# Anxiety Disorders > Social Anxiety Disorder >  >  Could moving a lot during your childhood cause social anxiety disorder?

## swish

I have lived in eight  states and went to four high schools and I'm only 19. Could this be enough to cause social anxiety disorder?

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## Ms.Lady

It most definitely could be the main contributory factor to forming your social anxiety disorder. 

There are a few factors that can cause this disorder: Biological- you can be born with a quicker arousal system that can contribute to anxiety disorders, Environmental- Unfair or over-criticism, scrutinization, children learn from parents so if a child speaks and gets unfairly scrutinized, they will be less likely to engage in social situations for fear of negative criticism, moving house has a huge effect when your a teenager because from the age of around 10-18 a lot of changes occur and teenagers try to find their identity by relating and responding to their surroundings and peers/friends. 

We learn from other teenagers what's normal behaviour and what's not so without a solid home life and a longstanding secure place to grow up, you will be bound to be left feeling unsure, not being able to relate to others your age, finding it hard to socialize etc. There are many good programmes and treatments for social anxiety mostly based around the CBT model that are very effective

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## Chieve

I would certainly say so too.

It doesn't give you enough time to build relationships and learn how to socialize

You have to keep on abandoning and changing your social life which interrupts any sort of progress

That's just more of an opinion though...I don't have any real facts besides the obvious lol

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## Inscrutable Banana

I'd say moving a lot when I was younger contributed to me being the way I am now, although I can't place the blame solely on it. Changing schools is always a jarring experience, just as you start to feel more comfortable in your previous school you have to start that new kid process all over again in another one. I never had the chance to develop a long lasting friendship with people from my neighborhoods or schools because of it either. Then I stopped going to school all together, which replaces the constant re-acclimation with nothing at all.

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## Member11

I moved house six times when I was younger, but I didn't changed schools, although I did drop out.  :Ninja:  I don't think the moves added to my SA though, the bullying during school had the most effect on my SA.

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## acristacat

ABSOLUTELY.  I realize that in myself, I was genetically predisposed and had some symptoms, that I can remember, as early as 6 years old.  However, based on reports of certain qualities, I may have had symptoms even earlier.  However, I was fairly well socialized at school, until I switched schools at 9, which also had a very different type of crowd of people at that school.  That is when my social anxiety went full blown and it seems my worst years suffering with it were in middle and high school.

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## acristacat

I also switched schools after that first switch...to middle school, then to 2 other middle schools, and then was brand new to a city in high school as well.  This ABSOLUTELY did not help my social anxiety.  I've heard from others that switching schools was a huge trigger for SA in them as well.

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## Chloe

I went to at least 5 different schools on different continents, although I don't have social anxiety I often struggled finding friends and so I'd say I was quiet socially under developed in some ways because I could never quite fit in with everyone because I was "the new girl with the weird accent" who was pretty clueless about the fact that some people were taking advantage of me and how to be friends with a few people and keep secrets rather than being an open book and friendly with everyone because I was that desperate for a friend. It didn't help as well that my imagination, love of books and my own book writing behaviours were often an alternative when other children didn't want me to play or hang out so that I was seen as even more of a weirdo when I'd turn people away because they were nasty earlier over a book. Bullying from moving schools also plays a huge impact especially if your ostracised by an entire class full of 8 or so bullies. I'm still playing catch up now so while I don't have social anxiety I still wouldn't ignore the impact that moving round has on a child's/teenagers development and social exposure

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## GunnyHighway

I feel that it was a huge contribution to my SA. Combined with being shy, having to try to make new friends every few years was difficult. The last grade school move is what really did me in because by that point I had just given up and had no friends.

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