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Although social anxiety (SAD) is a anxiety disorder, it’s not to be mistaken with GAD. It has an early age of onset—by age 11 years in about 50% and by age 20 years in about 80% of individuals and it is a risk factor for subsequent depressive illness and substance abuse. Functional neuroimaging studies point to increased activity in amygdala and insula in patients with social anxiety disorder, and genetic studies are increasingly focusing on this and other core phenotypes to identify the risk. (Stein & Stein 2008)

The NHS defines that social anxiety is more than shyness. It's a fear that does not go away and affects everyday activities, self confidence, relationships and work or school life.

A study from 2017 found that the Intolerance of Uncertaintiy (UI) seems to be a commonality between SAD and GAD. More specifically however, being unable to act or avoiding uncertainty is more strongly associated with SAD symptoms, whereas general stress and perceiving uncertainty as unfair is more strongly associated with GAD symptoms. (Counsell et al. 2017)

SAD and GAD share features both also have profound differences. This is reflected within the diagnostic criteria DSM- 5, where SAD and GAD keep to coexist within the same diagnostic category. (Khdour et al. 2016)

The similarity is that both SAD and GAD are characterized by persistent anxiety that is excessive or disproportionate to an actual situation. Both people with SAD  and GAD experience physical symptoms associated with their anxiety. The meaning of "threat," however, differs between the two.
For example catastrophizing is central to both types of anxiety disorders which is a form of Biased thinking. Social worries are not uncommon in those with GAD. However, their focus tends to be about ongoing relationships rather than on fear of evaluation. People with social anxiety disorder, on the other hand, tend to worry about being observed, being evaluated, meeting new people and performing in front of others. Their thought process typically centres on negative evaluation and possibly rejection. (Hearn et al. 2017)

REFERENCES
Counsell, A., Furtado, M., Iorio, C., Anand, L., Canzonieri, A., Fine, A., Fotinos, K., Epstein, I. & Katzman, M.A., 2017. Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Social Anxiety, And Generalized Anxiety: Differences By Diagnosis And Symptoms. Psychiatry Research, 252, pp.63–69.

Hearn, C.S., Donovan, C.L., Spence, S.H., March, S. & Holmes, M.C., 2017. What’s The Worry With Social Anxiety? Comparing Cognitive Processes In Children With Generalized Anxiety Disorder And Social Anxiety Disorder. Child Psychiatry And Human Development, 48(5), pp.786–795.

Khdour, H.Y., Abushalbaq, O.M., Mughrabi, I.T., Imam, A.F., Gluck, M.A., Herzallah, M.M. & Moustafa, A.A., 2016. Generalized Anxiety Disorder And Social Anxiety Disorder, But Not Panic Anxiety Disorder, Are Associated With Higher Sensitivity To Learning From Negative Feedback: Behavioral And Computational Investigation. Frontiers In Integrative Neuroscience, 10(JUNE2016), p.20.

Stein, M.B. & Stein, D.J., 2008. Social Anxiety Disorder. The Lancet, 371(9618), pp.1115–1125.

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How can social anxiety manifest?

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Hey Marie,
thank you for the great presentation. It was really interesting to listen to!
You mentioned the relation of anxiety and posture. Can you explain a little bit more about that?

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An RCT published in 2017, investigated the ‘Embodiment theory’ which proposes that motor processes are associated with emotions and cognitions. They found that walking posture can affect both psychological and physiological states. This was found by looking at the effects of an upright versus slumped walking posture on psychological and physiological states when faced with a psychological stressor. (Wilkes et al. 2017)

Other findings of this preliminary study are that people with mild-moderate depressive symptoms have slumped posture, bearing in mind that major depression and dysthymia are the main comorbidities of GAD. (Higgins et al. 2020 & Canuto et al. 2018) The upright posture can also reduce fatigue and increase high arousal positive affect.

This is further substantiated with earlier studies finding that behaviours known to affect measures of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems include physical activity and posture. (Houtveen et al. 2005)

Previous research examining links between the ANS and psychopathology has largely emphasized the common neurobiological mechanisms shared between psychopathology and ANS functioning. (Thayer et al. 1998) Again highlighting the correlation between posture and anxiety.

In conclusion: psychopathological symptoms can predict the likelihood of engaging in behavioural changes such as posture.
A study from 2018, supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health, found that posture affects ambulatory physiological activity in daily life and anxiety symptoms. (Wilkes et al. 2017)

REFERENCES
Canuto, A. et al., 2018. Anxiety Disorders In Old Age: Psychiatric Comorbidities, Quality Of Life, And Prevalence According To Age, Gender, And Country. American Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(2), pp.174–185.

Higgins, C., Chambers, J.A., Major, K. & Durham, R.C., 2020. Healthcare Costs And Quality Of Life Associated With The Long-Term Outcome Of Anxiety Disorders. Anxiety, Stress And Coping.

Houtveen, J.H., Groot, P.F.C. & Geus, E.J.C., 2005. Effects Of Variation In Posture And Respiration On RSA And Pre-Ejection Period. Psychophysiology, 42(6), pp.713–719.

Thayer, J.F., Smith, M., Rossy, L.A., Sollers, J.J. & Friedman, B.H., 1998. Heart Period Variability And Depressive Symptoms: Gender Differences. Biological Psychiatry, 44(4), pp.304–306.

Wilkes, C., Kydd, R., Sagar, M. & Broadbent, E., 2017. Upright Posture Improves Affect And Fatigue In People With Depressive Symptoms. Journal Of Behavior Therapy And Experimental Psychiatry, 54, pp.143–149.