If a girl has been acting nervous around you then you might be wondering why and what it might mean about the way that she feels about you.

This post will show you a number of reasons why she might act nervous around you and why other girls might as well in the future.

So, what does it mean when a girl acts nervous around you? It could be a sign that she likes you if she only does it with you, she has no reason to dislike you and she shows other signs of attraction around you. She might also find you to be threatening, she could have some social anxiety, think that you don’t like her or she might not be interested in you.

Since there are a number of reasons why she might act nervous around you it would help to consider the context of how she does it and the body language that she shows.

Why a girl will act nervous around you

Each of the different reasons why she acts nervous around you will likely come with a number of clues in the way that she does it and the body language that she shows.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a girl will act nervous around you, the signs to expect to see and the things to consider.

She is attracted to you

The reason that she gets nervous around you could be that she likes you.

This would be more likely if she only does it with you, she has no reason to dislike you, she doesn’t show negative body language and if she is normally talkative around other people.

If she does get nervous around you because she likes you then it would be likely that she would show other signs of being attracted to you.

These signs could include:

  • Brushing her hair to the side when she sees you
  • Stroking her hair while talking to you
  • Asking your friends about you
  • Her friends ask what you think of her
  • Positioning herself to be nearer to you
  • Pointing her feet at you
  • Holding prolonged eye contact with you
  • Having dilated pupils when looking at you
  • Standing closer to you than she does with other people
  • Laughing and looking to see if you are also laughing
  • Laughing a lot at the things that you say
  • Adjusting her appearance when she sees you

She has some anxiety

The reason that she gets nervous around you could be that she has some social anxiety.

This would be more likely if she also gets nervous around other people that are not her close friends and if she shows the same body language around them as she does around you.

She thinks you don’t like her

It might be the case that she doesn’t think you like her.

This would be more likely if you have argued with her in the past or if you haven’t shown any interest in her in the past. It would also be more likely if she only gets nervous around you and not other people as well.

If she does think that you don’t like her then she might show distancing behaviors in her body language by standing further away from you, crossing her arms around you or avoiding eye contact.

She thinks that you’re threatening

It could also be that she gets intimidated by you.

This would be more likely if you have been angry around her in the past and if you have shown aggressive body language around her in the past.

If she does get nervous around you because she finds you to be threatening then she might show submissive body language like:

  • Avoiding eye contact
  • Making the body appear smaller
  • Only laughing at the mouth
  • Avoiding large movements
  • Distancing herself from you

She is not interested in you

Getting nervous around you could be a sign that she is not interested in you.

This would be more likely if she only does it when you are around and if she only started to get nervous around you after you had shown interest in her.

If she isn’t interested in you then she might show other signs in her body language around you by doing things such as:

  • Standing further away from you
  • Avoiding eye contact
  • Crossing her arms when she is around you
  • Pointing her feet away from you
  • Avoiding talking to you
  • Tightening her lips when you’re talking
  • Squinting at you

She doesn’t like someone that you’re with

The reason that she gets nervous around you could be that she doesn’t like someone that you’re with.

This would be more likely if she doesn’t always get nervous around you, if she only does it when you’re with that person and if she shows negative body language towards that person.

Consider if she acts nervous with other people

When trying to understand why she gets nervous around you it would be helpful to consider whether or not she shows the same body language around you as with other people.

If she also gets nervous around other people and she shows the same body language around them then it would be more likely that she gets nervous around you because she has some social anxiety.

Whereas, if she only gets nervous around you and her body language is different then it would be more likely that she either is attracted to you, thinks you don’t like her, gets intimidated by you or she doesn’t like you. It would help to consider how her body language is different around you and what sort of interactions you’ve had with her in the past.

Consider how she reacts to seeing you

Thinking about the way that she reacts to seeing you could help in understanding why she gets nervous around you.

If she changes her body language and behavior upon seeing you then it would be more likely that she has good or bad feelings towards you.

If she reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:

  • Brushing her hair to the side
  • Adjusting her appearance
  • Pointing her feet at you
  • Positioning herself to be nearer to you
  • Straightening her posture and uncrossing her arms

Then it would be more likely that she gets nervous around you because she likes you.

Whereas, if she reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:

  • Squinting
  • Pointing her feet away from you
  • She stops smiling
  • Crossing her arms
  • Avoiding eye contact

Then it would be more likely that she doesn’t like you.

Consider when and where she is nervous

It would also help to consider the timing and location that she gets nervous in.

If she always gets nervous around you then it would be more likely that she either does it due to social anxiety, being attracted to you, not liking you, feeling threatened by you or thinking that you don’t like her.

Whereas, if she only gets nervous sometimes then it would be more likely that she does it due to feeling uncomfortable around certain people.

Consider a cluster of clues

When considering what her body language could have been suggesting it would be helpful to look for more than one body language sign at the same time.

Body language signs on their own will usually have many possible meanings making them unreliable on their own. Whereas, it would be more likely that multiple body language signs that all suggest the same thing would be there at the same time for that specific reason.

If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.

Author

I created and currently manage Body Language Central, one of the premier sources for body language-related knowledge. Body language plays a key role in our daily lives. I hope that my website can help condense the wide amount of body language information available and allow you to make full use of it in your daily life. You can read more about me and my website here.