have to live near a major city to work with a therapist who has specific training in ERP and CBT for anxiety. You just need a private space and a reliable internet connection.

Who I Work With

I work with adults (18+) who are dealing with social anxiety — whether it's been a lifelong struggle or something that's intensified recently. You don't need a formal diagnosis to reach out. If social fear is affecting your quality of life, that's enough.

I also work with people who have social anxiety alongside OCD, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, or other anxiety-related concerns. Many of the people I see are dealing with more than one thing — and that's okay. We work on what's most pressing and build from there.

What Getting Started Looks Like

I offer a free 45-minute phone consultation so we can talk about what's going on and whether I'm a good fit for what you're looking for. There's no pressure and no commitment — just a conversation.

If we decide to move forward, individual sessions are $150. I'm a private-pay practice, which means I don't bill insurance directly, but I can provide a superbill for out-of-network reimbursement if your plan offers it.

Social Anxiety Doesn't Have to Run Your Life

You've probably spent a long time managing around the fear — avoiding, over-preparing, white-knuckling through situations that feel unbearable. That takes an enormous amount of energy.

Treatment works. ERP and CBT have strong research support for social anxiety, and most people see meaningful improvement with consistent work. The goal isn't to become someone who loves small talk and thrives in crowds. The goal is to stop letting fear make your decisions — and to have access to the life you actually want.

If you're in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, or anywhere in Florida and you're ready to take that step, reach out. I'd love to hear from you.