% of people with SA(including people trying to hide it)

Just a curious thought

1. Approx how many % of the people in the world/your country do u think have SA?

2. Is it possible to hide one's SA and pretend to act normal?

100% I think have social anxiety.

Maybe.. 20% with debilitating social anxiety?

mebbe?

1. I'd guess around 10%. I think they have statistics for it in the US.
2. It's disguiseable, I guess. I'd just be kind of quiet. You just need to appear self-confident but people might mistake you as being a snob.

This is pretty close - wikipedia gives a figure of 12 per cent for the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety_disorder

And many people can indeed disguise the fact that they have it. I'm 55 and have been doing just that since long before you guys were born. (no offence of course)

Not sure how many people do have SA... But it certainly is possible to hide it; acting is very useful and allows you to put yourself into another mindset, another "character" to help you in social situations. I do it all the time and people are very surprised when I tell them that I am actually feeling nervous/anxious because all they see is a calm person.

12% sounds a bit high, but I woulda guessed high single-digit percentages here in the U.S. America's a pretty social country, at least in many corners.

Unless everyone's disguising it...like I do at times. Yeah, it's possible to act normal. You sure don't feel normal or good, but it gets the job done - and if you're a good actor (and I am), then yes, you can certainly fake it. I don't always fake it - I prefer to live who I am sometimes - but when it's necessary, like at work or whatnot, then heck yeah, I'll put up the facade people want to see.

If I told people at work I had SA, they'd probably think I was joking. 'S all about compartmentalizing your emotions and forcing the logical mind to take over when you need to be social.

Same here. I only seem nervous to people when speaking in front of the entire class. The rest of the time I'm acting, or people do see my anxiety symptoms, but misjudge them
Sometimes I wish they knew. Sometimes people think I am being rude, disrespectful and attention-seeking, when all I feel is pain from fear, and loneliness. I sometimes feel negatively judged for being a character that doesn't even exist, or I feel loved for being fake. And I get angry with them, that they don't catch up on it - I'm literally expecting them to be mind readers, and to just KNOW that I'm rarely feeling like myself. Especially when it comes to friends - they think I am just being disrespectful on purpose or socially awkward, because of me it never enters their mind that I am hurting

On the statistics, I think they are way too high. 12%? If it was a test based on teenagers alone, I would have believed in it. I think it is 5%. I tend to know it when I see it, and the older I get, the less prominent it seems in my surroundings

1 of every 100 people has SA.

Supposedly 15 million people in the United States have social anxiety reading from internet and books.

Whatever statistics I've read always seem really high to me. Social Anxiety is supposed to be the most prevalent anxiety disorder, but why are there hardly any resources for us? People often forget about SAD, even psychologists (I overheard someone say at my psychiatrist's office "Oh, social anxiety. I always forget about that one.").

It makes me think that maybe there's a lot of people who are being diagnosed with social anxiety who just have stage fright or are just socially awkward.

I mean, yeah, those are hard to deal with, too, but it's a hell of a lot better than not being able to leave your house (or even your room) some days?

About 10% are shy I guess. It varies by region and ethnicity.

yes I've become quite good at "acting" in certain situations for example where it involved getting work , some people have been surprised in the past to find out, that I've never been in a relationship or had friends as an adult, I've always tried to hide it....I'm to anxious or stubborn to admit I have a problem and try professional help, but seriously I'm not gonna take pills anyway , and I refuse to pay a counsellor cause I think its a waste of money, I'd rather just try and play the hand I was dealt...

If I don't have to directly interact with people I can be pretty good at "hiding" my SA without even really hiding it...I might come across as quiet and reserved but that's it. It's not like I shake and cower with fear or anything. :/ Even a lot of the times when I do interact with people, probably about the only thing they see wrong with me is I don't make eye contact.

And even when my anxiety does exhibit itself, people far more often perceive it as snobbery or aloofness than as what it really is.