We have the impression that all celebrities are super confident individuals with great social skills. But that is not always the case. In fact, many of them suffer from social anxiety. Below is a list of famous people with social anxiety.

Donny Osmond

The one half of the famous Donny and Marie duo suffered from stage fright and panic attacks. These conditions affected his career in a big way because they often stopped him from performing on stage for fear that he will black out during a performance. Donny was also scared of shopping centers because of fears that people might gang up on him to ridicule him. To treat these conditions, Donny turned to cognitive behavioral therapy and consulted a psychologist.

Barbra Streisand

For twenty-seven years, famous singer Barbra Streisand did not perform in public because of social phobia. While performing in 1967, Streisand forgot the lyrics to some songs. After that, she avoided similar engagements for fears that what occurred then might happen again. In 1994, Streisand was finally able to learn how to cope with her condition. This lead to her comeback in the limelight in 1994. What she did to conquer her fear was to gradually exposed herself. She didn’t perform in a large venue right away. She started with an intimate place and then started from there.

Sir Laurence Olivier

Social phobia struck Sir Lawrence Olivier at the peak of his career. While acting and directing a play at the National Theatre in London. His problem can be traced to the fear of not being able to recall his lines because of personal fatigue. The condition lasted for five years.

Kim Basinger

When Kim Basinger accepted her Academy award, she had a hard time getting the words out despite practising for the speech for several days. The actress is known to suffer from agoraphobia, panic disorder and social phobia. She said the problems can be traced back to her childhood when her greatest fear was being asked to read aloud in class. Teachers actually thought that she was having a nervous breakdown because she is too afraid of school. Basinger was able to solve her problems through psychological therapy.

Ricky Williams

Ricky Williams is probably the most popular professional athlete with social anxiety disorder or SAD. He is a professional football player who has battled with a crippling case of SAD throughout his NFL career. Just how bad is William’s case? During interviews, Williams would refused to take off his helmet and he even refused fans. To treat his condition, Williams began taking paxil, an anti-anxiety drug. Williams then went on to help others suffering from SAD by sharing his story openly.

Susie O’Neill

In her book Choose to Win: Achieving Your Goals, Fulfilling Your Dreams, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Susie O’Neill talked about her struggles with social anxiety. She once said in an interview that her fears include standing on the podium after a victory and being chosen to participate in team competitions.

Zack Greinke

The case of Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke’s case of SAD was so bad he had to take a leave of absence in 2006 to deal with the problem. He was able to return 7 months later after receiving treatment from a sports psychologist and taking anti-depressant medications. After treatment, Greinke’s career blossomed. He even won the Cy Young Award in 2009 and landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine.