How Is Self-Doubt A Symptom of Anxiety?
We rarely think of self-doubt as a symptom of anxiety. However, for many people, it’s one of the most troubling symptoms they experience. Dr. Jane Rubin explains how anxiety can often fuel self-doubt.
If you look up the symptoms of anxiety online or in the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), you won’t find self-doubt listed. According to the DSM, the symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance. All of these can be symptoms of anxiety, but none capture the emotional experience of being anxious.
Self-doubt is an inescapable feature of some anxiety disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. But people who suffer from other types of anxiety can also feel plagued by it. Sometimes to the point of paralysis when faced with important decisions.
What about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are plagued by self-doubt. Their lives are consumed by rituals (handwashing, checking and re-checking to make sure they’ve turned off the stove, etc). They feel that they need to perform perfectly to avert an imagined disaster.
One of the most debilitating aspects of OCD is that, no matter how perfectly people have seemed to perform their rituals, they’re always anxious that they’ve made a catastrophic mistake. That’s why they need to constantly re-check what they’ve done. That’s also why OCD, at its most extreme, can totally consume someone’s life. Still, many people who suffer from anxiety without OCD also experience paralyzing self-doubt at times.
Does Fear of Judgment By Others Affect Anxiety Symptoms?
Absolutely. Many people who don’t have OCD, but who do suffer from anxiety, also experience severe self-doubt. This includes people with social anxiety. People with social anxiety are convinced other people will find fault with them. As a result, they’re very self-conscious about how they appear to other people. Even when they think things are going well in a social situation, they don’t trust their own judgment. They’re convinced that they’re probably saying or doing something wrong and just don’t know it.
Do You Have Any Examples of Self-Doubt Anxiety Symptoms from Your Practice?
I do. I’ve seen a number of people who avoided social events because they were afraid they’d be judged negatively. They not only avoided large social events like office parties. They were also afraid to ask a co-worker out for lunch or coffee because they were sure they’d be rejected. Despite courageously attending a party or asking someone out, self-doubt consumed them after the event. Even when everything seemed to go well. They worried people were just being “nice.” They believed others really wanted nothing to do with them.
How Do You Work with These Clients?
I think it’s really important to understand where extreme self-doubt comes from. It's crucial to identify the pattern and try to help the person change it. If we don’t, we simply try to reassure people that everything is fine every time they’re experiencing self-doubt. This just ends up putting out fires without changing the underlying dynamic. For example, someone might come to see that her co-worker actually wants to be her friend. They really aren't judging her negatively. But what happens if we don’t understand why she automatically feels that everyone is judging her? She’ll just again assume that the next person she meets will have negative feelings about her.
What are the Sources of Self-Doubt?
It’s different for every person, but there are generally two thought patterns. They stem from people’s early experiences with their parents or other caregivers.
1. If you had a parent or caregiver who was difficult to please, you may feel that everyone in your life disapproves of you. You’ll probably feel that their disapproval means that there’s something wrong with you. The more you feel that there’s something wrong with you, the more inclined you’ll be to incessant self-doubt. Even when things seem to be going well, you’ll be questioning your judgment and looking for ways that you’re messing things up.
2. If you had a parent or caregiver who was emotionally absent from your life, you may feel that there’s nothing you can do to make people take an interest in you. Like people whose parents were difficult to please, you’ll feel that people won’t care about you because there’s something wrong with you. And, like them, you’ll constantly doubt whether you can measure up to people’s expectations of you.
The sources of self-doubt can sometimes be difficult to identify on your own. Old patterns can be hard to change. But working with an understanding therapist can help you to overcome paralyzing self-doubt. Then, you can experience more freedom in your life and your relationships.
Click to learn more about anxiety therapy and treatment with Dr. Jane Rubin.
Jane Rubin, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in Berkeley, California. She works with individuals in Berkeley, Oakland, the East Bay and the greater San Francisco Bay Area who are struggling with depression and anxiety. She also specializes in working with people who are trying to find meaning and direction in their lives.