supposedly it's a chemical imbalance which could classify it as a mental illness. Intuition I haven't thought of but I did see a video before explaining how social anxiety is your flight or fight instincts getting triggered in safe situations, which would be a misunderstanding. When I was in a situation that caused anxiety I tried calming myself by saying I was safe, and it did actually work sometimes :)

You're right about responding to what I say about myself, but it is the easiest way to express to people how I feel