Social Anxiety--specific or extremely vague?

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My social anxiety is just fear--I can't say that I fear any particular social outcome....I have specific outcome-related fear with medical/helping professionals, but by itself I don't think that would count as social anxiety.

I can think of some specific things that have happened so many times that they contribute to my social anxiety (like hurting people's feelings by accident, being bullied, being horribly misunderstood and not realizing what's going on until a huge amount of time has passed and it's too late to figure out what happened)..... but the anxiety I have in social situations isn't about those things specifically, it's more related to the fact that I was never able to predict or understand whatever unpleasant thing happened--and to my desire to avoid sensory overload.

If I get anxious in a social situation, I'm not usually worried about anything specific; I'm just really overwhelmed and don't know what's going on around me or what to do, and that causes anxiety....I think because it's a vulnerable sort of state to be in.

My social anxiety seems sort of like fear of the unknown.

For those who have social anxiety to any degree, are you anxious about something specific (like a specific social outcome), or are you just anxious in a more general sense?

It sounds like you're describing a form of social anxiety disorder known as 'generalized' social anxiety disorder.

My social anxiety seems to stem from being insecure, both in general and about specific things, coupled with never knowing what people think or being able to predict how they will react to me.

The fear grows bigger when I'm tired, under pressure or feeling insecure about some specific thing (a haircut, possible bad breath, etc.). I can get caught up in it, my heart pounding and growing ever more uncomfortable, edging ever closer to a panic attack, yet I've learned this is near invisible to those around me.

When I seem to have liberated one specific area of insecurity from fear, I can sense the fear feeling around for a new weak spot. Dealing with it seems like a twisted game of whack-a-mole.

My social anxiety is very narrow. It only applies to situations in which I have to approach someone. I don't have problems being amongst people or chatting with anyone, even total strangers. I've had three different psychologists tell me they've never seen anyone else like me.

Kinda both. I get anxiety about messing up and doing the wrong thing, largely because I have a history of messing up and doing the wrong thing. So there's that. I also have more general anxiety both about worrying about overload, and then the anxiety that comes along with actually overloading. New or unknown situations, social and otherwise, also leave me anxious. Change also leaves me anxious, so situations that frequently change give me problems. With those last few examples I'm not really fearful OF anything, they're just things I have an anxiety reaction to.

I do a lot better in smaller groups, with people I know, and most importantly - structured situations. So parties are impossible, but discussion groups or religious gatherings are within my range. Anything that provides an overall structure for how people are going to interact.

I have severe social anxiety. I know all the social cues, but I find it hard to speak up in social situations because of fear of being interrupted or not listened to, and I find I can't get a word in edgeways in a group of people. I find it easier when people give me more eye contact, because I then know that they want me to talk too, and so I will be more happier to throw in a few words, but when nobody's looking at me but I'm still part of the group, I always fear to open my mouth.
Also I find it really hard to stand up for myself, and I am easily led, and it's not because I can't read signs that somebody is trying to own me, because I can read these easily. The reason why I can't stand up for myself is because I fear conflict, especially in the workplace where you're with these same people all the time.

I think fear of conflict is linked to social anxiety.

I can relate to that.

I really like your wording for this part: "they're just things I have an anxiety reaction to."

My anxiety in social situations is mostly caused by feeling overwhelmed and slipping into overload (for me, anxiety is an inherent part of feeling overwhelmed and slipping into overload<--both of which are inherently related to unknowns and unpredictable change....anxiety doesn't cause the feeling of being overwhelmed nor the overload, it works the other way around)

I've pretty much accepted that I screw up socially and come off as weird, and it's not the end of the world....I definitely worry about it sometimes, but I think this kind of worry plays a smaller part in my anxiety than everything else. If it weren't for the other types of anxiety, I think I could manage worries about the social aspects of situations, because:

When I know what to expect, am in an environment that doesn't give me sensory overload, and can avoid cognitive overload (this usually means I don't say much to anyone--which I'm comfortable with), I don't even think about how I come across to others unless I have good reason based on something someone says to me.....and in these situations, I don't tend to feel anxious about what others think--just curious and/or confused.

But if I'm in an unpredictable environment that overwhelms me, I sometimes end up worrying about how I come across to others (unless I'm so overloaded that my brain completely shuts down--then I don't think or worry about anything).

It's weird..... It's like my social anxiety is secondary--triggered by a different type of anxiety that really has nothing to do with socializing (nothing to do with other people):

If I'm already anxious in a social situation (for reasons unrelated to what other people think/feel), I remember bad social experiences because those memories contain a similar feeling of anxiety, and a similar setting......the non-social anxiety triggers the memory, and I end up worrying about the same negative social experience happening again.

I get anxious with strangers. I thought I could hide the look on my face until a friend told me I looked extremely nervous talking to a stranger yesterday. I guess its just the face I have all the time.

Why I get anxious? I don't know, really don't. I mean if I do the talking first I am fine. If they approach me first I am all nervous. But I hate socializing for long with strangers in real life. It like my head starts aching and I can't take it and I almost shut down.

I always get nervous while interacting with authority though I am more controlled now than before.