Jobs for people with social anxiety (A brief guide)

In this blog, we will discuss what are the best jobs for people with social anxiety and some additional information on anxiety and its biological basis. 

Jobs for people with social anxiety

Here are our top 5 best jobs for people with social anxiety:

1. Writer/blogger
2. IT
3. Veterinary nurse
4. Gardening and landscaping/Botanist
5. Forest or Wildlife Ranger

You have been wondering what other things you could do if you actually quit your current job.

Or you are in a job hunt and want to consider all the possibilities life could offer.

It could be because you are tired of those Monday morning meetings where it seems you are the only one that doesn’t have anything to say or you are always busy during lunchtime to avoid sitting with them and having to talk with your coworkers about your life outside work.

It is possible that you may or may not have a diagnosed anxiety disorder.

Having anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing, the problem is when anxiety becomes too overwhelming and starts controlling your life.

If you feel that is the case and it is starting to affect your life keep reading, this may interest you. 

It is a well-known fact that biologically speaking, anxiety kicks in to ensure our well-being or our survival when we are in a potentially dangerous or life-threatening situation.

This increased arousal and physiological activation ensured the survival of our primitive ancestors millions of years ago.

Imagine if the response “flight or fight” didn’t get activated when being in front of a huge bear. 

In the case of anxiety disorders in general, there is no potentially harmful or life-threatening situation in the present time but for people with social anxiety,  when having that Monday morning meeting or when having to talk to your boss about that pay raise can feel as if something really bad is going to happen to them.

Still, your body gets activated and responds the same way as if you were in front of that bear. 

But, why does this happen?

It is actually an innate response triggered by fear but this response has been associated with a traumatic, painful or unpleasant experience.

You have two choices, you quit your job and find another one or try going to therapy to learn coping strategies so you can keep your job and have a better quality of life.

Anxiety: Response mechanisms

When we feel threatened or we perceive a situation is potentially dangerous, then our body reacts by releasing adrenaline and other chemicals into our bloodstream which will eventually increase your heart rate, make you sweat, sharpen our senses and heighten our physical abilities.

Then your brain decides if we should fight or run to protect our physical integrity

Is it a matter of survival?

As mentioned, we need this type of physiological response to ensure our survival when we come in contact with something potentially dangerous.

For example, let’s say you are walking down the street and someone comes up to you and takes a very sharp machete and threatened to kill you if you don’t give him your wallet.

In this case, your body reacts and makes the response by attacking the person in front of you or it can go the other way and run as fast as possible. 

Fear response and the Brain

When we have an intense physiological response to a situation or object that we qualify as harmful or dangerous, our brain starts activating certain regions.

One of them is the amygdala, which has been said to intervene in emotional responses such as fear and anxiety. 

Current imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, used in research studies, have identified a heightened response from the amygdala when being exposed to things or situations that potentially generate anxiety symptoms.

The amygdala and other limbic structures are connected to our prefrontal cortex regions which are said to be involved in planning, decision making and inhibiting socially unacceptable behaviors. 

Now that we have covered the main aspects of anxiety, biological basis, and criteria, let’s talk about the jobs from that first list.

What makes a job “good” for people with social anxiety?

There are many things that can make a job the perfect fit for someone suffering from social anxiety.

It is important to make sure that any job you’d like to do needs to be actually something you can feel comfortable and can provide certain stability.

For example, being an astronaut would be perfect for people with social anxiety.

They wouldn’t need to come in contact with many people and can have the perks of staring into the universe every day or relatively every day since the relationship between time and space becomes relative.  

However, some people would say it can become boring, how are they able to live out there with no one, isolated, no human contact for a long time.

However, the best jobs don’t necessarily involve working alone or being completely alone as we explained.

Anyways, let’s talk about the first job in our list, Writer/blogger. 

1. Writer/blogger

This type of job doesn’t require much contact with people (only editors and readers), but the rest of the time you can spend it with your laptop, a notebook and your thoughts.

Additionally, some of the perks are that you don’t actually require to have a physical office or go to one every day in the morning.

You can actually do it from home or from anywhere in the world! The limit is the sky really.

I know, it sounds too good to be true but the fact is that it can be hard when you are deciding what type of writer you’d like to be or how you are going to get there.

Although, this is not intended to discourage you, on the contrary, just letting you know what to expect.

1. IT 

If you feel you enjoy numbers and technology more than people then this is your ideal job.

IT services professionals are usually hired for their technological and programming skills instead of having to be good with people as it would be the case for a customer service role.

The good of the job is that you won’t miss those weekly meetings. 

Some of the duties related to the job are installing and configuring computer hardware, software, systems, printers, and other tech devices.

Additionally, you may be required to answer in a timely manner to maintenance services or issues and requests, sometimes, required to get out of bed in the middle of the night to solve a problem. 

1. Veterinary Nurse

This job is ideal if you like being around animals and taking care of them. You will probably be “backstage” while the Vet talks to the owner and delivers recommendations.

On occasion, you’ll have to educate owners on how to maintain the health of their pets but there is no need for you to keep a conversation for hours or do some small talk to keep the conversation going. 

1. Gardening and landscaping/Botanist

This is the ideal job for people who enjoy nature, you are fascinated by biology and being surrounded by plants makes you the happiest person in the world then this is your ideal job.

If you are curious about the world of plants, would like to be involved in the study of crop cultivation, the microbiology of plants or their chemical properties then this is not only ideal, it is your dream job.

The best part is that you are contributing to the conservation of plants and don’t really have to relate with other people. 

1. Forest or Wildlife Ranger

Some of the day to day job-related activities are looking after habitats in the forest to protect animals and encourage others to settle or identifying tree diseases and areas of damage caused by pests. Imagine yourself always surrounded by nature, birds chirping in your ear and deers jumping around. 

However, there are other duties and responsibilities that you would probably have to think about such as working with the police to catch poachers or anyone disturbing or killing wildlife or controlling numbers of animals, such as deer, possibly having to use a firearm. 

1. Zookeeper

If you have or would like to have a degree in biology, zoology, zoo technology or some field related to animal management, then this is your ideal job.

Here you will have to come in contact with animals all day and the responsibilities of the job may include feeding, maintaining and cleaning the animals, diet preparation, behavioral observation, record keeping, exhibit maintenance. 

Occasionally you will have to talk to other coworkers or visitors but it won’t be as often as the contact you could have by being in an office working from 9 to 5. 

Why is this blog post about jobs for people with social anxiety important?

We know how disabling anxiety can be and if you are feeling frustrated and even more stressed every day because of your job, well, we have to tell you that you don’t have to feel that way anymore.

You have now a list of possibilities but it is not limited to the 5 top choices we presented.

There are many others so don’t think you are restricted.

The most important thing to take into consideration is that it doesn’t matter which job for people with social anxiety you decide to take, the idea is that you feel happy and comfortable doing it. 

There are not many jobs one can find if they have disorders such as anxiety or depression. But blogs like these serve as a guide for them to make their own living, which can also boost their self esteem.

We would like to hear from you, please feel free to comment on the content on the comments section down below!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) about Jobs for people with social anxiety

Recommended Reading

1. Overcome Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Step-by-Step Self Help Action Plan to Overcome Social Anxiety, Defeat Shyness and Create Confidence
2. You Care Too Much: Free Yourself From Social Anxiety
3. We’re All Mad Here: The No-Nonsense Guide to Living with Social Anxiety
4. How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety
5. How I Overcame Social Anxiety: An Introvert’s Guide to Recovering From Social Anxiety, Self-Doubt and Low Self-Esteem

References

Thrive Global

FairyGodBoss

VeryWellMind