Social anxiety and its effects on students in college classrooms

by Jessica Rehm

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health illness in the United States. These disorders affect 40 million adults and social anxiety alone affects 15 million of them. 

(Photo: panicfreeme.com)

Research from the National Institute of Mental Health shows that 11.9% of college students suffer from social anxiety. In recent surveys students say that social anxiety along with stress does affect their overall performance in class and even leads to them having to get an incomplete or withdraw from the class. In research done by the NIMH students say their grade becomes affected when they don’t speak during class discussions or cant put 100% into presentations.

Dr. Brandi Klein, assistant professor of Psychology, says at some point every student feels social anxiety and that can be completely normal. “Students may feel uncomfortable in certain situations, such as participating in class discussions or group projects. Many students have learned over time how to handle their anxiety in these situations by either ‘powering through’ while uncomfortable, or by remaining silent and only speaking when directly addressed,” she said. But for some students the anxiety can be more severe Klein says. “Students may withdraw from the discussions or group projects to the point where it could affect their grades or their ability to successfully participate in class,” she said.

As a professor, Klein states that she does notice social anxiety in classrooms. “It becomes problematic when the anxiety rises to such intolerable levels that a student skips presentations, classes, etc. because their anxiety is so severe that they can’t bare it, and their grades suffer.”

She sees test anxiety and math anxiety among students as well. Klein says there are successful methods for treating math and test anxiety if the student is willing to seek therapy for it.

There has been an increase in the number of students who suffer from social anxiety in classrooms across the country. Millenials and Gen Z students suffer more anxiety than any other generation in the past. Klein says there are many variables that contribute to this, but there is no one particular cause.

“I believe a lot of the social pressures to fit in with peers or academic pressure from parents can contribute. Also, cyberbullying has been increasingly common with constant access to social media. Students who have had negative experiences related to bullying or humiliation in the past are more likely to experience social struggles,” she said. However, more students are likely to talk about their anxiety and seek treatment for it due to lessening stigma associated with mental health struggles.

If a student’s anxiety begins to consume a student’s thoughts, leading to intolerable physical or mental symptoms, or affecting their ability to complete school work than counseling, and accommodations are available on campus. If a student wants treatment for social anxiety they can contact the Outreach/Counseling. If a student wants to discuss the process of getting accommodations for class and testing they can talk to the Center for Academic Excellence. The Center for Academic Excellence is located on the third floor of the library and is opened 8:00am- 4:30pm Monday through Fridays.