Could a confident person suffer from social anxiety?
A confident and sophisticated looking client who came to me was clearly upset when she recalled how an HR manager had told her that she came across as arrogant (let’s call her Jane). Jane told me she was excellent at what she did, she was hard working and conscientious and friendly in her interactions. She was unable to make sense of the feedback she had received and it continued to hurt her years on. Knowing that she was perceived in a certain way had knocked her self-confidence, making her more reserved and making her feel even more alien and isolated than she already did.