How is the social withdrawn?

It is likely that, throughout our lives, we meet people who we observe certain difficulties in their way of relating, talking with others and establishing intimate bonds. Perhaps they are simply shy and introverted people whose tastes are more focused on enjoying calmer activities. However, we can be before an individual defined as socially withdrawn.

This personality type arouses a lot of curiosity in the psychological community as well as in society in general. their enormous introversion generates a certain mystery and it is difficult to carry out studies on the behavior of these individuals. At best, we can believe that we are social withdrawn and that is why we want to confirm our suspicions and get to know each other a little more. In this Psychology-Online article, we will try to resolve the question of "How is a social withdrawn?".

Index

1. The withdrawn personality
2. Avoidant Personality Disorder
3. Avoidance behaviors
4. The avoidant personality in love

Many experts throughout history have defined the withdrawn or inhibited personality as a tendency of the individual to live in his inner world, avoid social relations and enjoy the loneliness. Being an introvert is not a bad thing, we all have a certain level of inhibited personality, however, there is a big difference between the tendency of the personality and the personality disorder.

"How is the social withdrawn?"It is a question that we can ask ourselves on occasion since they are people who awaken certain curiosity, the fact of not interacting with practically anyone raises doubts and even a bit of mystery. A withdrawn person, in addition to being shy, is a person who lives withdrawn and / or withdrawn from society or social relations. Just the thought of relating to relationships generates anguish and deep discomfort and avoids it at all costs.

The socially withdrawn, by not establishing links with practically anyone, does not usually express their feelings or emotions. They tend to be easily offended as they have a low tolerance for criticism and frustration. By not accepting any type of opinion, it is difficult for them to change and improve.

People are social beings by nature and our temperament is modified through interactions with others, that is why that the social withdrawn do not generate good personality references, are insecure and are not able to establish a good system of beliefs. This insecurity generates a lot of concern about their own behavior to the socially withdrawn and this is reflected in the few social interactions he has, these interactions are usually with people very similar to him and of great confidence. If they are not people you trust, a withdrawn individual can live with anxiety for the duration of the interaction.

By experiencing so many negative connotations during social gatherings, these people generate discomfort just thinking about it. With the passage of time, and after the accumulation of anxious experiences, the social withdrawal begins to generate a tendency to avoid. If this trend develops uncontrollably, we may be talking about a avoidant personality disorder.

When the avoidant personality leads to a clinical case, we are talking about a personality disorder. This disorder is included in the DSM (the diagnostic manual par excellence in Psychology) and consists of the following characteristics or diagnostic criteria¹:

A general pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inferiority, and a hypersensitivity negative evaluation, which begin in early adulthood and occur in various contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following items:

• Avoid jobs or activities that involve important interpersonal contact due to fear of criticism, disapproval, or rejection.
• You are reluctant to get involved with people if you are not sure they are going to like you.
• Demonstrates repression in intimate relationships due to fear of being embarrassed or ridiculed.
• You are worried about the possibility of being criticized or rejected in social situations.
• You are inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inferiority.
• You see yourself as socially inept, personally uninteresting, or inferior to others.
• You are extremely reluctant to take personal risks or get involved in new activities because they can be compromising.

This personality disorder can become very limiting for a person and it is possible that need help from a professional to be able to re-establish normal bonds with the people who surround. Although there is no definitive cure for this condition, behaviors can be developed that adapt the person to their environment and lower your anxiety level before social interactions.

This type of behavior is very characteristic of the socially withdrawn, avoidance behaviors are defined as those that have as their objective the omission of some stimulus or situationNormally, this situation produces some type of anxiety or concern to the socially withdrawn.

Examples of avoidance behaviors

• Do not go to class or drop out directly due to fear or insecurities when interacting with your classmates.
• Not taking public transport
• Avoid going out for a drink with your friends
• Do not leave home for fear of something bad happening
• Avoid a personal commitment
• Avoid conflicts or arguments even if you have a different opinion

A very important area of ​​social relationships is based on the affectionate interactions that we have With others, a social withdrawn also has his love life affected because of the disorder of personality.

The avoidant personality in love It is characterized by being very sensitive to criticism and feelings that are generated around the individual, this hypersensitivity generates many insecurities and avoidance behaviors. At the beginning of the relationship, it is normal to avoid dates and meetings in crowded places.

His way of expressing affection is also distorted, by not establishing many interactions it is possible that he does not fully understand social norms and signs of love. Anyway, if we meet an avoidant personality in love, we must be sure to take the step and know what we are up against. There are many types of couple loveHowever, in this case it is important to be patient at first and understand the reason for most of their behaviors.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to How is the social withdrawn?, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.

1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Editorial medica panamericana, 2014.