Up to 34% of higher education students experience social anxiety, which is anxiety caused by being the centre of attention. This was the finding of the 2024 Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT). Social anxiety was most common among female students aged 18 to 21, with 45% reporting having experienced anxiety during the past week. Male students aged 30 to 34 had the second highest rate of social anxiety, with 38% having experienced it within the week.
Anxiety can make it harder to cope and may hinder study progress
Everyone gets nervous sometimes, but for some higher education students, social anxiety imposes significant limitations. “There are certain factors associated with student life that make students more prone to social anxiety”, says FSHS psychologist Roosa Karttunen. “These may include changing social networks or the student community’s focus on performance. Study groups also often change from course to course, so a student must constantly get to know new people.”
Karttunen points out that in the worst-case scenario, social anxiety can actually impair study progress.
“A student can be so nervous about attending lectures that they drop out of courses. Difficulties with social interactions also increase feelings of loneliness within the student community and may decrease commitment to studies. And the uncertainty associated with seeking employment and working towards the end of a degree may also postpone a student’s graduation.”
Those with social anxiety often try to manage the problem by avoiding situations that make them anxious. Karttunen also sees students who can complete courses, but at a cost.
“There are students whose study progress is well within the target schedule, but their anxiety is making them exhausted”, Karttunen notes. “They don’t have the energy for a part-time job, housework, daily chores, or hobbies that would help them recover.” This is why study progress alone is not a reliable indicator of the severity of social anxiety.
How to work on your social anxiety
If social anxiety is interfering with normal life and causes avoidant behaviour, it requires treatment. Anxiety this severe is likely to impact a student’s ability to study and to function in general.
“At the FSHS, we provide both individual and group treatment for serious social anxiety”, says Karttunen. “It all starts with accepting one’s feelings of anxiety, and then working on them. This is because avoiding and rejecting them usually only fuels the cycle of anxiety. As surprising as it may be, for some people working on their feelings is easier in a group setting. The support from the group counsellor and those dealing with the same problem may provide people with a feeling of achievement and the courage to face social situations.”
On Thursday 10 April 2025, the FSHS is organising a webinar with the title Mielenrauhaa sosiaaliseen ahdistukseen (‘Peace of mind for social anxiety’, event in Finnish). The keynote speaker will be trainer psychotherapist, non-fiction writer and columnist Maaret Kallio. The event will deal with social anxiety as a phenomenon as well as ways to reduce its harmful impact on life. The webinar has space for 1,000 participants in order of sign-up.
Further information for the media
Interview requests viestinta(at)yths.fi
References (in Finnish)
KOTT 2024-tulokset: Mielenterveys ja mielenterveyspalvelujen riittävyys [‘Mental health and the adequacy of mental health services’]
KOTT 2024-tulokset: sosiaalista ahdistuneisuutta kokevien osuus prosentteina [‘rate of those experiencing social anxiety (%)’]