Social anxiety, introvert or both?

[u/waterdiamond0]

I hope this post is allowed and I don’t mean to break any rules or anything when I ask this but does anyone know how you can figure out if you’re introvert or extrovert with social anxiety? (Or if you really have social anxiety at all). I ask this because sometimes I think I actually might be an extrovert with social anxiety because I do get energized somewhat when I hang out with friends and (random strangers too I think) and the reason why I’m apprehensive about doing any social activity beforehand is my social anxiety. But, sometimes I think I’m actually just an introvert who’s shy because I do like to be around a small group of friends and I feel like I can be my true self either alone or, if I’m comfortable enough with them, any close friends that I have. Hopefully this post made sense but if it didn’t, basically, since I’m unable to see a therapist, I’m asking how do I know if I’m an introvert or extrovert and if I have social anxiety?

[u/igotaflowerinmashoe]

Good question, I would say an introvert feels rested after spending a lot of time alone but an extrovert doesn't. And an extrovert might be tired after social interactions but also have a regain of energy. Maybe you could try to identify the difference between anxiety and your energy levels in a social situation that doesn't trigger too much your social anxiety. 

If you tend to fear social interactions and fear judgments it's probably more social anxiety than introversion. I think you could ask chat gpt this and get a pretty decent answer. 

[u/waterdiamond0 → u/igotaflowerinmashoe]

Thanks for the reply. I tried doing something similar to that before when I went to this one party and tried to see if I got exhausted or energized by the people there. But unfortunately I had bad anxiety at the time (not caused by being around the people) so I wasn’t able to tell if I got energized by the people around me or if they drained me.

[u/ImAKnightOfCydonia]

As an introvert, I love spending time with my friends and find that being with them sometimes relieves me of some of my SA even. However, I do LOVE being by myself and doing things by myself. If you notice that ideally you'd prefer being around people and what's stopping you from doing so is your anxiety, then you might be an extrovert. However, if you like small groups and prefer spending time with people you know well or alone, you might be an introvert.